Do you every feel like a tourist at home?

C

chocy

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Hey guys I have been thinking about this for a while.

I carry around Camera EVERYWHERE, even to super markets.
The thing is I live in NYC and when ever I carry my camera around I have this inescapable feeling that my fellow locals are staring at me like I am one of those tourists.

Any thoughts?
 
Happened to me a loooooong while ago. I stopped carrying the camera when I realized I was taking the same photos over and over.

Now, when I go to Chicago (which is only 65 miles East from my town), I don't mind looking like a tourist. :)
 
I know what you mean; I do the same..some times it does feel like it, some times it does not.
Depends on the locals; I found on this planet, I seem to get away with it for the most part :)
 
Now... is it a problem that you feel like a tourist, or that people assume that you are one?

In my case, I'd rather feel like one: then, everything's new...

Is that what you meant?
 
Never feel like one, but do get asked where I'm from. I then tell them that I'm just 15 mins away...
 
what's the feeling like without a camera? How can you feel like a tourist if you're never normal (i.e. without a camera)? Personally I'm happy not to feel like a tourist, a stranger, at home ...or maybe I just don't undersatand tourists .......
 
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funny you should bring this topic up, as when I was in NYC [with my camera, being a tourist] I got asked for directions quite a few times by Americans......... I am English and live in New Zealand.

Define a tourist as tourists don't seem to be able to!
 
If I don't carry a camera one time people in my city stop me and ask if I've forgotten to bring a camera to the supermarket / bank / cafe today.
 
Once when walking around in Tallinn's Old Town I got offered a book about Tallinn (my hometown). She asked in english, and for some reason I replied in english. Kind of a reflex. So yes I feel like a tourist when carrying a camera. Sometimes I dont like it and sometimes I dont care.
 
Looking like a tourist in your home city is good cover.
I just wish I could speak a few other languages to confuse the locals with and complete my disguise.
 
I wish I could feel like a tourist in my hometown. I find that when I actually am a tourist, I take more photos and better ones. I seem to see things as new and novel. My problem with having a camera with me always is bulk. Lately I have resorted to always putting a small P&S like the new Ricoh GX200 in my pocket all the time. Frankly I am in love with it.
 
What's the problem ? I also carry my camera on my shoulder everywhere (nearly literally), to work, supermarket, local grocery, taking kids off kindergarten..everywhere. Chances some people around indeed take me as probaly a foeigner, but I just don't care. The most improtant is that how I feel about myself and I'm pretty much comfortable with that. I got asked few times whether I'm a professional which was quite hilarious bearign in mind my old beaten up M3 hanging off my shoulder...

Having said that, I noticed I tend to take better images once being in less familiar environment...proably tahnsk to some kind of third-party side observation...
 
We get a lot of tourists here in DC, especially during the summer & other holiday seasons, so I'm often mistaken for a tourist.

As others have posted, sometimes it makes for a good cover, sometimes it's a PITA, but either way, not the end of the world.

As far as feeling like a tourist, I normally don't, but I do try sometimes. I agree w/SolaresLarrave: it's often nice to be able to see things in a new light. In fact, I 1st got into photography when I noticed that I only took photos when on vacation & realized that I could be doing the same @ home.
 
I find looking like a tourist and being in touristy places is an advantage when you're taking pics, because nobody looks twice. That's true where I live, which is packed with tourists from spring to autumn, and in most of central London, particularly places like Covent Garden, where more or less everyone is a tourist, and as long as you look generic and inconspicuous you can snap away with the rest of them.
 
I agree, especially when it comes to avoiding scrutiny from overzealous security personnel & police, something I'm sure you're familiar w/in London.

Steveh said:
I find looking like a tourist and being in touristy places is an advantage when you're taking pics, because nobody looks twice. That's true where I live, which is packed with tourists from spring to autumn, and in most of central London, particularly places like Covent Garden, where more or less everyone is a tourist, and as long as you look generic and inconspicuous you can snap away with the rest of them.
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Hahahahah........I always feel like a tourist.....I live in Bangkok and even though I live in a predominantly Thai neighborhood with very few foreigners and I know that most of the people that I see in the close vicinity of my apartment know who I am......I still feel like a tourist....the fact that I usually have a camera with me when I leave the house doesn't really help.....do I mind? NO.....even when I lived in San Francisco I would always carry a camera with me, so I can relate to the original post.....once again, it didn't really bother me....I am a photographer....I carry a camera.....I could care less what people think.......oh, one more thing....the King of Thailand loves photography, so...Photography is sooooooo cool in Thailand
 
SolaresLarrave said:
Happened to me a loooooong while ago. I stopped carrying the camera when I realized I was taking the same photos over and over.

Now, when I go to Chicago (which is only 65 miles East from my town), I don't mind looking like a tourist. :)
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I feel like a tourist sometimes, but could never eat a whole one :D

Seriously though, being a tourist is a great excuse for being seen but ingnored when taking pictures. Unfortunately for me, when I commute to London I have to wear a suit. Image a smart guy with a laptop bag trying to do street!
 
blazeicehockey said:
I feel like a tourist sometimes, but could never eat a whole one :D

Seriously though, being a tourist is a great excuse for being seen but ingnored when taking pictures. Unfortunately for me, when I commute to London I have to wear a suit. Image a smart guy with a laptop bag trying to do street!
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I've done exactly that a few times in London and blended in fine - if you're wearing a dark suit in the city you become semi-invisible I think. I suspect some people also assume you must be a surveyor/architect/designer taking pics for work reasons, so give it a try next time!
 
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