His appearance is as expressive as his music. We found him entertaining tourists in the gardens of St. Sophia’s Cathedral. I made this portrait of him during a break in the music using a 350mm focal length to blur the background and stress the detail in his hair and face, shooting him in profile to match the curves of the face to the shape of the instrument. His furrowed brow and sad eyes give me the sense of a man who has lived his life with great passion. (But then, what artist doesn’t?)
Update, April, 2013: While visiting the Phoenix, Arizona, Musical Instrument Museum, I saw a video of this very performer. I learned that his name is Stepan Shcherbek, and that he plays a Bandura, a Ukrainian plucked string folk instrument, combining elements of a box zither and a lute. You can hear and see a You Tube Video of him playing this instrument at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUOk-3wcNro