Walking in Circles

There are many ways to take photographs. Some photographers just choose a path or route and walk along it. Others hang out in a spot and wait (probably the patient ones). Still others do a combination of both. The hardest thing for me is to end up in a place where there is nothing really going on. My expectations are diminished, but I should no better—good pictures don’t always come that easy.

The Northwood section of West Palm Beach has always been a good place for me to hang around. Some of my favorite images were shot here, but it has never been a sure thing. When I found myself here one night with nothing going on I decided to walk around in circles. That is, I chose a block and walked around it a few times. naturally the scene changes at every pass. The first time passed  this laundromat, it was empty. The next time there was a bit of action, but there was nobody sitting outside. The third pass was much better and I took this shot.

#streetphotography #documentaryphotography #northwood #westpalmbeach

The Art of Looking

Every photographer has their own way of working. It doesn’t matter what discipline you practice, you will, over time develop a method and routine getting the best picture possible. I am no different. As a documentary photographer, I have, over the past 40 years developed a way of seeking out and making photographs that bring out the best in my abilities. It all begins with looking. In order to see, one must look. Some photographers like to wander, and as they do they observe scenes or people and then shoot. Others like to hang out—stay in one spot and wait for the picture to come to them. It’s a matter of personal preference. I like to do both. When I leave my house/car/hotel, I walk—I like to get a feeling of the place where I am, the rhythm of the street, the pace , the mood—all of it. So I spend the first hour or so walking and looking. I usually do not see much but every now and then I can get lucky. I usually will just snap a few shots of mostly boring situations—not that I expect anything good, but just to “warm up” so to speak. As I am doing this, I do not look straight ahead. I look up. I look down. During that hour or so, I know there are certain places that have some sort of  attraction for me so I go back and then enter my “hang out”  period. I just wait and see if anything is happening for me. This can last anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour. Then I move on to my next place and do it all over again. All the time I am looking sideways, up and down.

When people walk, they are always looking straight ahead at eye level. It is a very limited field of view. I look sideways, I look up and I look down. I even turn around and look back because the scene that you just walked past looks completely different when you look back. A lot of time I walk over the same streets back and forth many times because the scene is never static.  If fact most street scenes change continuously on a regular basis. For instance, a few years ago I was in Austin TX taking pictures at the university near the main library. In front of the building was a beautiful grass square where people were reading, playing, chatting etc. I decided to walk around the square and see what was happening and the results were quite interesting. It took about twenty minutes to make a complete circuit, and after every complete turn, the scene in front of me changed completely. People got up, people sat down. other joined groups, some left, lovers caressed, people argued, children played—life goes on. I walked around that square for about 2 hours—round and round, and every time I came to where I started, the scene was different. I took many pictures. Some were good, some were just OK but I felt good about it, I was getting somewhere. As I mentioned, after about two hours I thought I was done and started looking on the outside of the square. At one end was a wall and across from the wall was a fountain and beyond was downtown Austin. I looked over the wall and saw this kid playing in the distance. He was running around and eventually would make his way closer to me so I waited. After about 10 minutes he was “in range” and I started shooting. This is one of my favorites! As I said you have to do everything because that gets you where you ought to be.

You’re Supposed to Ask, You Know—NOT!

Last week, I attended PrideFest in Lake Worth Florida. I usually do it because its a lot of fun, I have no problem getting people to have their picture taken, and it usually results in a couple of great shots. This year was a bit different though. I decided to just photograph the Gay Pride parade—or at least the initial setting up before they actually went out and paraded. This is when the people are concentrating on what they have to do instead of performing in front of a camera. It results in what I think, are more honest pictures—pictures of people just being themselves.

At the far end was this group of kids setting up and rehearsing with this large banner which they were going to use in the parade. I snapped a few shots and just after this one I heard—

“You’re supposed to ask, you know.” 

I looked up and there was this other girl at the far end of the banner yelling at me. “Your supposed to ask, you know” she repeated. “Why” I asked, and she replied “it was only polite.” I began to tell her that if I asked, I would end up with a shitty picture of the subject grinning, all teeth for my camera and this made for boring photographs but she was not listening. She was to into being offended.

