Listening to music while photographing in public

[ClaremontPhoto]

...my instinctive reaction is dangerously strong: I'd read such behaviour as rude, arrogant, stupid and unforgivable.

If somebody approached me for street directions and s/he was listening to loud music and making faces that s/he could not understand me I'd send them in entirely the wrong direction.

 

[crawdiddy]

Fascinating thread, Simon. I've never thought of it before, and now it's a technique I want to try.

 

[OurManInTangier]

My immediate reaction was that if you care about either music or people, you can't split your attention. Then I realized that (a) that's just saying I can't do it but (b) I feel so strongly about it that my instinctive reaction is dangerously strong: I'd read such behaviour as rude, arrogant, stupid and unforgivable.

This is not to say I am right, and you are wrong. But it is to say that you should be aware that others may well have the same reaction, and that (if they are less mellow than I) they may take those feelings out on you.

Tashi delek,

Roger

I actually think that this is a very reasoned and reasonable response, thank you Roger for looking beyond the initial gut reaction and seeing that there can/may be more to it than simply using earphones as a way to 'block out' people and the connection between people.

As I stated in my original post, listening to music works for me with some photographic subjects/events/opportunities but certainly not others. There appears to have been an assumption made that I 'plug myself in' and nonchalantly stick my lens in the faces of people that walk by without any interest in them, their activity or pertinent reason to take a picture. I believe that the images on my website and in the gallery here at RFF show that this approach is not something that I tend to engage in and that hopefully those images specfically of people show something of the moment that caused me to release the shutter. Other images, also taken on the streets but not necessarily of the kind most people associate as 'street photography' may show the kind of images I can take whilst 'plugged in,' and possibly only have taken because I was swept along by music and noticed something that may otherwise have been missed as I was not in the 'poetic' frame of mind that music can engender.

"Zoo-ing" is an odd description in so far as we all tend to understand that it relates to a lack of understanding, desire to engage or understand a person or group of people. However it is also a term that I think can be levelled at a vast number of 'street' photos posted on various internet galleries that show people going about their business but fail to show anything more than the snatched moment, often a moment showing nothing of any real relevance to those pictured or of any real 'moment.' However, to defend in some manner those 'failed' images, of which I have many; I would agree with Martin Parr when he said ( in an interview that I have forgotten the details of) that it is possible that a photographer should take the image even when they are unsure of the good taste, worthiness etc of it as this is best decided in the editing process with a cool head - where many images have been left in the neg sleeve by us all as we have thought better of it. I suppose I am trying to say that we go by our conscience and gut feeling in any one given situation, sometimes we only make the correct decision later when we are away from the event/moment and decide to 'sit' on an image.

I'd also point out, just to be clear, that I couldn't possibly listen to music whilst actually photographing for work, the work that I do requires that I speak and involve myself in what is happening even if remaining an observer. My original comment was only relevant to my spare-time wanderings - my fault for not being clearer😱

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

OMiT: Your perennial '50% off' is a modern classic street photo is a great photo and I am sure that you were not listening to The Pet Shop Boys at the time.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Simon,

I'm glad you didn't take it amiss. I can begin to imagine that in some situations, it works for you. I just can't imagine the same thing for me -- and as I say, some people may not be willing to imagine that it can work for anyone. The violence of my gut reaction is so great that it alarms even me, so I thought I'd better warn you about others who might feel the same.

The phrase 'in some situations' is of course of fundamental importance, as you make clear. And the rest of your analysis is excellent too.

Tashi delek,

Roger

 

[rpsawin]

Photographing while plugged in to music is utterly unimaginable to me. In the sort of work I do each and every one of your senses must be tuned in to what is going on all around. DELIBERATELY distancing yourself could be disastrous - not just for the work but for personal safety. Printing in the darkroom, or working on postprocessing is another matter. A top notch sound system in the darkroom can really transport you...

I second this one. Recently a young lad was walking from one meeting to another and took the opportunity to "plug in" while doing so. He paused at an intersection and then stepped off into.....a double dump truck and was crushed to death by the rear trailer.

We have had several instances of people being hit by trains while listening to music. While these are extreme cases they are not uncommon.

Bob

 

[peterm1]

Ourmanintangier, I agree with you. I often find that music puts me into a comptemplative state and can help in a major way with creative pursuits. Not to mention it helps block out distracting noises (and thoughts.)

I often use it at work. If I need to write at work then I plug my ear phones in and begin to compose. I am a senior policy person in what Americans would call a Governor's office (not sure what the UK equivalent is) and as you might surmise this demands ultra concentration at times as well as the ability to develop new ideas and approaches to difficult policy issues - Same goes for photography. The fact is music helps me concentrate when doing this and I am sure it does not detract from my photography or take my attention off the task - it mellows me and somehow adds to my ability to "see" photos.

