Invest In Me, a photo from Nottinghamshire, England

Photographer's Note

Invest in Me

Well, I quit my job down at the car wash,
Left my mama a goodbye note,
By sundown I’d left Kingston,
With my guitar under my coat,
I hitchhiked all the way down to Memphis,
Got a room at the YMCA,
For the next three weeks I went huntin’ them nights,
Just lookin’ for a place to play,
Well, I thought my pickin’ would set ’em on fire,
But nobody wanted to hire a guitar man.

Guitar Man – sung by Elvis Presley
(words & music by Hubbard)

There’s been more than one music star who has started out doing this on the street. Every penny in the hat keeps food in the belly and helps that dream along towards reality for that ‘one in a thousand’ musicians. This was a cold Nottingham night but that didn’t prevent this guy playing some great tunes and attracting regular investment in his future. So responsible to stand outside the Halifax (Building Society) – he should have had a sign up – ‘saving for a house’ – but then that’s not the dream – the dream is where not having a house can take you.

bantonbuju, Vicky, don_narayan, Fixfocus has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

jinju (14265) 2006-02-23 3:35

Kev,

you fill the frame with such a nice array of symbols. The investment company whose doors are shut to him. The pathetic collection of loose change in his case and what I imagine is a large amount of cash handled in transactions behind the doors. Even the man entering the frame, which could be a nuissance in the composition works due to what he is carrying. The ubiquitous cardboard box, sort of a symbol of being on the down and out and on the street. Sad as that may be what he sleeps in while the company builds homes. Well seen compo Kev.

Furachan (0) 2006-02-23 3:56

You have to be one of the wittiest memebrs in all of TE, Kev, and it'S always a gentle humor, you know, compassionate like.
And let's not, whatever else we do, forget about the shadwoy business figure dashing into the frame from the right...
Nice job, Mr Ryan!
Best,
Francis

Vicky (1446) 2006-02-23 6:10

I echo all the above, Kev, the symbolism is not lost on me either... It is a very well composed shot and asks more questions than it answers....good note too. I also like the reflection of the two people in the glass and the slight "tilt" makes it surreal somehow. Well done. Best wishes, Vicky

bantonbuju (51815) 2006-02-23 6:33

"the dream is where not having a house can take you" - i often ask this "revolutionary" question myself, but slightly in a different way: "how would you feel about quitting this corporate world, where would this take you? into some sort of a personal freedom, maybe?";
you play an important role on te, kev - every day you send messages or ask questions which make us stop for a moment and think about the life;
i appreciate what you do;
best wishes, j.

don_narayan (2014) 2006-02-23 11:48

Hi Kev. Well seen shot with the wording of the windows and the younger trying to make some money... he is asking to invest in him, but also youth in general. A very clever shot, nice work.

Narayan

Fixfocus (9385) 2006-02-23 14:03

Hi Kev,
Great how you build a story out of the musician and the symbols behind him.Excellent night and sreetlife shot.The man in the right corner is a wonderful detail.
Greetings,
Hermann

maki (0) 2006-02-24 5:55

Hi Kev,
Interesting street scene with all those symbols and a young musician. Nice cropping and the story about people who want to be famous, rock - stars. I play the gitar too and I'm still dreaming about big stadium full of people and me with my band... Very loud music is something what I like. :o))) Regards. maki

verde (957) 2006-02-24 11:34 [Comment]

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pwelliott (216) 2006-03-06 17:17

I took me a while to begin to understand what you are doing or what I think you are doing in your photos. After looking in succession at all of your photos I began to see stories and it all started to make sense. I have really come to admire how you capture so much information in a shot. Your photos have made really look beyond the aesthetic pleasantness of a shot and start to look for the underlying meaning if any the photographer had in taking the picture. It has made me question why I find some of my own pictures interesting and whether or not I was even thinking when I took it. I look forward to learning from you and trying to better understand how I can graft some of this into my own photography.

Thank you for sharing,

Philip