Photographing in public & feeling like an idiot

wgerrard said:
Yep, that's it. I didn't see the clues about it being part of a chain until I was inside. The weather was nasty, I was looking for the cathedral, and cold and wet after walking from the station. Countering the waiter's shenanigans was the couple at the next table: An elderly mother and her daughter who made it into their third drink while they were studying the menu, then ordered two bottles of wine.

Anyway, next trip I'll avoid Café Rouge.

I typically use the "blunder in" approach to finding a restaurant when I'm traveling. Results are decidedly mixed.
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English cooks and Parisian service. You might as well eat your Tri-X instead.
 
I like it. Sometimes, while I'm focusing or considering whether to trip the shutter, someone comes along and peeks at what I'm focusing on... A little like the famous trick: stop your walk in the middle of the sidewalk and look up; it won't take long before someone stops next to you and tries to figure out what it is you're looking at...
 
SolaresLarrave said:
I like it. Sometimes, while I'm focusing or considering whether to trip the shutter, someone comes along and peeks at what I'm focusing on... A little like the famous trick: stop your walk in the middle of the sidewalk and look up; it won't take long before someone stops next to you and tries to figure out what it is you're looking at...
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Or picks your pocket. Depending.
 
SolaresLarrave said:
I like it. Sometimes, while I'm focusing or considering whether to trip the shutter, someone comes along and peeks at what I'm focusing on... A little like the famous trick: stop your walk in the middle of the sidewalk and look up; it won't take long before someone stops next to you and tries to figure out what it is you're looking at...[/QUOTE]



my daughter and I have done that in art galleries, stop … look intently at a fire extinguisher or suchlike, pretend to look it up in the catalogue … then wander off when someone else takes an interest.

works better in the Tate than the National, once had 5 or 6 people looking at a electrician’s toolbox in Tate Liverpool
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I took a photo of a drain cover in San Diego zoo that was labelled mad in India. I was with my wife and toddler kids. My wife thought/knows I'm crazy. Probably would've done it alone, too -- and if anyone had approached me asking what I was doing I would've pointe out the oddness of a metal plate labelled Made In India. If you're interested in your photography then don worry. If someone asks, and you have the inclination, be nice and point out the interesting feature. It'll may help your photography if you focus your thinking and emotions in addition to your lens. It'll also make it easier for the next photographer. People might snicker and pass by, buy who cares. You'll be out of their thoughts in a second: don't give yourself that much importance! 🙂
 
Gary Sandhu said:
I took a photo of a drain cover in San Diego zoo that was labelled mad in India. I was with my wife and toddler kids. My wife thought/knows I'm crazy. Probably would've done it alone, too -- and if anyone had approached me asking what I was doing I would've pointe out the oddness of a metal plate labelled Made In India. If you're interested in your photography then don worry. If someone asks, and you have the inclination, be nice and point out the interesting feature. It'll may help your photography if you focus your thinking and emotions in addition to your lens. It'll also make it easier for the next photographer. People might snicker and pass by, buy who cares. You'll be out of their thoughts in a second: don't give yourself that much importance! 🙂
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That drain cover - labelled 'mad in India'...was it surrounded by 'crazy paving'? 😀
 
The Beatles summed it up best:

"Everywhere, people stare.
...
Hey, you've got to hide your love away."

When you listen to that song again, listen for the agony in his voice.

Having people look at you oddly can be painful. It happens.

When I'm out and see another photographer, it brings me joy and an instant smile. If they are taking pictures of bugs or street curbs, that's all the better. Other people can think they are nuts - I know they aren't.
 
My lenses can't focus that close, so I hafta pose the bugs and shoot wide angle.

But, I have been known to shoot the metal grates in the sidewalk through which grow ornamental urban trees.
 
nathanp said:
I'm just wondering, when out taking photographs, do other people suffer from feeling like a bit of a fool? I'm realising that I get quite embarrassed if people see me taking photos - especially if it's of something not widely thought of as being photogenic ("Why is that fool photgraphing a drain cover?").
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Not only do I not give a hoot, personally, but this has been a source of amusement and delight on several occasions. I'll never forget the ocassion when, for example, I was photographing some cigarette buts at the entrance to the Tate Modern. My wife had a grand time as she noted the disbelieving reactions and dropped jaws of some passers-by and overheard their remarks of incredulity; and I in turn roared with delight as she recounted the whole thing to me afterward.
 
I think the majority of people couldn't care less what we/you shoot. A few are interested in what's interested you and a very small minority actually laugh, make fun of you or think you're a weirdo.

Me, I'm so cool I don't care if I'm a geek...or am I so geeky I think I'm cool 😀

Either way it doesn't really matter - part of being a photographer is seeing things that others don't notice or seeing them in a way that others don't. Be proud of your ability and thrive on it.

I hope you find the 'confidence,' it's not meant to sound patronising, to just do your thing.
 
Boniface XIII said:
Not only do I not give a hoot, personally, but this has been a source of amusement and delight on several occasions. I'll never forget the ocassion when, for example, I was photographing some cigarette buts at the entrance to the Tate Modern. My wife had a grand time as she noted the disbelieving reactions and dropped jaws of some passers-by and overheard their remarks of incredulity; and I in turn roared with delight as she recounted the whole thing to me afterward.
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Perhaps she should have held a hat out to collect a few coppers for the starving "performance artist"!
 
Boniface XIII said:
Not only do I not give a hoot, personally, but this has been a source of amusement and delight on several occasions. I'll never forget the ocassion when, for example, I was photographing some cigarette buts at the entrance to the Tate Modern. My wife had a grand time as she noted the disbelieving reactions and dropped jaws of some passers-by and overheard their remarks of incredulity; and I in turn roared with delight as she recounted the whole thing to me afterward.
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The irony is very amusing 🙂
 
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