Do not worry about the overly negative responses of some members. I have found that many people on this forum are very conservative and will often respond with undue negativity to new ideas and ways of doing things. (I am sure on the other hand that if Henri Cartier-Bresson did it it would be OK!) :^)

I myself am in the age group where this is common but try to avoid it by being open to other peoples' ways of doing things - after all. I may learn something!

PS At the risk of sounding wacky, I once had an experience of synethesia....seeing music! No I was not "on" anything. Well thats untrue. I was on a bus travelling home at the end of a long hard and tiring day. It was warm the sun was shining in the window but not too much to be uncomfortable, and I had my earphones in listening to something mellow and orchestral. Suddenly as I closed my eyes and began to drift, I "saw" the music in the form of waves of coloured light that flucuated and moved in time with the music. I opened my eyes with a start thinking I was dreaming and then closed them again and sure enough it came back. This kept up for the (too short) journey but I have NEVER had it back again - despite wishing I could turn the experience on. Its rare but some people experience it a lot. If music can do that there must be "channels" between the auditory and seeing centres of the brain. (Which is my point in the context of this thread.)

 

[DougFord]

I enjoy listening to music as I’m outside, going for a walk, with camera in tow.
My interactions with the people that I take pics of are mostly non-verbal anyway.
Having said that, it’s not uncommon for me to snap a pic or two while having a discussion with someone.
If there’s a perceived interest for verbal communication, I yank the ety’s and yak.
No big deal.

 

[Pablito]

Do not worry about the overly negative responses of some members. I have found that many people on this forum are very conservative and will often respond with undue negativity to new ideas and ways of doing things. (I am sure on the other hand that if Henri Cartier-Bresson did it it would be OK!) :^)

HCB did not do it because of the nature of his work. Is it "conservative" to live in the moment, to depend on your sense of hearing, smell, tact and taste to inform every move you make when you are photographing? "To feel your body working with you" (as HCB said), each breath, each step informed by your surroundings? This is a conservative concept? So where is the undue negativity? Your mileage may vary. Your creativity may feed off sensory deprivation and/or living in a altered state. That's certainly not a "new idea", the shamans in Mesoamerica were doing it long before the time of the Romans. Hey, many people in this forum would consider working in a Governor's office to be "very conservative". But hey, it's cool. You can sit in your office plugged in and your music can help you concentrate - I have no problem believing that. The brain functions in mysterious ways. But one thing is for sure - you wont be run over by a truck, or miss a great moment as you sit in your chair in your office writing. All I am saying is that for the particular type of photography I do, it would be counterproductive and dangerous to walk around plugged in and disoriented (which is how I personally feel when listening to music in the streets - I'm only saying this applies to ME). This addressed the original post non-judgmentally, I thought. You are of course free to do whatever sort of photography you like and do it plugged or unplugged, even drugged or undrugged! Hey I've got dear friends who can concentrate really well after indulging in copious amounts or marijuana. I wish that were the case for me... but I don't doubt them!

@emraphoto, can you define "colorful area"?

 

[Merkin]

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. If I am shooting in rural settings, or I am shooting architecture or just "random stuff" in town, I do listen to music. If i am shooting with a toy camera, I almost always listen to music, regardless of subject, mainly because the holga is so discreet, and i have good aim from the hip with it. If you are walking down the street with big can headphones on, incessantly whistling or humming, like I tend to do when I listen to music, people don't tend to notice the camera in your hand, and they prompty ignore you because you seem lost in your own little world. That is when I strike. On the other hand, If i am out with a RF, purposely shooting people, i prefer to not have headphones on, so I am more aware of my surroundings. This is as much for my safety as anything else.

 

[RichardB]

I much prefer to hear automobiles and buses that are about to impact me or what someone may be trying to tell me, like "get out of here"!.
I don't even listen to music or any radio while driving anymore.-Dick

 

[emraphoto]

defined

i spent about 10 years shooting in the downtown eastside of vancouver. i would call that a "colorful" area.

i just finished a project in the little burgundy and st henri neighborhoods of montreal. "colorful" indeed.

i am currently shooting a commissioned project in what's called the "old east" in london, ontario. a 'hood completely ravaged by crack, oxy, morphine, meth take your pick.

i essentially cut my teeth with a camera, a cd player (a few years back) and the downtown east side of vancouver. maybe that's what keeps me safe? i have spent a lot of time in these "colorful" 'hoods and i guess you just learn how to do things in them.

well, i am also 210-220'ish, covered in tattoo's from neck to wrists and look a tad scary to someone who doesn't know me. i guess that helps too.

 

[emraphoto]

ps. i tried the copious amounts of... wait, what were we taking about?

OH YEAH! didn't work for me.

 

[Tarzak]

Listening to music makes your Bessa R's shutter silent...