Eastern Market...The answer to life, the universe and everything

Well, at least it was for me on Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010. As I'm sure we've all heard by now - ad nauseum - Sunday was 10/10/10. Or, if you prefer: 10-10-10. Or, one more time: 101010, which, strangely enough, is 42 ... in binary. Hence the title of this post.

["Please Lord," he prayed silently but fervently, "don't let me be the only one who gets the joke."]*

It was bright and sunny so I decided to head out with the camera, brave the Orange and Blue line shutdowns, and take some pictures. But where should these pictures be taken? Well, Eastern Market on a Sunday is, as Goose once said, "a target-rich environment." Photographically speaking, of course.

Instead of boring you to death with 10 or 15 pictures, I've picked out just six today to tantalize you and direct you to my Flickr photostream for the rest (there's 23 more).

Warning! Photographic knowledge ahead! Warning! Unlike the pictures here, (OK, the last set I put up) Sunday I was experimenting with very, very big apertures, f/2.8 generally speaking. What this does is pick a point in space and focus on it and other objects not at that point are going to be out of focus. This is especially fun when you're shooting faces in a crowd and you want just one to be ... well ... the focus of the picture. I tried that a bit here, hope you like them.

Have you ever noticed how many people are selling mirrors at Eastern Market on Sundays? I sometimes feel as if I'm about to be interrogated for a crime I didn't commit. Anyway, in this picture, I think I managed to get parts of four different people reflected in five mirrors.

These guys were playing some fantastic bluesy guitar music. I would have hung around longer, but some woman passed out right next to them and that was my signal to exit stage left. This is a good example of a very shallow depth of field. The player in the background is in focus, but the hands of the closer one are not.

Please note, if you will, the sweet smell of success there on the right. If that doesn't do it for you, perhaps the wet kisses in the middle are more your speed.

These almost make me wish my nephew was still in onesies. But he's not, he's four and more fun to play with anyway.

This woman's face jumped out of the crowd at me. I don't know why, perhaps it's because it seems like although she's surrounded by people, she's created her own space.

And, remember, remember the sixth of February (hmmm, not as catchy as "the fifth of November..." but it'll do). That tan-and-orange hat on top of the pile on the right? It's got a fringy 'fro thing going on. I almost bought it.

For more pictures, go to my Flickr page. Or you can click on the link over there on the right side of the page.

*The answer to life, the universe and everything is 42. If you don't know that, go read a book.