Street/Life Photography : Missed photos

[snaggs]

Arggg.. I went a wandering with my M6 this morning, and found a great shot... and old tumbledown character house, with a old TV on the porch and two equally interesting people sitting there reading the newspaper..

But I bottled it! (chickened out), and didn't ask them if I could take their photos. Now Im determined next time to not be so shy! Anyone care to share their wealth of xperience on how to approach our "subjects" to ask permission?

Daniel.

 

[back alley]

no real secrets here, just ask.

really, i think you just need to be yourself, be friendly and open and just ask.
if they say no, just move on.
if they ask why, tell them.

offer them a print or ask if they have an email address and offer to send a file.

sorry i don't have anything more substantial.
joe

 

[Terence T]

And another thing, never try to sneak a shot. Fine if you don't get seen but it can sometimes turn nasty if you're caught.

 

[stet]

The one I hate is seeing a shot about to happen and knowing you can't get there in time to get it. Agonizing, because you see the best shot come and go.

The one I have in mind happened a few weeks ago, just up the block from my house. I was walking down a sidewalk, and down the block and across the street was a bench facing me, man in a nice brim hat reading the paper over one knee, one arm across the back. Coming toward me across the street I see a hipster-ish girl riding a bike, eyeing the corner. I know she's going to turn right in front of the guy on the bench, and even if I broke into a sprint, I'd never catch it.

Still agonizes me.

 

[peter_n]

I missed an unbelievable shot in Madrid three weeks ago near the Plaza Mayor. There was an older man and a woman sitting on wooden chairs in the street wearing some kind of traditional costume. To the left of the man a barefooted urchin was lying fast asleep on the pavement. It was really an amazing scene and would've looked great in B&W because the clothes the older couple were wearing had very saturated colors.

As I stood there fuming about the fact that I had used all the film in my bag about 5 minutes previously, up came a young guy with a girl and they surveyed the scene. He pulled what I think was a Bessa out of a bag, adjusted it, then the two of them walked quickly past the scene, he took a shot, then they both disappeared around a corner. Not only had I missed it but some other RF guy had got it! :bang:

Afterward, I wondered if the photog was David (Beniliam). He had longish hair and a very hoarse sounding voice. I think the day was Wed. April 27 at around 5:00pm in the evening. Aaaaaaargh!!

 

[sf]

missed shots

missed shots

The one that got away. . .

If I really think about it, that first missed shot is what really pushed me into photography. I missed it not for lack of permission, but for lack of a camera. After that, I swore to carry at least one camera with me, or at least in the car, from then on. I was in Seattle when I drove past an old gas station turned flower stand / condemned garage. Two old men were sitting out front wearing extremely oldtimer-looking overalls and hats. It was more than perfect. It was THE shot. I would have taken the shot first, then went up to them and explained my intentions and asked if I could keep the film. If they said no, I'd give it to them, otherwise, I'd have the shot and would not have risked losing the moment. Asking someone for permission is always a good idea, but sometimes it might ruin the feeling - sometimes better that the subject IS unaware of the lens. Shoot, then ask and prepare to leave the film behind for those shots that are REALLY worth it. For the others, go ahead and ask first. Photography should be fun. Anger and suspicion ruin the process.

 

[nwcanonman]

Well, if you're in the street and not on their property you don't need permission. I'd just smile, take the pick and if they looked "grumpy" I'd say "Beautiful Day today!" and keep walking.

 

[nwcanonman]

<snip>
As I stood there fuming about the fact that I had used all the film in my bag about 5 minutes previously, up came a young guy with a girl and they surveyed the scene. He pulled what I think was a Bessa out of a bag, adjusted it, then the two of them walked quickly past the scene, he took a shot, then they both disappeared around a corner. Not only had I missed it but some other RF guy had got it! :bang:

!

Oh Peter,
The photographers biggest sin. Not bringing enough film - and we all do it from time to time. 😛

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

It happens every day when you go out looking to see what's out there. I can remember many many incidents; one that I can tell without typing too much is where I had seen this beautiful woman completely engrossed in a book she was reading, in a coffee shop, by the window. I had just bought my 90 Elmarit-M a couple of days before so I was itching to try it. I did get a few shots, but there was only one good angle I could try; as I cautiously moved in, I thought it was good luck that a friend of mine was on the table I would need to be at. When I got there, a friend of his quickly moved between me and my shot, and loudly started talking in the otherwise quiet cafe, and the woman's attention was drawn towards us...and my camera. From that moment on she was aware of me so I could no longer take a candid. She wrapped up ten minutes later.

