I'm a Street Photographer, Not a Pervert . . .

[lxdude]

I must be getting old, but I am still of the school that believes good manners and consideration trump our "right" to stick a camera where it is not welcome.

Don't ever even consider becoming a news photographer.

 

[lxdude]

Just a comment.............I do not like my picture being taken. So when someone points a camera my way I just wag my finger and mouth the word "no". Works just fine. No drama needed.

And if they don't comply, then what?

 

[Toffle]

Don't ever even consider becoming a news photographer.

As per the Weegee comment above, context, my friend.

 

[lxdude]

It is becoming increasingly clear you are the problem, not the woman in your story.

Yeah, like it's A-OK to go yelling at people, calling them a pervert.

 

[darkosaric]

If he cannot do that, then Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Garry Winogrand, and so many others, were wrong to photograph what went on around them.
Have you seen the video of HCB stalking his subjects, surreptitiously and quickly getting a photo before they knew what was going on? Geez, what a creep!

It is clear that here on APUG we have 2 "streams": one who are on side of OP, and another who are on side of screaming women and kid showing finger.
I bet first "stream" has Bresson and Winogrand as best photographer in their mind, while second has AA?

Anybody consider HCB to be the best photographer - but is on a side of screaming women and kid showing finger?

 

[removed account4]

It is clear that here on APUG we have 2 "streams": one who are on side of OP, and another who are on side of screaming women and kid showing finger.
I bet first "stream" has Bresson and Winogrand as best photographer in their mind, while second has AA?

Anybody consider HCB to be the best photographer - but is on a side of screaming women and kid showing finger?

not really

i have a lot of respect for hcb and winogrand and others,
i am not a fan of grand landscapes ( not to mention aa's portraits seem rather stiff
and not the kind of portraits i like looking at .. they don't reveal much of the person photographed )

my problem is the OP comes off rather obnoxious and rude ... not the genre of photography.
and suggesting that because a leica is being used it gives the user carte blanche to do as sHe pleases ...

 

[Prof_Pixel]

Is that how a pervert dresses?

Could be, who knows one way or the other.

Cartier-Bresson was not legitimate?

Different time and place, different rules.

 

[lxdude]

As per the Weegee comment above, context, my friend.

I'd resent someone taking pictures of me or my family in the worst moments of our lives, far more than at any other time. Context, indeed.

 

[lxdude]

Could be, who knows one way or the other.

Right. No way to tell, no way to judge, no basis to accuse.

Different time and place, different rules.

Whose rules?

And do you think everybody liked being photographed back in those different times and different places?

 

[removed account4]

WHERE in that post did it say that her parents were there? WHERE did it say anyone else scolded him? And WHERE is there even an indication that he "bothered" anyone else?

.....

there was an elderly couple on the bench opposite and showing that they were still very much in love with each other. I took a picture of them. Then an old man came along wearing a trilby hat, looking distinguished. I took a shot of him.

Then, what I can best describe as Vicki Pollard arrived, replete with the mandatory children. One of them began running towards the back of the bench and leaping high in the air over it, between the older people. "That would make a cool picture" I thought. He did it countless times, though each time I got ready to take the shot, he didn't jump. I made three attempts and gave up.

Five minutes went by, then they got up to leave.

seemed when i read it the people were all related to eachother

the older ( disgusted ) couple and the lady with the kids ...

If your kid is jumping around, people are going to look at him. He has drawn their attention. And if they look at him jumping around, they just might take pictures of his antics. The woman overreacted.
The OP was seated on a bench, while things happened around him, which he photographed. If he cannot do that, then Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Garry Winogrand, and so many others, were wrong to photograph what went on around them.
Have you seen the video of HCB stalking his subjects, surreptitiously and quickly getting a photo before they knew what was going on? Geez, what a creep!

yes, they were kind of creepy ...

 

[lxdude]

.....

seemed when i read it the people were all related to eachother

the older ( disgusted ) couple and the lady with the kids ...

Maybe you read "distinguished" as "disgusted"?

 

[removed account4]

Maybe you read "distinguished" as "disgusted"?

LOL thanks i need more coffee in me ...

 

[Dinesh]

No, a Leica doesn't make you any more legitimate.

I must disagree with you here Michael as Leicas take the best photographs!

 

[Worker 11811]

Just a comment.............I do not like my picture being taken. So when someone points a camera my way I just wag my finger and mouth the word "no". Works just fine. No drama needed.

I have been waved off a few times. When somebody does, I don't take their picture.

