Timmyjoe
Veteran
Could you share where you found this. I would love to read his thoughts.
Thanks.
Best,
-Tim
The world has changed Street Photography
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Could you share where you found this. I would love to read his thoughts.
Thanks.
Best,
-Tim
uhoh7
Veteran
http://erickimphotography.com/blog/...esson-can-teach-you-about-street-photography/
See #6
He was very sneaky. 🙂
I know that's a list with many cliches, but I think it's accurate in this case.
Now, one could argue: I can't shoot kids like he could! Note many of his kid shots are third world. The "creepo" paranoia is also much less in the third world today. But even then I think he was sneaky as often there are no adults in view.
Again it is possible to photograph kids with nary a bad look, if the context is right:
Moustache by unoh7, on Flickr
Leopard by unoh7, on Flickr
I got many smiles from these folks. Still of course a frown or two 🙂 And I was no HCB, with two bodies, 75 Lux on the M9 and 300/2.8 EDIF on the A7.mod
But in general, if you think it's hard in a crowded city, try random picture taking of strangers in a small town. The more people the easier.
Complaining about the fact people don't like it is pointless. But comparing ways to cope is useful.
fireblade
Vincenzo.
Fight fire with fire. I have had females, never males, approach me in a loud condescending tone that they think will give them some superiority. I have a standard reply in a louder tone, eyeball them and tell them to p!ssoff and get the f*ck out of my image.
I have no fear of what society thinks of me with a camera in my hand while i walk the streets my taxes paid for.
I have no fear of what society thinks of me with a camera in my hand while i walk the streets my taxes paid for.
DNG
Film Friendly
Love this answer.... shuts them down completely! and their ego that you where taking their picture.
Hsg
who dares wins
HCB would appreciate the surrealism of this shot where only one kid out of everyone is perfectly in focus.
DNG
Film Friendly
1: In Indianapolis, IN, USA, the downtown police are very friendly, and the one time I had couple complain to two cops near me that I had no right to take their picture without asking first. The officers both defended my rights as long they are on public property to take their photo.
2: I find random candid photos are less of a threat.. I may take a waist level or have my camera up to my eye and just keep it there after they have passed. It looks like I am waiting for them pass by before I take a picture.
3: If your inside a business, you are no longer on public property, and caution is advised. Most don't care, but some do... I have had no issues the few times I did take some photos (from the hip) in businesses. But, I don't burn through 10 images either in a very obvious way... one or two, and not obvious.
Jamie Pillers
Skeptic
John, I understand your point completely. But it also seems that paying credence to people's paranoia (paranoia whipped up by media that does so to make money) is the beginning of a very serious slippery slope. At the bottom of this slope is a society so restricted by legal walls that we become just another authoritarian-ruled close-minded society... we've got too many of those in the world already!
Samouraï
Well-known
This is the truth. If you're confident and move with purpose, you can get away with a lot. Or just act geeky. Both work.
Jamie Pillers
Skeptic
Dave, what was the justification of the boyfriend's attitude?
Jamie Pillers
Skeptic
Making a photograph in our public space is, essentially, expressing our American right to free speech. Period. If we're willing to give that right up, for any reason, we help push our society over the edge of a slippery slope that leads to one run by fear-based authoritarian rule. There are too many of those societies in our world already.
If you want to be polite and ask permission to make a photograph in public, or not make the photograph at all, by all means continue. But you need to ask yourself what would our society be like if EVERYONE behaved like that. What will we have given up? Look carefully at history.
If you want to be polite and ask permission to make a photograph in public, or not make the photograph at all, by all means continue. But you need to ask yourself what would our society be like if EVERYONE behaved like that. What will we have given up? Look carefully at history.
Rick Waldroup
Well-known
Here is how I do it and I have been using pretty much the same method for years and years. First, be confident. Your body language and posture tells volumes about you. If you sneak about, you look suspicious. It is rare when I shoot from the hip- I usually only do this if I simply cannot get the camera up to my eye fast enough.
I usually look through the viewfinder and shoot. If someone notices me and seems upset or a intrigued, I smile, walk over to them, hand them my card, and explain that I am a street shooter and I found them interesting enough to take a photo. Charm goes a long way. I then tell them that I will probably be posting the photo on my website and I tell them if they would like a copy of the picture, just email me and I will email them back a copy of it. This method works about 99% of the time.
