What are the colors of your city?

Have you ever noticed that cities seem to have a palette? Recently, my wife laughed at me when I insisted that we buy a stylish trench coat for our four-year-old daughter because, I said, "It will look so great with the colors of Paris." But I think she laughed because she knows what I mean (or at least that's what I decided to believe). And I'm not talking about fashion trends, but about walls, streets, parks, etc.

In New Orleans, I love the many colors (often pastels) of the French Quarter. If I lived there, my location book would be full in no time. In Paris, I love the ubiquitous warm stone. And although not everyone thinks about buying coats for their children with the local stone in mind, I know I am not alone in my colorlust. In fact, the world is so infatuated with "Paris Stone" that its limestone quarries may soon be depleted. In Seattle, I love the grays, the blues, and the greens (it's easy to miss even the constant rainclouds when you haven't lived there in ten years). In New York....well, you get the picture.

I took the photo above on an empty street in New Orleans, where I saw an abandoned building covered in wonderfully anthropomorphic graffiti of cassette tapes. Dead media for a dead building. I have always loved graffiti, provided that it beautify an otherwise characterless and neglected structure—don't get me started on people who tag and vandalize indiscriminately. The photo may not represent the post-card palette of the French Quarter, but I like how the bright yellow challenges the more common blue.

What is the palette of your city? What about your favorite cities? Another thing to think about when experimenting with color this month.

More New Orleans Street Photography

Before I move on to some small town street photography experiments, let me share a few more pics from New Orleans.

Another street portrait. I told her I loved the hat and asked if I could take a photo. She told me I was probably the fifth person that day to make the same request, then she struck a pose that she described as "Audrey Hepburn-esque." I think she pulls off Audrey quite well—and that's no easy task.

Audrey Hepburn via "the glamourous graduate"

I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a city that has a higher per capita tuba ratio than New Orleans.

About 30 seconds before I took this, the guy broke a guitar string. A quick cigarette and then he hopped on his bike to go buy a new string.

I couldn't help but wonder if the kids who tap dance with mason jar lids stuck to their shoes aren't having a laugh at the tourists by playing to ethno-economic stereotypes. In any case, they put on a show and I emptied my pockets. I later noticed an unwitting self-portrait in the reflection, and resisted the temptation to photoshop it out.

A little less dancing, a little more money-making. When I gave money to the boy in front, the one holding the box said "Hey. What about me?" "I'm all out of bills," I replied. "That's OK. I'll take your change." And he did.

This photo was just asking for a bleach bypass treatment. The guy playing the drum appeared to have the most monotonous musical job in New Orleans—or so I thought until I heard an NPR spot about a new CD that promises to treat the listener to "55 Minutes of Solo Triangle." Seriously, give it a listen. I know that the NPR spot wants the earnest musicphile to readily differentiate the nuanced variations of triangular ting ting tings, but to me it's like revisiting "Ice Ice Baby v. Under Pressure" —and no one should expect you to endure that kind of memory on your morning commute.

Uh-oh!

It pays to have your camera out and ready for the everyday stories the surround you. I happened upon this little crisis along the New Orleans waterfront. If I were your local news reporter, I would have to call it a "kite-astrophe." (hardee har har. Get it? kite-astrophe. Ugh. Sorry for that. That's just one more reason I avoid the local news.)

"Nawlins" at Night

I had better luck yesterday with street photography at night than during the daytime. I didn't want to do any photos with flash (I didn't even bother bringing a flash), so I set my camera's ISO to 2500. Here are some of my favorites:

A worker in a restaurant takes a break. My favorite detail is the bead necklace not far from his feet.

A concert for no one.

A brass band draws a crowd.

Possibly my favorite because of the man dancing.

I love the rich colors at night, but I'm also torn between color and black and white.

The atmosphere of this restaurant really comes through at night. The large windows also made me think of Baudelaire's "Les yeux des pauvres" ("The Eyes of the Poor")—a prose poem that describes how a couple sitting inside a restaurant reacts to a family watching them from the outside.

Tough sell.

Another colorful night shot that would have looked too ordinary during the day.

If there are no people is it still street photography?

Yes. At least in my opinion it is.

Eugène Atget—one of my favorite photographers of the 19th century—took plenty of "street scenes" that did not depict people. His photos of storefronts come to mind. If you were to get argumentative on me you could say that those photos fall under the category of "architectural photography." But I'm in no mood to argue. I've got a paper to present at a pop culture conference in New Orleans tomorrow (on the representation of telephones and fear of nostalgia in horror films. odd. I know.) and I have yet to write it.

But I did manage to get outside for a couple of hours and take some photos. I will post some people photos tomorrow. Today, I wanted to do a share a few nostalgic images from my wanderings in the French Quarter. The photo at the head of this post was just begging me to give it some soft vignetting to complete its postcard look.

A straightforward toned shot of a café. This photo belongs in a kitchen somewhere.

I put in this last one for the amusement of my family (big fans of Little Debbie).

Even though I would rather see you venture out and take some photos of people for the monthly special, street photography without people might be the solution for the the super shy.