Thursday 14 April 2011

Personal Envelope Pushing


One of the things I love to take pictures of is people.

I take a lot of pictures of my family and friends but then, of course, I don't post them so that we can all keep some semblance of anonymity.

Which leaves me with an option of taking photos of strangers, which is something I'm not yet comfortable with.

I noticed a local photographer on flickr the other day who had a few shots of people in and around Victoria. I asked him if people ever got mad at him and mentioned that I wanted to do more street photography but am always worried that people will get annoyed with me.

He said he was too and that was somehow very reassuring.

I sometimes feel like people who are doing something I want to do but am not brave enough to do must be just naturally bolder or gutsier than I am and must not have the same worries or concerns that I do, so it was really nice to hear that that's not necessarily the case.

Does that mean I'm going to go grab my camera and run around downtown this afternoon taking pictures of people?

No, not quite.

But I might be getting closer to being ready to try.

5 comments:

Just Sayin... said...

YAY YOU!

you could always take the picture so it's candid, then approach them and let them know you'll be using it for random things etc.. ???

Good luck! Hope you post some of them for us to see!

Duffy said...

^^^ That doesn't sound weird in the slightest?!

Victoria said...

Thanks JS. And, yeah, I'm not really sure about how you go about taking candids, but when I asked my photography class teacher guy about it he said that as long as it's public property you're ok. I think you just can't use the photo for personal gain (money) without a release though. :)

Oh Duffy, everything sounds weird to me these days it seems! ;)

Mary said...

Hi Victoria,

I love your blog! I've been meaning to comment, and since I love photography too, why not now?
Taking photos of people on the street, I'm afraid, is something I go about rather sneakily with my big ass zoomlense. It makes me feel like a paparazza, but at least I don't have to get in people's faces all the time. And I'm not sure I'd take up close pictures of young children, since I figure I wouldn't like it if someone would do that to my (theoretical) kids. When I'm inside somewhere, in a shop for instance, I always ask. But all this, I only do when I'm travelling abroad. Somehow I still feel weird walking around with my camera in my own city (in the Netherlands). I want to, but I'm more comfortable in the role of a tourist than an amateur photographer. Does that make any sense?

Victoria said...

Mary that totally makes sense! (And thanks for saying hi!) When I'm on holiday I have less problem taking pictures, but here it feels awkward. I agree about kids too, that seems more private. :)