Sax Solo by Robert L. Verbeck
Photograph
14.5x18
 
When I composed this shot, my goal was to highlight the contrast between the street musician playing with all his heart and the seemingly impervious passersby by completely ignoring the beautiful melody. But remembering that music, and mediating on what I’ve learned in the years since, I realize that I was wrong about the meaning of my own picture. 

Carlos Santana once said, “When you play music, you bring light into darkness.” Reflecting on that day, it’s now obvious to me that while those pedestrians may not have been visibly reacting to what they were hearing, that music touched them, and whether they realized it or not, it brought them light and joy.
 
About Robert L. Verbeck:
I’ve been taking pictures since I was 10 years old, but for most of my life I saw the camera only as a tool to chronicle life as it was; trips, special occasions, family events, etc. (and as a tool for avoiding social interaction at such events). I admired the artistry of photographers like Ruth Orkin, Robert Frank, Duane Michaels, Elliot Erwitt, and Bernice Abbott, but saw what they did as if in a whole different universe from what I was doing or ever could do. Within the past two years, I’ve begun to view my camera and photographic eye as means of artistic expression, and while I feel slightly uncomfortable using the word artist to describe myself, I embrace that discomfort as part of this journey and I look forward to discovering where it takes me.
 
IG: @rlvfoto