... is a canard. A few years ago I went out street shooting for the first time in, of all places, Paris. Where else to begin, right? On the Champs-Élysées, through side-street after side-street, neighborhood after neighborhood, it dawned on me that everybody had a camera. Either a small P&S or their phone. These technological advances have turned nearly everybody into, well, a reportage photographer. No other way to describe it. There is nothing unique about walking down the street and taking pictures anymore -- everybody does it.
Which, I thought, would actually aid in my covert task, but it didn't. Just the opposite, in fact. Whenever I pulled out my M6TTL, it became the most conspicuous object amongst a sea of tiny handhelds and cellphones. Two girls saw it and shouted "Leica!" because of its uniqueness. I was not expecting this. But the Leica M, supposedly valued because it allows the photographer to be discreet, is an extremely serious-looking piece of equipment in comparison to what everybody else is carrying. It is larger, heavier, and more imposing, as small as it it. You can't help but be noticed.
So, does anyone else find it difficult to disappear when out shooting with one? Or is this just me?
