BUS ENTERTAINER

[FUJI]

During my travels by bus I chance upon many characters...

 

This Guy was a STAR from the start of our journey to the end, bofore we boarded the top deck of the bus to Stratford he was already keeping a group of 6 Chinese tourists enthralled by his knowledge of the area, and by his sheer verve and character.

 

Where we were sitting we couldn't always make out what he and they were saying, but the highlight of the journey came when he produced a Mouth Organ and played the theme from the BBCs......... Last Of The Summer Wine.......the whole bus clapped and cheered when he finished with a flourish.

 

A man after my own heart, one who is growing old having as much fun from what is left of his life; able to hold spellbound, and in raptures,  a group of Chinese who spoke a smattering of English.

 

As we got off the bus, I waited for him and his Oriental friends to catch up. at great risk of completely blocking an extremely busy pavement, I indicated I wanted to record him.

 

His reaction (as seen here) was to call all his new friends together for a series of group shots, much to the annoyance of passer's by, but like the Paparazzi I stuck to my task.

 

I manage to capture this initial shot (in the brightest of suns) then a series guided by him.....another............ Bright Son.

 

I encourage everyone approaching or in the midst of their mature years, to grasp the mettle of LIFE............THROW AWAY the Victor Meldrew Attitudes, forget politics and make every day an adventure.

 

I do, and it drives my missus nuts................don't care.......shan't change; in fact I tend to get worse:

 

 

Best viewed LARGE.....Click on Pic:

 

FUJI

 

[Korky]

That's a lovely story, Fooj - and I fully agree with the sentiments you've expressed. The last 15 months have seen my attitude to life change considerably and these days I have a very different view on what's important and what's not.

 

The photo is all the better for the background info and overall I like the image very much - it shows his character and that cheeky grin is priceless. My main criticism is that I feel it's been a bit over-baked in the Topaz oven and been pushed just a little too far.

 

It's got great potential as a street portrait and I feel it's worth a re-work with more discretion with the Topaz button.

 

Korky

[FUJI]

That's a lovely story, Fooj - and I fully agree with the sentiments you've expressed. The last 15 months have seen my attitude to life change considerably and these days I have a very different view on what's important and what's not.

 

The photo is all the better for the background info and overall I like the image very much - it shows his character and that cheeky grin is priceless. My main criticism is that I feel it's been a bit over-baked in the Topaz oven and been pushed just a little too far.

 

It's got great potential as a street portrait and I feel it's worth a re-work with more discretion with the Topaz button.

 

Korky

 

 

A good, honest Korky response, one that I much appreciate.....

 

Yes!...............A bit. over cooked it is, but (no excuses mind) the original RAW colour shot, is extremely contrasted, with not the best sharpness owing to me being jostled on that more than busy pavement....very narrow, buses unloading passer's by plus a queue for Mc Donalds.

 

I wasn't very popular 

 

I will go back, to see what else I can do to it....my aim was to draw out every ounce of character.

 

Here goes....

 

The original shot(cropped)....plus a second attempt at putting things right for Korky:

 

Cheers!

 

FUJI

[ChrisLumix]

The original colour works for me ... with the possible edit of isolating the background and applying Gaussian blur.

 

I don't feel it's too soft. Portraits should not (usually) be harsh. (Having said that, the chin and upper lip are a bit OOF compared to the rest of the face - I wonder how that's happened?)

[NannyFerret]

I love the edited version and also the other two.
Nicely done.

[Kobione]

Love the colour version, Fuji, but regardless of any way that you have processed this, you have caught his face beautifully - an optimistic looking character  

[Craftysnapper]

Loverly shot and nice processing, love the mono, you did a great rescue of it.