The very few times it has not worked, I simply smile once again and walk away. And there have been only a handful of times that things really got weird, but still, it all seemed to work out. Maybe it is just me, I don't know, but I do not seem to have much problem in the streets. Also, I shoot with small cameras with relatively short, wide angle lenses, so that may be a factor. Could be I am just lucky?
I usually look through the viewfinder and shoot. If someone notices me and seems upset or a intrigued, I smile, walk over to them, hand them my card, and explain that I am a street shooter and I found them interesting enough to take a photo. Charm goes a long way. I then tell them that I will probably be posting the photo on my website and I tell them if they would like a copy of the picture, just email me and I will email them back a copy of it. This method works about 99% of the time.
The very few times it has not worked, I simply smile once again and walk away. And there have been only a handful of times that things really got weird, but still, it all seemed to work out. Maybe it is just me, I don't know, but I do not seem to have much problem in the streets. Also, I shoot with small cameras with relatively short, wide angle lenses, so that may be a factor. Could be I am just lucky?
lukitas
second hand noob
I may be wrong, and I am limited by the space I photograph, but I have seen the same thing as KShapero.
Others have described the problem better than I could. Since the peadophile scandals of the nineties, kids don't come on the streets unattended anymore, or very rarely.
I've had the accusing 'why do you take pictures?' in many forms and shapes. A guy on a bike once followed me for an hour because I had taken his picture. A 12-year old called the cops on me, because I had taken his picture while goofing around on a bicycle with a friend. Spent an hour explaining my rights and duties while surrounded by six cops. Today, a colleague (!) nearly made me miss my train (my job), because I'd tried to take a picture of him.
It isn't everybody, nor is it all the time, but it is a sorry state of affairs.
I try to find a healthy balance between being open and frank about the fact that I am taking pictures, and trying to hide the moment I am taking them. Often, I keep the camera away from my face, and concentrate on the subject. It sort of works.
I get photo's of kids :
I'll shoot while asking permission, before it can be denied :
And sometimes, I even catch the cops :
Cheers, Thanks for a thoughtful and relevant discussion.
Others have described the problem better than I could. Since the peadophile scandals of the nineties, kids don't come on the streets unattended anymore, or very rarely.
I've had the accusing 'why do you take pictures?' in many forms and shapes. A guy on a bike once followed me for an hour because I had taken his picture. A 12-year old called the cops on me, because I had taken his picture while goofing around on a bicycle with a friend. Spent an hour explaining my rights and duties while surrounded by six cops. Today, a colleague (!) nearly made me miss my train (my job), because I'd tried to take a picture of him.
It isn't everybody, nor is it all the time, but it is a sorry state of affairs.
I try to find a healthy balance between being open and frank about the fact that I am taking pictures, and trying to hide the moment I am taking them. Often, I keep the camera away from my face, and concentrate on the subject. It sort of works.
I get photo's of kids :
I'll shoot while asking permission, before it can be denied :
And sometimes, I even catch the cops :
Cheers, Thanks for a thoughtful and relevant discussion.
daveleo
what?
I didn't ask, but he said something like "we're hiding from him" or "we moved where he won't find us" or something like that. (This was 25 years ago.)
I about died when the kid said these things.
It was none of my business, as a classroom guest, so I didn't ask any questions.
f16sunshine
Moderator
kshapero
South Florida Man
Wow lots of different experiences and perspectives. This is obviously a real issue. Don't see it calming down anytime soon. Me thinks sadly.
uhoh7
Veteran
Love those lukitas. Light behind the cops really striking 🙂
Obviously I have nothing in common with HCB, for one thing I love landscapes. 😉 Nor to I pretend to be any good, except by accident. I just practice alot with varied techniques and lenses, and here and there is a shot I like.
And I feel bad when people disapprove. As a impulsive male, I fight the urge to use fireblade's technique. Charged confrontations bother me for days, so like others, I try to walk away. Long run it's better, and if you provoke the wrong person it could get you stalked and killed in this country.