The light was right, the look was right, the pose was perfect, and she, well, she looked very very good. But that shot is just in my memory.

 

[cp_ste.croix]

When I think of all the brilliant shots I have missed for one reason or another I almost get sad, but then I realize that I am a far better photographer in my head than in reality anyways and I take comfort in knowing that at least i didn't butcher the perfect photograph...when I am ready it will be too. 🙂

 

[nwcanonman]

gabrielma,
Yes, hesitation gets us many times. Your description reminded me of this young lady, in a hospital waiting room.

 

[martyr]

Hell, I once had a guy come up to me and get nosey about my picture taking and I wasn't even taking pictures of people! I was taking pictures of a street sign in Lexington, Kentucky that said Bluegrass Ave. I'd only snapped off a couple shots before I had some old-timer in my ear barking at me, "What's all the picture takin' for?" Normally I wouldn't have minded the question but the tone this guy had as he came out of his shop really got to me. He wasn't happy that a guy with a camera was taking pictures out in the street in front of his store. Not sure where that was comin' from in him but I just told him it was for the high school year book and that seemed to satisfy his curiosities.

The moment that made me promise I'd carry a camera with me at all times from that day forward came while I was leaving work one day. As I turned the corner to head toward the parking lot I spotted a very strange piece of coincidental art...sitting on the edge of the sidewalk was a nasty old couch that I think grew there over night because it wasn't there the day before and was gone the next. Anyway, the couch was facing the street and sitting right at the edge of the curb AND there was a broken sprinkler shooting a stream of water straight up into the air dead center, directly in front of the the couch. I was beautiful. The light was perfect...magic hour...and I had no camera on me at all. Now I tend to carry two...my digi point-n-shooter and film-based RF of some kind. Frequently I see in my mind the various photographs I could have pulled from that scene and the stories they would spark as they hung on my wall.

 

[varjag]

To a dedicated street shooter this is bound to happen every other day. It frustrates me to no end when happens, but guess I have to live with it.

If that happens in a specific place that has a potential of re-occuirng the event I often come back there and spend some time waiting. Usually nothing happens, but sometimes I gratified with a deja-vu moment or an event totally different but not less interesting. That's the hidden magic of everyday life.

 

[Socke]

Yesterday I missed a shot :-(

I had a roll in one of my cameras which needed to be filled and so went to the market.
Walked around and took some mostly boring shots and when the roll was finished grabed some cheesecake and walked back to my office.
On the way there was a man balancing a pot with blooming rhododendron on a fencing post with the broadest grin I've seen for some time.

 

[Zorkiiglaza]

Never Enough Film!

Five years ago when I was in Kazakstan I took a drive in the mountains to get the last snowy landscapes of the year. It also happened to be "Naruse" New Years Celebration for the small village (collective farm).
We stopped on the way back and were invited in. We watched the festivities and ate some great food
I had 7 rolls of film b/w. slides and also 35mm and 6 x 6 with me.
I left 2 hours later without a single unexposed frame.
I could have easily used another 3 or 4 rolls of film! :bang:

 

[RML]

Hey, I know that feeling! Not enough film... dang, if making photos isn't hard enough already! And then you have to keep track of silly things like "enough film"! I'm going digital soon, and yes, I already bought me an 80 GB image tank AND 2 spare batteries. 🙂

 

[Doug]

Yeah, "have a camera" is the first rule! The other day I was driving on a city street when I spotted a tall lanky gal standing on the sidewalk in front of a hair salon talking on a cell phone, with her hair all spiky with curlers and such... looked a fright, as they say. Magnificent! I could have doubled back and found a place to park, but I didn't even have a camera with me. 🙁

 

[jon_flanders]

Sometimes you miss a shot because you weren't there. But in during the contra war in Nicaragua in 1983, my wife was there, with my OM 1, and she didn't miss this one.

Wish I had taken it. Which I suppose might be another thread.........

 

[taffer]

Yes, I've missed many 🙁

Sometimes for not having a camera, sometimes for having too many, some others for not having film/batteries/cf card, others for not being fast enough, others for being too fast on a scene and miss something that would have been better, others for not being close enough, others for being too close, others for trying things (ie hip shots) that end with a disaster composition, others for being too shy/chicken and etc etc etc

But sometimes you hit, and as long as a single hit makes you so happy and excited about it all as the first day and you're not afraid of going out there again and keep doing it trying to learn from your previous mistakes then I'd say you're on the way of enjoying it, and having fun, and as long as you're having fun, you really don't need any other reason to keep doing it.

And we're all on this for fun, ain't it true ? 😎

 

[peter_n]

Great pic by jon_flanders' wife! Congrats! 🙂