[leica] photographing the homeless - yo yo yo, hold up!

[firkin at ncable.net.au (Alastair Firkin)]

I have to admit to some problems with street photography. I would  
hate NOT to have the documents such as the Lange picture, BUT I also  
feel we do sometimes intrude. Strangely, if you are at an event where  
there are cameras everywhere, no one seems to mind being paraded in  
front of millions: very rarely will someone look away if the camera  
turns on them in the cricket crowd. They usually smile and wave to  
the screen, and yet that same person would be horrified to be  
"documented" in their cricket gear.

I was delighted when I visited Japan. When I took images of people,  
they would thank me. Seems they like to aim their cameras at anything  
and everything and are happy for others to do the same. I am  
horrified by HCB, who made his living capturing others at work and  
play, and was offended if anyone did the same to him. I can  
understand that he wished to remain somewhat "unknown" in order to  
continue his work, but there can't be too many "star" photographers  
who would be mobbed, even HCB at his height.

I now have the personal doctrine that if I want to take images, I  
should allow others to take images of me: why they might want to do  
that I don't know, but when I had a bright red beard, I was a very  
popular subject in SE Asia ;-) I also "try" not to take images and  
distribute them ifffff I feel they show the subject in a way that I  
or Helen would not like to be seen. If someone "pulls" a face for the  
camera, its game on, but "ugly" images of people I try to ignore, and  
if I do take one, I keep it for my own use/memories, not for general  
consumption.

Is it OK to take a person if they cannot be recognized? Perhaps its  
better. I would really rather an image (amusing or not) of me picking  
my nose did not show up before people I know. I have learnt to ask  
(OK I don't want every image I take of people to be posed, so I try  
in those circumstances to make it obvious that I am taking pictures  
and give them time to "disappear". So for example at a market, I make  
it clear that I am there taking images and lots of them, so the  
people can feel perhaps more like on of the crowd, or turn away if  
they are not interested or tell me to bugger off if they are more  
uptight than that.

I would now ask or indicate that I would like to take an image for  
most of my street shots which involved concentrating on an  
individual. Crowds are different.

There is no right or wrong here. Being friendly and sensitive is the  
only way I can justify doing it, but it is much easier at the  
cricket, the races, a footy match or other celebration, where people  
don't seem to mind how ugly they look ;-)

Cheers

Alastair
On 20/01/2007, at 13:34, jon.stanton@comcast.net wrote:

> The illusion around Migrant Mother is all false. Several years ago  
> (1990's) a reporter in San Jose located and interviewed several of  
> her children...The mother was told by Lange that the picture would  
> never be published...It was! And the mother hated it until the day  
> she died...
> Check out www.migrantgrandson.com
>
>
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