Chicago Strings

52Frames - Week 38 - Music

My intent this week was to photograph a record store or music store.  Jeff Yang, owner of Chicago Strings in Evanston, IL was very accommodating and graced me with a short concert & photo ops. Check him out at Chicago Strings.

This is a composite of two photos; the musician and the storefront.

Leica M EV1 @ F2.4 | 40mm | 1/160 sec | ISO 500

Voigtlander VM 40mm F1.4 Nokton Classic

Photographed 9/16/26

Out Of Place

El Paseo

Palm Desert, CA



El Paseo is a mile long stretch of high-end shops, galleries and restaurants.  At night, storefronts are stunning.  Galleries highlight their spectacular art.  Dining areas and live music spill out onto the sidewalks.

As I walked from my parking space to the restaurant, I could not help but notice the contrast between this scene and the entire street environment.

Ricoh GRIIIx @ f3.2 | 1/160 sec | 40mm equiv | ISO 200

Photographed 3/22/26

Out Of Place

El Paseo - Shop

El Paseo - Gallery

El Paseo - Dining

El Paseo - Music

Mario

Kitchen 86

Palm Desert, CA

Friday & Saturday nights feature "dueling pianos". Kris and Mario put on a great show.

Apple iPhone 15 Pro - Screen shot from a video clip

Photographed 3/20/26

Kris

Kitchen 86

Palm Desert, CA

Friday & Saturday nights feature "dueling pianos". Kris and Mario put on a great show.

Ricoh GRIIIx @ f2.8 | 1/40 sec | 40mm equiv | ISO 3200

Photographed 3/20/26

Rhythm Is Life - Redux

I heard the melodic sounds and wondered if it was the same steel drum guy that I had heard last year and featured in a blog post.  Sure enough, it was!  Cole was, once again, filling the air with his beautiful music.  He remembered our encounter and allowed me to shoot some additional photos.  While doing so, I noticed that his drum looked different.  Cole confirmed that it was the same drum, however it had just been cleaned and not all notes had been re-written on the surface.

Check out the link to last year's post to learn more about these amazing drums along with links to Cole's band.  https://jeffm211-p52.blogspot.com/2025/03/rhythm-is-life.html

Photographed 3/8/25

Rhythm Is Life 4

Sony A7Cii @ f1.4 | 1/1600 | 40mm | ISO 50

Voigtlander 40mm F1.4 Nokton Classic (adapted)

Rhythm Is Life 5

Sony A7Cii @ f1.4 | 1/1000 | 40mm | ISO 50

Voigtlander 40mm F1.4 Nokton Classic (adapted)

Rhythm Is Life

I heard the melodic sounds and thought there was a multi-piece group playing near the pool deck of our resort.  I was very surprised to find one guy playing a single steel drum that created such beautiful sound.  No multi-piece band, no synthesizer, only a microphone, amplifier and speaker.  The tablet shown held only sheet music.

I learned that these drums were handcrafted from old, abandoned oil drums in Trinidad & Tobago.  Each drum was pounded into shape and tuned to generate specific notes when struck on a specific part of the drum.  It was quite remarkable.

Many thanks to Cole for sharing his music and information.  You can check out Cole’s band at https://www.instagram.com/rhythmislifesteelband/ and https://m.youtube.com/@rhythmislifesteelband/videos.

Rhythm Is Life 1

Sony A7Cii @ f5.6 | 1/250 | 200mm | ISO 160

Tamron E 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 A071

Rhythm Is Life 2

Sony A7Cii @ f4.5 | 1/250 | 108mm | ISO 160

Tamron E 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 A071

Rhythm Is Life 3

Sony A7Cii @ f6.3 | 1/160 | 200mm | ISO 160

Tamron E 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 A071

Ben

Kenosha HarborMarket

Kenosha, WI

Was treated to the sweet sounds of Ben Mulwana.  Tech job by day...musician at all other times.  Check him out at https://www.benmulwana.com/

Sony A7 IV @ f6.3 1/640 66mm ISO 100

Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G

Photographed 6/24/23

Sweet Sounds

52Frames - Week 12 - Music

Although not a performance venue, Bill Hoffmann graced me with some sweet sounds from a violin at his music shop of 25+ years. I’ve passed this shop hundreds of times over the years and never knew it existed. 

Hoffmann Strings Ltd.

Dealer, Restorer & Maker of Violins, Violas, Cellos & Basses 

https://hoffmannstringsltd.com/

Sony A7 IV @ f4 1/125 67mm ISO 3200

Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G

Photographed 3/23/23

Applause

Makai Music & Art Festival

Princeville, Kauai, HI

Ricoh GRIIIx @ f2.8 1/2500 40mm (equiv) ISO 100

Photographed 3/1/23

Kapa'a Art Walk & Street Fair

Went to Kapa'a Art Walk and Street Fair held on the first Saturday of every month. Music, artists, vendors and food trucks.

Nose Flute

Never had seen this instrument before.

