The Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000

On Sunday, May 18, 2008, Ryan and I walked to the U District neighborhood near the University of Washington. The annual U District Street Fair was taking on place on “The Ave;” it occurred to me that this would be a great opportunity to do some people watching so I brought along the D300. I’ve left out the usual camera/exposure information I normally publish on this blog. Every single image here was made in Program Exposure mode on my Nikon D300 with the 18-200mm VR lens. I used a lot of automatic settings so I could quickly grab snapshots on the fly—turning this big DSLR into a fancy point-n-shoot.

I will always respect anyone that wheels a real piano out onto a street and starts playing it. This guy gets bonus points for doing this on a hill; points were also awarded for that flowing gray mane of hair.

These guys setup on the sidewalk and despite their passion, had hardly anyone watching them. It’s ashame because these guys probably spent a lot time practicing in their dorm room.

Here’s an unlikely candidate for “Bluetooth Guy.” I just pray he did not contaminate his headset with salmonella by quickly pressing the “talk” button after cracking eggs.

This is one member of a 13 or 14 piece band. I’m not sure how many people were actually in the band since the guy selling t-shirts also periodically played some shakers and a woodblock.

The Seattle Atheists tent is right next to the Republicans. [Insert pithy comment here.]

These dudes were disgusting. Yes, dudes. I do not know what else to call guys who eat worms, cut themselves and then staple the dollar bills they receive as tips to their chests. This was hard to watch, but I could not resist grabbing a photo.

For some reason these street-performer types are always a little unsettling to me. This woman had this guy dress up in that ridiculous leotard and then she started ripping phone books with her hands. Don’t panic just yet—I’m sure she recycled the phone book.

How awesome is this guy’s vest? Although if he were to come over to my house, I’d politely ask him to sit on a stool.

What impresses me most about this musician is that somebody actually felt it was necessary to write “ALUMINUM” on a piece of tape and stick it on the bass. Maybe he was asked the obvious question one too many times.

I have a Kyser Capo just like the guitarist in this picture. Even though I do not smoke, I’m considering lighting a cigarette and jamming it in the capo when I play.

For those of you not from Seattle, the S.L.U.T. t-shirt is not a vulgar reference to a promiscuous woman; rather, it’s the short-lived acronym of the South Lake Union Trolley. Would a guy this serious about hackey-sack really be so profane? I doubt it. Also, I love the suspicious look on the face of the girl eating the sno-cone.

Mmm mmm mmm.

Had I practiced the trumpet a little more, this could’ve been me in 30 years.

Only in Seattle. I’ve seen this guy driving around my neighborhood for quite some time now. I’m pretty sure this is a Corbin Sparrow Electric Car.