And again i couldn't shoot...

[nomade]

I was walking around this afternoon, and @ a tramway stop i saw her face (well im' a girl and don't u even try to think of it this way 😀 ), she looked so confused, worried, in the same time careless, she ahd this special look, it'd have been a marevellous b&w portrait...

But as i didn't know her, and since the camera was in my bag not in my hands, i felt that this would drag her attention and she will certainly give me her back...But hse was great, i waited and waited and waited to be unnoticeable and the moment never came...We got on the same tram and then i kept on staring the image was already printed right there in my head...

Then i was working on a magazine, we had a meeting and the reflections were great, i had an enormous desire to take a shot, all was in my brain, but can i get a print for that???

I'm pretty shy in this matter, and i've wasted many shots like that, of course seeing is a special experience itself, but how about a souvenir, something to deliver, something to share and transmitt this experience. :bang:

 

[TPPhotog]

Ahhhhh The torment of the photographer 😉

Btw ... like what? As if 😀

 

[nomade]

Btw ... like what? As if 😀

Not what u've in mind at least 😛 😀

 

[TPPhotog]

Who? Me ? awwwwwwww 😛 LOL

 

[xcapekey]

just do it...swoosh

in all seriousness, i've had the same problem too...you're almost to the point of curing it though...you have to get to the point where you HAVE to take the photo, otherwise it causes mental and physical anguish...

have the camera in your hand and clear your mind and shoot when you feel like it...give yourself the permission to do it.....what you want is to make it an instinctual response, something that you don't even think about...

when i walk around the camera is always in my hand and i automatically set the exposure and have it prefocused at 10 feet, so when i come upon a subject i can decide quickly if they are closer or further than ten feet and turn the focus accordingly...

i'm also measuring things mentally (that person there is 15ft away...a few more seconds and they'll be 10ft...or that person on my left is 5ft away) and adjusting the focus on the lens by feel (the great joy of lenses with tabs)...i know by feel exactly where 3ft 5ft, 10ft and 20ft is on all my lenses, so when the time comes all there is to do is frame and shoot...

 

[Doug]

Being physically ready to shoot overcomes a lot right there, as it becomes so easy to just bring up the camera and depress the shutter. Being psychologically prepared to confront a strange person with your camera is something else! Here's a webpage that might help:
http://www.pinkheadedbug.com/techniques/index.html

 

[Roger Hicks]

Why was the camera in the bag?

Cheers,

Roger

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Now I know why the Tessina has a wrist-watch style strap. In the 60's few could have mistaken it for a wristwatch. These days I'll just tell them its a GPS unit with a built-in spring-wound generator.

 

[f/stopblues]

I have this same problem but it's gotten better. It was especially hard with my slr, so the first thing I did was strip it down to a 50mm lens, took the strap off, took the vert grip off, and most importantly, kept it in my hands with the power ON. That's what led me to rangefinders in the first place. It helps a bit but its still a tough mental barrier to point a lens at someone. I suppose like anything, its just something you have to take the uncomfortable step towards. I tried to start in places I'm more comfortable with, shooting people that I'm comfy around but still being in public, such as people my own age in social atmospheres. Just last night I shyed off a photo of a group of four well-dressed adults that I'm still kicking myself for! That was with the Canonet in hand, ready to go. What a chicken! If I had captured all the photos I've tucked my tail for, I'd have an amazing portfolio!

Chris

 

[TPPhotog]

If your worried about shooting strangers try shooting from the hip. When the confidence isn't there you can take a punt at the shot and with practice get some really good results.

Keeping the camera in your hands and ready to shoot I think is one of the musts with street shooting.

 

[nomade]

Thanks guys, that was very helpfull...

Actually the camera was in my hands, but since the handstrap was too old and the camera is really big and ehavy, and i'm an absent minded person, i can drop it easily, so puttin it was a safety measure, but u r right, if the camera was in my hand , half of the problem is already gone...

It really helps to find someone who had and is still having this, to share his experience...Sometimes when a problem repeats, u need someone to tell u that's normal, u just need to cross that barrier and that's it, once u put ur leg into the water, it's no longer scary...

xcapekey, this is an important advice, and i've another problem btw, my fed is old and it's hard to feel the focus, now i'm training on estimating the spaces between each stop and the other (specially with log scales) and this is tiresome...I always have to check, even if i got it right, i've to make sure. I think i'll try that anyway, give it some estimation, that's good...

f/stopblues, i've never regreted anything or any decision i took or i didn't in my life, except for taking photos, the images r still in my mind, and i'm goin mad :bang:

One thing I have learned is that being inconspicuous is way over-rated. These days I stand in the middle of the street and shoot, sometimes with a big old strobe, sometimes with a 4x5 press camera. People simply don’t react if they think you’re meant to be there.

That's a quote from the url u gave me Doug, it perfectly works, i was carrying my camera, stopped in the middle of the street to shoot a statue, people at 1st took a deep look, and then the camera was unfamiliar, so it looked like my profession shooting for a mag or something, and then i took many shots afterwards, and no one bothered...

I'm feeling much better now..

 

[Doug]

It really helps to find someone who had and is still having this, to share his experience...Sometimes when a problem repeats, u need someone to tell u that's normal, u just need to cross that barrier and that's it, once u put ur leg into the water, it's no longer scary...

Glad to hear you're feeling better about it now! But I think the problem never really goes away; it just gets easier to overcome it the more you do it. For some reason it's all too easy to rationalize why you don't walk over to an interesting someone and just click away! I find it easier to approach people who know or at least recognize me, so there's an easier clientele to start with. Good luck! 🙂

 

[nomade]

Yeah at least i don't feel that bad about myself anymore...😀 I was shooting around in my school today, maybe enxt time i do some street shooting i'll be bolder..