Citysnaps

Jon the barber

One of the great things about wandering around San Francisco with a camera is bumping into different people from all walks of life. That’s what jazzes and energizes me. And that’s what makes it so I can never get enough street shooting. Emilio Bañuelos, one of the instructors in the workshop I participated in recently, likens it to taking vitamins. It’s something you do to recharge yourself and feel better.

I came across Jon playing with Kiki the dog and Michael, Kiki’s owner, about a month ago in Northbeach. Since I blogged about Kiki and Michael earlier, I figured it would now be good to introduce Jon. The three of them were hanging at a Northbeach cafe enjoying the afternoon and were great about having some photos taken.

Jon is a barber and cuts hair at a shop on 2nd and Mission where he’s been for 8 years. He also hangs out in Northbeach and plays guitar. I snagged a couple photos after posing him against a nearby wall. My photo-friend Jen who I was shooting with at the time photographed him full length with his guitar case in the context of the street.

The outcome was two different portraits. And now with prints to give him in the future, I think he’ll like how both turned out. I’ve blogged a couple times in the past about giving small prints back to subjects I expect to see again on the street. There’s always a bunch of 4×6 prints in my camera bag. For me, it’s always satisfying seeing how people react. It’s easy to do and costs almost nothing. But the rewards are great. It’s a small way of giving something back.

Not surprisingly, I ran into Jon again two weeks ago in Northbeach and chatted a bit. What was nice was he remembered me and then gave me a light-hearted ribbing on how I should be trimming my beard. Sometime in the future I’ll stop by his shop and let him take a professional whack at it – that might be a good trade for a print…