I’m Really Not A Street Photographer
Listening to Jellyfish - Spilt Milk (1993) - definitely one of my favourite albums of all time, and one of the few albums that does not have one single track you'd skip. Check it out. Check it out now!
Sunday, and it’s time for the annual → Lentemarathon here in town. It’s also a chance for me to do overcome my fear of something I really don’t enjoy doing, namely street photography.
As you can tell from my → portfolio, and also → here, I don’t really do street. I do quiet scenes, preferably with no people in it all. So quite why I subject myself to this I have truly no idea.
Feel free to leave a → comment.
I think the reason I do it is that, if I keep doing it then it’ll come more naturally. There’s → lots of videos and books I’ve read on the topic, but I keep finding it slightly creepy and voyeuristic. I've done a few workshops over the years, just on street photography to see if I could get over that feeling, but I never really have. You see, I don't like having my photo taken, or being in photographs. I even avoid sitting in places where I can see my reflection in the mirror. Clearly, I have issues. So, my thinking when it comes to street photography is basically this:
I don't like having my picture taken, so you won't either.
And that makes the whole experience unpleasant for me. Like I am intruding in your space, your privacy. A lonely tree, or a derelict building, or an amazing landscape won't feel that, but someone walking down the street, minding their own business does. Or might.
But keep doing it then? I've truly no idea other than that street photography is so accessible. You walk out the front door, and there's street photography. For the sort of stuff I usually take pictures of, I have to go a lot further afield. And I am really lazy. It's a question of accessibility .vs. effort when I get down do it.
So, this morning at 0900 I got on the bike, headed into town and found myself on the runners plaza at the marathon, camera still very much in the bag. I need to see what the 'vibe' is first of all before I do anything. I check to see if there are other photographers, or am I the only one? I try and blend in, become invisible, which is hard because I feel very visible. Everyone in running gear, and there's me, heavy coat (it was 7c this morning), clearly not a runner.
I felt out of place, and so going that next step and actually taking the camera out feels like I'm taking out a machine gun, not a camera. It feels so awkward. I find a spot near the start, and for the first time notice everyone has their phone out taking video and photos, so this gives me the first bit of reassurance that it's alright. There are others. It's ok to take photos.
Once the race starts I take a few images of the runners going by, all pretty much stock-stuff, but what I am really interested in is not the start, it's the finish, where the runners make it across the line after hours out on the course. I find a nice spot near the finish line and start snapping away. I get a few nice images, and notice for the first time that no one notices me. I'm just some guy in the crowd. Besides, they're all too busy to notice me, or what I am doing. It does still feel a bit voyeuristic, truth be told, but I think that's just the nature of street photography, right?
I go home at around 2pm, to find the builders have finished putting the frame down in the garden. The rest of the decking is going in next weekend, along with the tiles, the lighting on the shed, and the fence between us and the neighbours. I have lunch, check in to see how my fields are doing in → Farm Simulator 17 (they need ploughing ..) and then head for the kitchen to make the one thing I've been dying for for so long now - chilli.
While I'm doing that I'm watching the → Man U game, and later on the → Liverpool v Spurs game, both awful, by the way. Later on we'll continue with → The Beast In Me (have you seen it, any good?) and then bed as it's another busy day tomorrow at work.
Videos I Watched
- → I Moved To Europe - Mike Gray moved from the US to Germany and in this video takes on a (photo)walk through his new home.
Interesting Links I Found