Sony A7 IV @ f5.6 1/125 20mm  ISO 100

Tamron E 20mm F2.8 F050

New Concoction

She was very proud of the new concoction she created.

Sony A7 IV @ f5.6 1/125 20mm  ISO 250

Tamron E 20mm F2.8 F050

Hands of Experience

Resizing to make a sale.

Sony A7 IV @ f5.6 1/125 20mm  ISO 200

Tamron E 20mm F2.8 F050

All Photographed 3/4/23

Jammin'

2022_CLondon52w27: One Light

From the C.London website: "Time to play with artificial light! Your challenge this week is to use one artificial light, and one only, to light your image. You don’t have to have any fancy set-up, a table lamp or the flashlight on your phone will do just fine. Subject is up to you, just no cheating with multiple light sources!"

I took the prompt literally this week and used an iPhone flashlight to illuminate a bronze sculpture that sits on my dresser.

Both the phone and camera were handheld. Have to say I'm very happy with the Sony image stabilization and high ISO performance.

Sony A7C @ f6.7 1/20 28mm ISO 12800

Sony E 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 A071

Photographed 7/5/22

Erik

Michigan Avenue

Chicago, IL

Fantastic keyboards by Erik Greeno.  Check him out on IG & YouTube and in person if you're downtown on the weekends.

All Photographed 7/1/22

Derrick

Wrigley Building Plaza

Chicago, IL

http://derricktatemusic.weebly.com/

IG:  @dtatemusic

Ricoh GRIIIx @ f2.8 1/250 71mm equiv ISO 200

Photographed 6/30/22

String Shredders

Deer Park Art Fair - Deer Park, IL

Great live music at this local art fair.  These guys were having a good time.  Check them out.  www.stringshredders.com

"Ron"

Sony A7C @ f1.4 1/3000  85mm  ISO 100

Rokinon AF 85mm F1.4

"Edgar"

Sony A7C @ f2.8  1/250  85mm  ISO 100

Rokinon AF 85mm F1.4

All Photographed 6/26/22

Loyalty

2022_C.London 52w3 (Alternate)

I met Loyalty on Michigan Avenue.  He was promoting Chicago Blues and offering CDs of his latest recording...and hoping for a small donation in exchange.  Chatted with him for awhile about his south side roots, snapped a few photos and purchased a CD (although I don't have a CD player to play it on).

While shooting the photos, I considered how these might be a back-up or alternate to the Astrid Kirchherr assignment on C.London's 52 Week challenge if my main idea didn't pan out.

Ricoh GRIIIx @ f5.6 1/250 40mm equiv ISO 1600

Photographed 1/18/22

The Observers

Clondon52w39: PHOTOGRAPHER HIGHLIGHT: William Eggleston

From the C.London website: " William Eggleston highlights what many would see as ordinary subjects, making them more complex in his imagery.  His work is what some may say as uniquely Americana. 

For this week, go one step beyond last week’s prompt. Aim to show a piece of your life that you consider to be ordinary in a way which elevates it to show a slice of life."

The AppleFest in Long Grove, IL typifies an Americana fall festival with live music, food, carnival rides and lots of interesting people providing candid photo opportunities.

Sony A7C @ f6.7 1/250 60mm ISO 250

Sony FE 28-60mm F4-5.6

Photographed 9/26/21

Ruthie Foster at the MIM

Clondon52w37: Somewhere New

From the C.London website: “So we’ve seen where your most comfortable (your home), let’s now explore a new space for you. It could be an area of your city where you’ve never ventured, or maybe you’re lucky enough to be going some place entirely new this week. As you’re seeing this place with entirely fresh eyes, think about what it is that compels you about that scene and try and create an image which highlights that.”

Admittedly, I had never heard of blues singer, Ruthie Foster.  However, her bio is impressive and we were fortunate to score some tickets to a sold out concert at the Scottsdale MIM Music Theater.  The venue is exquisite with outstanding acoustics and proof of vaccination was required for admittance.  This turned out to be one of the best musical performances I’ve ever attended.

I was surprised that non-flash photography was permitted, so was able to capture a few images during the performance.

Apple iPhone 12 Pro @ f2 1/60 6mm (83mm equiv) ISO 500

Photographed 9/18/21

Apple iPhone 12 Pro @ f2 1/55  6mm (141mm equiv) ISO 500

Photographed 9/18/21

Fito

Jamming out amongst the diners at Taboo, a new restaurant in Cancun, it was unclear to me why Fito Raygoza wasn't more well known.  The guy was amazing.

Taken 1/26/20

Little Holland Wolf

Heard this guy playing on Michigan Avenue a mile from the Chicago Bluesfest.   He was good.  Wondered why he wasn't playing at the festival.  When asked, he said his leg is all messed up but in his day he played with Buddy Guy and Johnny Lee Hooker.  Couldn't find any info on him, so probably fed me a line of BS.  Nonetheless, he was a solid musician and it was worth the $2 I put into his bucket.

Taken 6/8/19

Jam Train

Pretty good musicians on a BART ride.
San Francisco, CA

Taken 8/2/17