Scared to even go out

[slackercrurster]

Now, no one should have any shortage of shots, even if a recluse. I just finished shooting The Train movie. Great film for fast action practice. Shot about 350 shots of it. Will cull them down to 150 - 200.

 

[JCook0113]

I understand how you feel. I grew up in a similar small town in Southern Oklahoma and felt very conspicuous when I got my first 35mm SLR. People seemed to think me "peculiar" for wanting to photograph everyday things around the area; some were downright hostile and suspicious.

I crept around and tried to shoot without drawing attention, but found that made people even MORE paranoid and suspicious! I found that if you wheel up, grab your camera and start shooting like you belong, people will generally leave you alone or at worst, come over and talk to you about what you are doing.

Be prepared and have an honest answer; I was one of the High School Yearbook Photographers, so I could us that line or simply tell them photography is my hobby and I found a nice shot here.

It helps to have a few photos in your back pocket or camera bag; doesn't matter if they are very good or not, just a sample of your work and that seems to satisfy most people. You'll often be regaled with stories of their friends or relatives that "liked to shoot pictures" or how they once did the same thing, but if you show some interest, ask a few questions and have a genuine conversation, you'll often have a nice encounter and never have to worry about them being hostile again. In fact, you can often ask people in a small town if there are any very nice views or interesting subjects in the vicinity and draw them into your hobby! More than once I had strangers not only suggest some really interesting locations, they knew or owned the land on which the place was located and helped arrange for me to get in and have a nice day photographic something I would have never even know about!

Of course, you need to courteous; not let the cows out if you have to cross pastures, don't litter or damage any sites you visit and always thank the person or persons for the opportunity to photograph their property. If you can, give them a sample print or two of your work as a thanks. This will not only help cement your reputation as a responsible photographer, it will make you a bit more disciplined to make better images to hand out to the property owner. As you do this, word will spread and you will just be an accepted fact in the area.

There will be some people who are just too self-centered to be gracious enough to let you shoot, but you can just thank them and go look for the next, better inclined person. Don't take it personally; just route around the problem and don't dwell on it...

Hope this helps.

Thanks, I really needed that especially the honest answer to someone asking what I'm doing. Maybe I'll finally finish that roll I've had in my camera for months now.

 

[Pieter12]

I've been taking photos in public since I was in my teens and very seldom have I ever been confronted. More often it's someone who is curious as to what camera or film I am using.

The only times (two IIRC) I remember being confronted in maybe the last 10 years or so have been in casinos, and in both cases it was by security.

Casinos famously don't allow photography. Some of their clientele would rather not have a record of being there.

 

[JCook0113]

I live in a small rural town. The same rules apply if you are shooting a camera as if you are asking to hunt on someone’s land. As long as you belong (my Wife and I moved into Howard and Betty’s house 8 years ago. You know, the one with the willow tree across from the Mail Pouch Tobacco barn? Yeah! We have the vegetable farm...) and are respectful, people in rural towns are pretty cool. There are a few people in my town who are known as photographers, I’m the one that messes with the old cameras. When I go to the next town over, which is a vacation spot, I bring my wife with me. I find that she alleviates any concern people have about someone walking around taking photographs.

Ya I've been wanting to ask someone for permission but I don't know how people around here take a question like that. I take pictures of the odd things in rural areas that I am not used to seeing (that could seem offensive to the property owner) some places here remind me of the movie Deliverance. That's probably why I'm so scared lol.

 

[chip j]

My big chrome Nikon FTN never got noticed, whether downtown or at a classic car swap meet
BUT my silver M3 was seen a mile away.

 

[slackercrurster]

Now sneak photography has a long history almost going back to the beginning...

Candid techniques are the utmost importance to develop for street work unless you like to get permission.

 

[cfrye]

OP, since you are a puss (and I mean that in the nicest way) You have to do sneak shots. After you grow some balls (if you are a guy or ovaries if you are a girl) you can then shoot somewhat normal.

???
Your advice has very little to do with op's problem. On a practical and stylistic level, you're not even talking about the same thing. Go toot your own horn elsewhere

@O.P.: totally understand your frustration. In the Midwest, some people tend to get real sensitive about their private property. And there is A LOT of private property. It is frustrating at times, but as some people have already mentioned, most people are nicer than you think. Maybe seek out some more isolated subjects, to hone your process. If you keep practicing and get in the creative "zone" of taking the photographs you want to take, people will hopefully start to matter less and your photos matter more.
Cheers, and good luck!

 

[NB23]

Do like all the small town boys before you: hop inside the bus and go live in the big city.

Get the f out of a place where walmart is the main attraction.

 

[NB23]

Self-proclaimed world leader?

 

[mshchem]

Just start carrying a camera. Even if you don't feel comfortable using it. In time you will start to be more confident about approaching situations that now make you uncomfortable.
You will find people will ask you about the camera.

