hairy_paperclip
Member
this is a biggie when it comes to cameras in public places, and i find no better place to look than a forum website for the most well known (and time-tested) discrete camera of them all . . .
so please provide any suggestions when it comes to using your camera while disturbing others in the least way possible!
so please provide any suggestions when it comes to using your camera while disturbing others in the least way possible!
Spider67
Well-known
Any camera with a waistlevel finder or a small fixed lens RF like the Olympus 35 RC
peterm1
Veteran
For certain types of photography I will avoid using a rangefinder and instead use an SLR with a 200mm autofocus lens. Easy then to get tight crops of interesting faces from across the road.
teo
Well-known
TLR or 35mm with a waist finder make too for inconspiciusness... people don't think they're pointing at them, just fiddling with your resting camera....
(I love the Nikon f3 - waist finder - nikkor 20mm combo)
The same with digicams with tilting screen, you can pretend you're just reviewing you photos....
(I love the Nikon f3 - waist finder - nikkor 20mm combo)
The same with digicams with tilting screen, you can pretend you're just reviewing you photos....
R
RML
Guest
Just be there and shoot. People will notice you but soon will accept you as part of the "furniture". Stealth and secrecy don't go well with most people when they "catch" you.
BillP
Rangefinder General
RML said:
RML is absolutely right.
There are other factors before the size of the camera becomes an issue.
Dress to blend in - look like you belong
Move slowly, or not at all
Do not act suspiciously
Do not stare
Do not stalk
Be confident - you are doing something natural, and not wrong, or unlawful
Be friendly - smile if someone notices you
Your camera is what, 5% or less of your total body mass? Get the other bits right first, then worry about what to carry.
Regards,
Bill
Spider67
Well-known
That topic comes up rather often. We sjould either write a sticky post or a "hands on manual for discrete, stealthy & unobstrusive photography"
1. Choice of camera...could be important I remember taking pics in a church when neither asking nor using flash or a "loud" camera would have been an option. If taking pics in a church is appropriate is another matter. Anyway a small fixfocus RF ususally tends to be lighter, so you won't have the feeling of dragging around to much.
2. Blending in. Recommended but very much depends on what kind of person you are. Managed to blend in with a chess playing crowd in a park, by simply having a chat with another spectator. Another time I courteously asked was not allowed, could have made the pics nevertheless with my TLR bur was rather to appalled by some of thge people to make those pics.
3.Stealth and secrecy: In my opinion a matter of mindset. When you behave like a guiltladen stealer of souls....but now it starts to get mushy and a bit of "Listen grasshopper" gibberish.
Anyway some photobooks of old would have provided with much advice that had to be handled as if chisled in granite: "You have to use a fixed RF.....for blending in always wear a suit and a tie but avoid pinstripes.....stealth is to be avaided therefore always as politely by tipping your head and handing over you card which shoul be printed in bold type...." etc.
1. Choice of camera...could be important I remember taking pics in a church when neither asking nor using flash or a "loud" camera would have been an option. If taking pics in a church is appropriate is another matter. Anyway a small fixfocus RF ususally tends to be lighter, so you won't have the feeling of dragging around to much.
2. Blending in. Recommended but very much depends on what kind of person you are. Managed to blend in with a chess playing crowd in a park, by simply having a chat with another spectator. Another time I courteously asked was not allowed, could have made the pics nevertheless with my TLR bur was rather to appalled by some of thge people to make those pics.
3.Stealth and secrecy: In my opinion a matter of mindset. When you behave like a guiltladen stealer of souls....but now it starts to get mushy and a bit of "Listen grasshopper" gibberish.
Anyway some photobooks of old would have provided with much advice that had to be handled as if chisled in granite: "You have to use a fixed RF.....for blending in always wear a suit and a tie but avoid pinstripes.....stealth is to be avaided therefore always as politely by tipping your head and handing over you card which shoul be printed in bold type...." etc.
ClaremontPhoto
Jon Claremont
I don't even try to dress like the people around me.
Not possible, all my clothes are hand made by a zany textile artist. So when all my neighbors are wearing drab knits I'm wearing the glittery orange sweater.
