Thanks Montage and wiolka.

I took this shot in Venice Beach California last year. I guess some of our Los Angeles based members may recognise this guy.
Before I was interested in photography I visited Venice Beach and was amazed by the "Freak Factor". When I went back last year I was ready to capture it all. This place is honestly heaven for anyone interested in street/people photography. You could easily spend a whole day on the boardwalk just people watching. The ratio of freaks to non-freaks is pretty high!
Just beyond the group of guys in the centre of the shot is the beach. Not too far behind where I was standing is the street/shops/houses.
So I got to thinking, where does this guy put the piano at the end of the day? Does he live close by? Does someone store it for him? Who knows...He sits out here in the sun, in the middle of the boardwalk and knocks out tune after tune. Not on a guitar or violin, but a piano. I thought that was pretty cool.
I was so keen to get as many shots of this guy as I could I didn't notice the rather large tip jar on top of the piano until I looked at the photos after returning home.
The poor old guy was so accomodating to me and I didn't even tip him. I felt terrible.
Fortunately my boss was going to LA a week after I came home so I gave him $20 and said if he sees the guy at Venice then give him the cash. Well, he saw him, gave him the cash and everyone lived happily ever after. The End.

Thanks Montage and wiolka.

I took this shot in Venice Beach California last year. I guess some of our Los Angeles based members may recognise this guy.
Before I was interested in photography I visited Venice Beach and was amazed by the "Freak Factor". When I went back last year I was ready to capture it all. This place is honestly heaven for anyone interested in street/people photography. You could easily spend a whole day on the boardwalk just people watching. The ratio of freaks to non-freaks is pretty high!
Just beyond the group of guys in the centre of the shot is the beach. Not too far behind where I was standing is the street/shops/houses.
So I got to thinking, where does this guy put the piano at the end of the day? Does he live close by? Does someone store it for him? Who knows...He sits out here in the sun, in the middle of the boardwalk and knocks out tune after tune. Not on a guitar or violin, but a piano. I thought that was pretty cool.
I was so keen to get as many shots of this guy as I could I didn't notice the rather large tip jar on top of the piano until I looked at the photos after returning home.
The poor old guy was so accomodating to me and I didn't even tip him. I felt terrible.
Fortunately my boss was going to LA a week after I came home so I gave him $20 and said if he sees the guy at Venice then give him the cash. Well, he saw him, gave him the cash and everyone lived happily ever after. The End.

Thought I knew this place...

The piano is always out there, it belongs to one of the stores. Right now there's two guys that have been hogging it for the last few months.

Here's my shot of it. click around to see some other images from my recent trip to Venice.

http://blog.westernflatline.com/archives/5933_1999453276/197466