River St. in Savannah follows the Savannah River and is only several feet above sea level. Bay St. parallels this, buy at “street level”, about two stories higher. Between the two is Founder’s Walk, an alleyway partially covered and partially open to sunlight. This is known among photographers as a good location for filtered, indirect light. Nice.

So, I looked down Founder’s Walk, hoping to find a stranger, and Andres appeared. He was with another man, and they worked at an adjacent restaurant. I approached them and asked a favor, and then explained my stranger project. Andres was the leader of the two (he looks the part), and couldn’t understand that someone would do this as a hobby. Finally, I showed him my cell phone with 24 portrait thumbnails, and he reluctantly agreed.

Not wanting to press my luck, I got off a few quick shots – his face appeared to be lighted nicely. But when I saw his images on the computer monitor, I was disappointed by the lack of light in his eyes. I am 80% satisfied with the result, but I did more post processing (Photoshop) than I like.

(click to enlarge)

In my haste to grab a few shots, I acted too quickly. I failed to take my time and analyze the quality of light, being convinced beforehand that it was good in this area.

BTW, Andres looks like a pretty tough dude. Other than being reluctant to be photographed, he was pleasant.

As the saying goes, too soon old, too late smart.

Bob