Get a really cute dog, let the dog make friends, then ask to take their picture.

 

[MattKing]

I'm going to make a suggestion that is both hard to follow, and very rewarding to follow.
Engage with people by showing and explaining your interest.
Even if people don't understand why you want to photograph what you want to photograph, if you express appreciation or interest in their landing/old car/shed/tree/mail box whatever, most likely they will appreciate your interest.
And if you have any interest in environmental portraiture, asking people if you can take their picture in the place where they feel at home usually gets a positive response.
And the side benefit is that when you talk to people about them and their surroundings, there is a real chance you will learn interesting things. You might even make some friends.

 

[AgX]

The Op's issue is less a photographic one than one of shyness and self esteem.

He might leave, now he got his drivers license, and drive over to the next county where nobody knows him and it might be easier for him taking these photographs as it likely would bother him less what these people think of him doing something weird.

 

[John51]

Wear a Hi-Viz jacket. Makes it look like you are supposed to be there.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

Safety in numbers. Take a good friend or sibling along with you during your first outings. In a cases like these the more you do it the easier it will get. You can do it.

Yup.
You use film, so be prepared for the "can you still get film" question.
You use a handheld meter, don't be surprised if someone thinks the meter is a camera.
Someone might find the tripod weird, too.
You'll get used to it.
Take baby steps if you need to - and every time you feel selfconscious, just picture in your mind the spectacle of someone walking along a public sidewalk, gesticulating and jabbering away on bluetooth - now THEY look WEIRD!

 

[dmr]

Casinos famously don't allow photography. Some of their clientele would rather not have a record of being there.

Actually I have a fairly long history with shooting in and around casinos. For many years I would always ask a uniformed security guard or a "suit" before shooting. Some casinos were strict on no photos. Others had things like a "no tables, no cage, no flash" policy. In recent years, however, many do not even make an attempt at controlling photos, with all of the cell phones and such out there.

The one place where I was specifically asked (almost apologetically) not to shoot was the old Westward Ho, shortly before closure. I wanted a couple of interior shots for this write-up: http://omababe.blogspot.com/2012/01/bibi-ho.html

Then just a few weeks ago I was shooting a band in the lounge at a local casino. A security guy tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I was with the band. I said I was not and he said that you were not supposed to shoot there, but he added that he didn't care about it.

At the Rio and the old Stardust, the security people almost took me by the hand and pointed out what was and was not OK to shoot. Tables and cage are almost universal no-nos. Being courteous is implied, of course.

For these two it was either explicitly or implicitly cool to shoot more or less freely:

http://omababe.blogspot.com/2009/07/final-frontier.html
http://omababe.blogspot.com/2015/04/bibi-riv.html

 

[jeffreyg]

As was mentioned as long as you are on public property and not using the photographs commercially without the owner's permission go ahead and shoot. If approached by the property owner let him/her know what you are doing and why, let them look through the viewfinder and offer to make them a print. I live in a big city and have very rarely had anyone say anything. When traveling in large and small towns in the US as well as out of the country never a problem even while using medium format on a tripod. Just smile and recognize the other party and go about what you are doing as if you were sent there to photograph.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

 

[Ko.Fe.]

You have to start to let people know you, Wear camera everywhere. Just like a tie.
Go to every possible event and take pictures where. Take pictures of known people on these events, publish them locally if you have FB community page or forum.
At some point nobody will take it as thread. Walk a lot and talk a lot. Locals should get used to see you goofing around.
I have done all of this.

 

[jim10219]

As was mentioned as long as you are on public property and not using the photographs commercially without the owner's permission go ahead and shoot. If approached by the property owner let him/her know what you are doing and why, let them look through the viewfinder and offer to make them a print. I live in a big city and have very rarely had anyone say anything. When traveling in large and small towns in the US as well as out of the country never a problem even while using medium format on a tripod. Just smile and recognize the other party and go about what you are doing as if you were sent there to photograph.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

That kind of depends on where he is. In Florida, that might be okay. In Oklahoma, that can still get you in trouble. We have some crazies living in small towns. You may get shot before any questions are asked. Even the local law enforcement may not know or care about the laws on shooting from public property. I was once harassed by a Sheriff in Reed Oklahoma when doing this. I was shooting a field from the side of the road. The sheriff pulled me over and accused me of joy riding through Mr. So-and-so's land. He said he saw me do it. I was driving a small sports car and this land was too hilly for my car to even make it through. There were no car tracks going through the land. There was also a barbed wire fence surrounding his land that was still in tact, with no gate on this side of the road to enter through. Despite all of the evidence to prove that I didn't (and in fact, no one did) trespass onto this guys land, the local sheriff didn't like the idea of outsiders coming in and photographing, and he was prepared to lie about it and arrest me without just cause. And he would have gotten away with it too, because those rural county judges would have believed him over me, even without any evidence. The only way I got out was to lay down a heavy southern accent, play the good-ol'-boy card, and while he was running my license, I was looking up the names of the local judges and officials on my phone, which I promptly name dropped on his return. After believing that I knew some of the same people he knew, his attitude changed, and he let me go without a warning, and even suggested a few other areas I might check out. Needless to say, I didn't check those places out. I high-tailed it out of the county and never returned.