I like hearing how others handle this issue, fireblade included, and the horror stories are interesting too 🙂
Nothing like a dangerous obsession. We are all free to hangglide too, but it may not end well LOL
Obviously I have nothing in common with HCB, for one thing I love landscapes. 😉 Nor to I pretend to be any good, except by accident. I just practice alot with varied techniques and lenses, and here and there is a shot I like.
And I feel bad when people disapprove. As a impulsive male, I fight the urge to use fireblade's technique. Charged confrontations bother me for days, so like others, I try to walk away. Long run it's better, and if you provoke the wrong person it could get you stalked and killed in this country.
I like hearing how others handle this issue, fireblade included, and the horror stories are interesting too 🙂
Nothing like a dangerous obsession. We are all free to hangglide too, but it may not end well LOL
lynnb
Veteran
I do think fear and suspicion is more prevalent now than prior to 9/11. That gave politicians a free ticket to play the fear card in order to have a more compliant population. That's political opportunism for you. Not that fear wasn't an understandable response. I remember full page media adverts showing a large grid of cameras, all identical except for one, with the caption "if you notice anyone taking suspicious photographs, call the police" or something like that. People became more wary of anyone they noticed taking photographs on the street after that.
Soon afterwards there was much media attention given to the sexual abuse of children in institutions and of paedophile rings. High profile inquiries were held, including a Royal Commission in Australia. Arrests frequently mentioned the seizure of large caches of photographs.
The combination of these two factors changed the perception of photographers in public where there appeared to be no immediately obvious explanation for taking photographs, such as being a tourist or taking snaps of your own kids. Most people aren't aware of this thing we call "street photography". They may see historic pictures of life in previous times but they don't make the connection that these were often taken by street photographers. They would probably be surprised to find their public art galleries contain street photography collections.
To add to all this there is the increasing unease about the explosion in public surveillance, mostly by government, in the name of security and public safety. Not just in images but also in tracking our digital signatures and trails, physically and online. People understand this is necessary but far from making them feel safer it makes them feel more threatened; a reminder of unspeakable terror like 9/11, 7/7 and Paris and an invasion of privacy, perhaps future opportunity to control lives by a more authoritarian State. In that context anonymity seems an escape, but advances in face recognition software now means that an anonymous street photo is not necessarily anonymous.
The landscape has changed.
Soon afterwards there was much media attention given to the sexual abuse of children in institutions and of paedophile rings. High profile inquiries were held, including a Royal Commission in Australia. Arrests frequently mentioned the seizure of large caches of photographs.
The combination of these two factors changed the perception of photographers in public where there appeared to be no immediately obvious explanation for taking photographs, such as being a tourist or taking snaps of your own kids. Most people aren't aware of this thing we call "street photography". They may see historic pictures of life in previous times but they don't make the connection that these were often taken by street photographers. They would probably be surprised to find their public art galleries contain street photography collections.
To add to all this there is the increasing unease about the explosion in public surveillance, mostly by government, in the name of security and public safety. Not just in images but also in tracking our digital signatures and trails, physically and online. People understand this is necessary but far from making them feel safer it makes them feel more threatened; a reminder of unspeakable terror like 9/11, 7/7 and Paris and an invasion of privacy, perhaps future opportunity to control lives by a more authoritarian State. In that context anonymity seems an escape, but advances in face recognition software now means that an anonymous street photo is not necessarily anonymous.
The landscape has changed.
lukitas
second hand noob
Well put. Thank you Lynn.
phatnev
Well-known
I've shot in about 10 countries over the last 5 years and never had any problems in any of them. Shot kids in parks in Philly this summer, mosques in Indonesia, temples in Nepal, nighttime in the underbelly of Pittsburgh, the gayborhood in Madrid, the Albayzin in Granada. No one ever says anything. Dunno what you're all on about to be honest. And I'm only 27, so I have no pre-9/11 experience to compare it to.
kxl
Social Documentary
Not that I'm a big practitioner of street photography, but when I do shoot in and around Los Angeles, I've noticed more apprehension when I'm using my RF versus a DSLR.
Just my opinion as a local, but I think Angelenos are inured to seeing DSLR-toting tourists or paparazzi, but don't know what to make of RF shooters.
Just my opinion as a local, but I think Angelenos are inured to seeing DSLR-toting tourists or paparazzi, but don't know what to make of RF shooters.
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