Hanging at the Tattoo Parlor, 6th Street – Austin, Texas

With the recent string of black and white portraits, I thought it was time to mix it up a bit. Color, a striking red, to jar the senses.

I’ve shot this tattoo parlor often, with its bright color and lights acting like a beacon on 6th street. But my previous images where more about the store and its striking color. This image, with a 50mm equivalent, is more about the people hanging out at the parlor. The rich red color is merely icing on the cake.

I like the symmetry with three groups of two. Dead center, two actively posing. Flanking the central group are folks just going about their business — strumming on a guitar or looking off into the distance. Certainly a lucky shot since I didn’t pose them. Just the one that I liked, out of a few a took — the benefits of rattling off multiple frames of a scene.

While I shot this during this year’s SXSW, a year ago, the store was central to a major Hollywood promotion. In 2016, it was transformed into Harley Quinn’s Tattoo Parlor for the then upcoming Suicide Squad movie.