What the fuck is wrong with these kids today and where do these rules come from? They are about to march in a fucking parade in front of two or three thousand  people and one would expect that a few of them have cameras or cellphones. Do they not expect people to take pictures of them? Why are we supposed to ask? I certainly do not impose on people when I shoot them (in fact I am the opposite and try to stay invisible) and the chances of them ever seeing a copy of this photograph are next to zero so what is their problem? Actually, I think I know what the answer is. People feel so alienated and ignored these days that they feel they have to seize power over people wherever they can find it. Everybody has to make a stand—no matter how ridiculous, or pointless it may be. These days people quite often confront me when I take pictures because they feel either I am invading their privacy, stealing a moment (I like that one), or I am just an everyday pervert. All of this is bullshit. They could simply turn away, but that makes them feel like a victim for my camera. It is too passive. Confrontation is much more effective—at least in their twisted logic so they blurt out stupid comments like,

“You’re supposed to ask, you know. Its only polite” 

No I am not supposed to ask. At my age (72), I have been around a bit, and I do not need an uptight politically correct teenage prig to tell me what politeness is. Making up stupid rules for strangers  to follow, telling people how they should behave, and what they should or should not do is anything but polite. It is downright rude!

A World Without Photographs

A few years ago I wandered into this bar in Beatty Nevada one sunny morning and ordered a beer. The lady at the bar served me and then mentioned that they were in the middle of a “ladies group” meeting, but I was welcome to hang around. I did, and asked if they would mind if I took pictures while I had my beer. They all said go ahead, and so for the next hour, I drank my beer, took pictures of the bar and the woman having their meeting. The photograph above is from this series and at first glance, it appears that the woman was not aware of her being photographed but this is not true. The simple fact is that she was completely aware of what I was doing and did not really care.

From time to time I read articles, or get emails mentioning that the photography of people without their permission is rude, sneaky, and dishonest however I must strongly disagree. In a lot of cases (such as the one above) the person is actually aware, but it is not apparent. When the subject is unaware, this practice is harmless and doesn’t hurt anyone, and makes for an interesting photograph. A few years ago, I wrote an article in BlackStar Rising on this subject titles A World Without Photographs. I have updated it and posted it below.

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Over the past few years I have read articles, or had people mention to me that photographing strangers without their permission is rude and constitutes an invasion of their privacy. I got the impression these people thought photographers were a crass lot, incapable for any feelings toward their subjects. I even got the distinct impression that they would like laws passed to enforce this notion.  What kind of world would we have if there were actually laws that prevented people from photographing strangers without their permission? First of all, we would never had the pleasure of  enjoying the magnificent work of Henri Cartier Bresson, Robert Doisneau, Robert Frank, and countless others. Their work would have been considered illegal.

The photographic record/history of the 20th century would have been very different. It would have consisted of pictures of empty streets, devoid of people. The only pictures of people from that last 110 years would have been of people, standing still, posing for a camera. Photography would have been forbidden at sporting events, wars, public places, store openings, movie premiers, crime scenes, travelogues, dog shows, etc—anywhere where crowds were present. It would have been a history totally absent of people. Snapshots would be entirely different. You would have to take special care when taking snapshots of family friends and children to make sure no strangers were present in the background. The same would be true when taking pictures at your kid’s birthday party. You would probably need a signed release from the parents authorizing you to take pictures of all children present. Weddings would be different of course because some guests would not want to be photographed. Of course they could also sign releases.

Of course news reporting would be entirely different. There wouldn’t be any. Newspapers always contain photographs of people in the news, the spectators, the crowd and passers-by-— that would all stop.. All they could include in the way of photographs would be formal portraits (most likely of politicians) of those in the news. The same would be for TV news—there would not be any news because most stories are about and include people. All that would remain is a world consisting of formal portraits, of people stiffly posing in front of cameras posing. To liven things up they could jump in the air when the shutter is snapped.  Its so exciting!

Of course that is only the beginning—why stop with people. It would not be long before those who wish to protect their “privacy” would attempt to pass laws protecting photography of homes, offices, monuments and such. This is actually happening. Have you ever watched reality TV shows lately? Thanks probably to lawyers, logos on baseball caps and T-shirts, signs on buildings, brand names of any kind are all crudely blurred out.

Although this scenario may seem a bit extreme, that is the type of society that can evolve when allow ourselves to by driven by fear, political correctness, stupidity and ignorance. Photographs harm absolutely no one. We all have the right to refuse to have our pictures taken —all we have to do is politely say no. But to presume we are protecting the general public by restricting these activities in others is fundamentally wrong. I consider myself a sensitive person. Sometimes, I ask permission to take someones picture if my intent is that obvious. On other occasions, I like to be “invisible” and if someone happens to notice me, I walk away. I try to stay out of the way and if someone objects when my camera is pointed at them I respect their wishes.

There are two ways to go through life. One way is to be timid, constantly worry about offending others, never take chances, and always side with the majority. People like this seldom are very creative. The other way is to be out there, hunger for discovery, be curious and follow your own path. This is the road I choose to take and if people think it is offensive, its just too bad!