Custom Search

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Causeway Artists #8 - Squeezebox Serenade

Squeezebox Serenade is trio that produces a unique and evocative sound. The first time I heard the silvery trumpet dueting with the accordian it reminded me of the Dalmation coast and long evenings in vine-trellised trattorias.

But then they segued into a very jazzy version of Route 66 with all three singing and I realized their versatility. This is a charming musical group that is a great counterpoint to the otherwise rather guitar oriented music prevalent on the causeway.Trio members are (from the left): Adam Weinmann, Tara Kannangara, and Georgia Johnson.

*****


(Here follows an aside to my fellow City Daily Photo Bloggers: The strange assortment of photos above illustrates a photographic difficulty. Most of the causeway is north/south oriented and musicians generally face east when performing, with the sun at their backs (see first photo above). Unfortunately, the best photos are also usually with the sun at the photographer's back and the best angle to shoot from produces a photo like the top one above. Sometimes one can get away with shooting directly into the sun as in the photo on the left above but one ends up with a bleached sky and too much contrast and other problems. Fill flash doesn't generally do it for me and I try to avoid flash generally since I like to remain inconspicuous. Shooting from the side can be good as in the photo on the right above but shooting a group of people from one side or the other often means some of them are obscured by others. In desperation I asked the group to turn towards me, which they very kindly did, and allowed me to take the photo directly above. Nice people and good musicians: Squeezebox Serenade)

2 comments:

USelaine said...

I can find fault with nothing you present, but I do like that last shot. They already seem astute enough to keep the non-candid picture interesting, and they are an attractive bunch. Unless of course, they had an astute director working for them.

Eki said...

I totally agree with the point you make about not using flash light ... Being inconspicuous is essential in street photography. I like the lively moment you captured in this post.