Yes I am. I miss many shots as a result. And also as a result, where possible I make a point of shooting with medium telephoto lesnes. This has two advantages. It means I do not have to be "in my subject's face" when I take the shot. And it means I can shoot wide open to minimise depth of field. (Obviously the latter also leads to some shots being lost but that is the price I pay, I guess.)
On the subject of street performers objecting to having thier photos taken, I have only ever had two performers object. Strangely both were violinists. Apparently violin playing is far too serious a pursuit for such frivolity :^) (Which kinda begs the question, why are they doing it in the street and why have they got a hat on the pavement hinting at the need for passers by to put money in it.)
Apart from violinists, its seldom a street performer objects, especially if you do drop a few toekn coins in their hat first.
I have seen some New York street pros shooting with W.A. lenses literally a couple of feet away from their subjects' faces. That may be OK for the big apple but its not for me. (How on earth do you get a natural shot of someone when you are being that invasive?) Perhaps that is not what they want.