Never does me any harm in my photography
I'm still eyeing up some high visibility jackets that a local store has for people working on the highway and such. It would make life safer when standing on the road photographing people on the sidewalk.
It's not how you dress it's how you behave.
Pick up the camera and use it like you've got a perfect right to use it as much as they have a right to chew gum.
And be careful out there.
Not possible, all my clothes are hand made by a zany textile artist. So when all my neighbors are wearing drab knits I'm wearing the glittery orange sweater.
Never does me any harm in my photography
I'm still eyeing up some high visibility jackets that a local store has for people working on the highway and such. It would make life safer when standing on the road photographing people on the sidewalk.
It's not how you dress it's how you behave.
Pick up the camera and use it like you've got a perfect right to use it as much as they have a right to chew gum.
And be careful out there.
bmattock
Veteran
RML said:
I agree. I also do not like feeling 'sneaky' like I should not be there or should not be doing what I am doing.
Fortunately, people have a built-in defense mechanism that allows them to cope with crowds and lack of personal space that big city living brings. They shutter out as much as they can - they just don't 'see' a lot of what is happening - they subconsciously filter it out, and only react to things that are dangerous or unusual enough to draw their attention.
For me it is a mental attitude. I am there to do work. I am working. People do not bother (or notice) a person at work.
Clearly, that also means low-profile so as not to attract undue attention. As others have said - fixed-lens rangefinder with a leaf shutter (I'd say TLR, but these days I think they are outlandish-enough to attract attention on their own). You can zone-focus if you have enough light for reasonable DOF at the distances you'll be working, which reduces the amount of time you are aimed at one person or group or event.
I am also ready with a smile and a nod if anyone looks up and notices me. Again, not a nod of apology or 'oops you caught me' guilty expression but rather a friendly 'hi there; just doing my job, thanks' and move on.
Whatever happens, I try not to break my concentration or my 'work mentality'. Just keep working.
If I were walking down a city street talking on a cell phone, everyone would ignore me. I'm blending in. If I had a worker's uniform on and was pushing a broom, same thing. When I have a camera with me, it's out and visible. I'm *doing something* and I become invisible. I'm not a threat, I'm not out of the ordinary, I don't break through people's conciousness. At least, I try not to.
It's a form of camoflage, if you will. I find it more effective than trying to hide or disguise what I am doing.
A study was done a number of years ago, as I recall, about public awareness. Students dressed as panhandlers begged for change in a public street in a major city. Another group asked for a specific amount, without saying what it was for. The group that asked for a specific amount got double what the group just asking for money got - and usually they got more than the specific amount they asked for. The summary conclusion was that by asking for a specific amount, the students in the second group broke through the 'wall' that people put up when they are out in public that allows them to deal with crowds and lack of personal space. The group that just asked for money didn't get many people's attention - they were 'invisible' to most.
So be invisible.
BillP
Rangefinder General
In one of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books Douglas Adams introduced the concept of an "SEP Field"
SEP in this case stands for "Someone Else's Problem" - he postulated that if you could effectively render yourself invisible if you gave off the air of being somebody who should be ignored.
Henceforth I shall conduct all my street photography dressed as a "Big Issue" salesman.
Regards,
Bill
SEP in this case stands for "Someone Else's Problem" - he postulated that if you could effectively render yourself invisible if you gave off the air of being somebody who should be ignored.
Henceforth I shall conduct all my street photography dressed as a "Big Issue" salesman.
Regards,
Bill
BillP
Rangefinder General
sitemistic said:So, Bill, are you saying I should stop wearing my Leisure Suit to parties?
Not if you are attending a party on a Council estate in Essex...
Regards,
Bill
bmattock
Veteran
BillP said:
This also explains why the Naked Cowboy gets around in NYC.
http://www.nakedcowboy.com/n_images/pics2.htm
Oh no, wait, it doesn't. Oh well.
Sean Moran
Established
Be discreet (not discrete).
Sean
Sean
hairy_paperclip
Member
Spider67 said:
That was the basic idea of the post. there have been many situations where i've been afraid to take a shot because either i felt like i may just get in the way, or otherwise flat-out punched in the nose. I realize many others have this prblem, its great to have some collaboration addressing the topic.