Not because of some person's right to not be photographed or some BS like that. I do it because the person asked.

The only time I would take the picture would be if there was a compelling reason like a crime, an accident or a disaster. The only other time I MIGHT take the picture is if I finally had a chance to take a once in a lifetime shot like "Afghan Girl" on the cover of National Geographic.

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photographers/afghan-girl-cover.html

But, like I said, that's a one in a million thing.

 

[StoneNYC]

I must disagree with you here Michael as Leicas take the best photographs!

Leica's may take good photos, but Leica owners often take TERRIBLE pictures haha (but they are oh so sharp and perfect grain and no CA) lol

But seriously, I think context needs to be taken into account and I mean WHAT DOES THE OP DO WITH THE PHOTOS? If you actually publish books like some of the real street photographers that are well known, then you have some legitimacy to your claim, if you just keep them for yourself and not for example posting them in galleries or on a website that advertised street photography, then you kind of are being a creep.... Because you're taking snaps and keeping them to yourself.

Chin up, keep enjoying your art, but keep in mind what you appear to others and your purpose for photographing and that should help you.


~Stone | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[viridari]

If you actually publish books like some of the real street photographers that are well known, then you have some legitimacy to your claim, if you just keep them for yourself and not for example posting them in galleries or on a website that advertised street photography, then you kind of are being a creep.... Because you're taking snaps and keeping them to yourself.

Oh wow and here I thought Vivian Maier was a street photographer. Turns out she was just a creep.

 

[Ming Rider]

Interesting stuff.

Sadly, over the course of this thread I've become a poorly dressed creep, who stares for extended periods and points his camera continuously at children.

I'm now someone who isn't a serious photographer because I don't wear a shirt and trousers. I pester people to the point of exasperation and I have no integrity as I don't write books.

NO I WON'T BE PHOTOGRAPHING MINORS AGAIN (I think I may have mentioned that before?) IT WAS A ONE-OFF AND SOMETHING I WON'T BE REPEATING ANY TIME SOON.

On the other hand, the 'business card' suggestion is a good one and something I will be doing tonight online. I also thank many for their kind words and encouragement (you know who you are. )

As for the rest of you . . . Merry Christmas.

 

[lxdude]

if you want to stalk and photograph a stranger's children without so much as a hello or introduction you have to expect that eventually you will run into someone who objects.

The OP was sitting on a bench, in plain view, not even moving around. I don't think that in any way constitutes stalking. Take out the word "stalk" and I agree with the statement.

 

[Noble]

Oh wow and here I thought Vivian Maier was a street photographer. Turns out she was just a creep.

Lol. Oh, boy. Here we go again.

I think if the police called any parent up and said we found pictures of your children amongst thousands of undeveloped negatives stretching back decades in an abandoned storage locker which used to belong to a dead recluse you would be a smidge creeped out.

jus' sayin'

I am not saying the OP is a "creep." Just to be clear.

 

[lxdude]

Please, nobody take this the wrong way. It is just a simple observation of fact :-

Female (or male) attraction is just an inescapable part of our inner animal that we, by calling ourselves human, have attempted to sweep under the carpet.

No amount of etiquet or social conditioning will remove this basic drive that is in all of us.

Being attracted to a passing female/male is nothing more than being the male/female of our species.

I guess that explains why I keep reading your name as "Minge Rider".

 

[Mark Feldstein]

Brian: I would have told the owner (not the dog) to sit down, stay, don't speak and then to reach into his wallet and give you $10 bucks. THEN if he was good, you'd photograph the dog but that's just his sitting fee. The dog is extra plus prints, of course.

I recommend the same technique if parents ask me to photograph their kids. I tell them to sit, stay, and fetch. The dual messages always throw parents a huge curve.

 

[Steve Smith]

Business license of course... But I do agree with asking beforehand. Unfortunately spontaneous events are out.

It's not of course as there's no such thing as a business licence for a street photographer here. And what if it is not being done as part of a business?


Steve.

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

Lol. Oh, boy. Here we go again.

Not really. We're still patiently waiting for your answer from the last time...

Ken

 

[Noble]

Not really. W̶e̶'̶r̶e̶ I am still patiently waiting for y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶a̶n̶s̶w̶e̶r̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶t̶i̶m̶e̶.̶.̶.̶ an answer I like.

Ken

Fixed your post for you.

Sorry man. I'm not going to change my honest answers just to make you happy. And I have no intention of thread jacking and relitigating that topic.

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

Fixed your post for you.

How immature of you...

Ken