Needless to say, if you're from the area, it shouldn't be an issue. As long as you're So-and-so's boy, you won't get the outsider treatment and have to worry about that type of stuff. In a more progressive part of the country, that probably won't be an issue any where. But in the more conservative states, you have to be a bit more careful. They kind of follow their own rules, and don't care much about getting caught breaking the federal government's rules. It much different from shooting in a large city.

Still, I have friend who's always shooting these abandoned buildings and such for his photography or indie movies. He just calls up some official from the area before hand and gets permission. They're usually happy to help, do it for free, and will often give me keys to the area, or may even accompany and help him, just to be a part of the fun. So they can be much more polite and accommodating that what you will find in a big city too. But it's much more important to get permission ahead of time in the country, even if what you are doing is protected by the law. If nothing else, you'll have some names to drop should things start to go south.

 

[AgX]

Most intersting story.
Though I do not think police over here is knowledgable on law on photography either, especially as it got thus complicated recently that even I myself got difficulties...

 

[slackercrurster]

Now, another thing you can do OP is to get a mouthpiece. That is what I need. Someone that likes to talk to people and can set up the shot. I am shy too and don't like talking to people. The mouthpiece could stage the shot and you just press the button.

Or do like this guy did in Vegas. He must have been scared shitless to take candid photos of people. So he set up a camera and tripod near the exit on a skywalk at a casino. As people would leave he shot photos of them by remote control standing away from the camera. If you are scared to setup a tripod cam, then get a helper to do it. You just press the button!

Being shy it does not mean I can't talk to people. Just means I prefer not too. I saw this gal wandering around her old neighborhood and asked her to sit in this tub.

'Faces of Gentrification' Epson RD1s 6mp

If I have to talk to people sometimes it takes some time to develop courage and do it. In short, it zaps my energy. I've missed many a shot because I didn't want to talk to someone. Although many times when I do talk to someone they still refuse. So no telling how it will go when you ask.

When I work the subway I change cars at each stop, running like a madman to get in before crowded out, looking for new people to shoot. But I don't talk to em. I could just go through the sliding doors, homeless beggar style, but prefer to make a fresh entrance and work each car on the train.

 

[slackercrurster]

Most intersting story.
Though I do not think police over here is knowledgable on law on photography either, especially as it got thus complicated recently that even I myself got difficulties...

What were these difficulties? In the EU you can't take people photos of strangers any more, can you. You got it tough.

 

[slackercrurster]

OP, you mentioned cars. Joel Meyerowitz did a project on shooting from cars across Europe.

https://www.google.com/search?q=joe...s_LeAhVIKqwKHYVMAeEQ_AUIDigB&biw=1360&bih=608

Winogrand used to have a driver cart him around LA's Miracle Mile as he shot photos of anything that moved on the street. Winogrand didn't care what he shot. What a hack.

I do some car shots, but not that much. Also doing a 'From the Bus' series in NYC.

Here is one I shot right through the front windshield of my rental car while driving to the airport.

'In the shadow of City Hall' ...a homeless tent encampment 2015

OP, try taking a bus trip and shoot from the bus.

Google: 'Wanna shoot in NYC but don’t have the $$'

Gives you many options for bus photo work.

 

[AgX]

What were these difficulties? In the EU you can't take people photos of strangers any more, can you. You got it tough.

It is not that tough over here. In Germany we still got the old legislation from 1907. But recently new legislation was added that made the mere taking in few cases a criminal offece, and that new law is very vague.
And then there is that EU data protection thing. To what extent and how this has to be applied on the act of taking a photograph in context of the old, still valid legislation is completely unclear at the moment.

 

[Carter john]

One thing that I did not do when I was your age. I did not take enough pictures, now people love my lousy photos that I took in the 60s. Even if you have the same feelings I had when I was your age be sure you take plenty of images.

 

[Sgore]

Bentonville is in a beautiful part of the world and photo opportunities abound. The important thing is to get out and make photographs, your confidence will grow with your experience. The grounds of Crystal Bridges are beautiful, and the museum itself is downright amazing. The town square is worth poking around too. I'm not even going to start with landscape suggestions, there are simply too many. Remember, the economy of NW Arkansas is largely driven by tourism, so being seen walking around with a camera isn't all that unusual. All I can say is that it gets easier and easier to stop the car and get out and make that image, you just have to start.