a brand new minneapolis no. 6 (nicollet mall) on Flickr.

Mamiya 645 1000s | Mamiya Sekor-C 80mm f/1.9 (shot at f/2.8) | Kodak Tri-x 400 (shot at 320) | Rodinal (1:100, 120 min.)

You’ve probably seen this gentleman or others like him busking along Nicollet Mall on any given day. Now, to me, this would be a difficult way to make a living and in any regard, not a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon (then again, I spent some of my Saturday afternoon asking to take picture of strangers—-now who’s the weird person?!). This gentleman was really getting into his jam, though, and you can see it shine through in his eyes. Since he has his recorder in his mouth, he needs to use his eyes to smile, yet there’s a hint of sadness there, as I’ve seen common in most of the individuals I’ve encountered thus far for this project.

This picture is the sixth in my 100 strangers project, to learn more and see the rest of A Brand New Minneapolis, click here.

Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page