Abuse during street photography

I do think that when people see 'celebrities' punching photographers in the street, it can reinforce the belief that it is wrong to take pictures of people without their permission and acceptable to retaliate.

But it is never a good idea to enter people's personal space. It is uncomfortable for all parties. Using a longer lens is a far more successful approach and more likely to be genuinely candid.

Graham
 
Naboo32 said:
what would you do if I a total stranger came up to you in the street and started shooting off his DSLR in your face :shrug:?
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Happened to me at lunchtime yesterday and has happened quite a few times as I work in an area which draws lots of togs - and that's only the times I've noticed, there will have been dozens I haven't.

Can't say it's bothered me and I haven't always been in a particularly good mood when 'caught'.

Completely disagree about the long lens approach but each to their own.
 
Voyager said:
The point being that if someone takes umbridge at having their picture taken you can have a chat about the human condition, the state of Britain today or whatever it was that you are trying to achieve.
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BTW it's umbrage, not umbridge; Umbridge is the name of the village in The Archers :thumbs::lol:
 
ladysue said:
I've only recently started taking street photographs of people. If I'm close enough I ask their permission and havent been turned down yet. I took a picture of a police lady in her car today and she happily gave permission. I never take pictures of children, except family and friends ( and I dont post them online)
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One thing I've done in the past, is to take a couple of the natural shots, and then ask them after I've got them...even take a portrait type one as well!
 
Voyager said:
Are we doing spelling corrections now?

Jolly good.

Only it is not. Ambridge is the village in the Archers.
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Haha, chill Voyager; of course Umbridge isn't the name of the village in the Archers! It was a joke; hence the :lol: at the end of my post.
 
martyp said:
I'd love to give street photography a go but I would be afraid of getting caught and someone coming up and smashing myself or the camera in for taking a photo.
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Same here. At least a Lion won't punch me in the face and nick my camera gear!! :lol:
 
Here's the text of a PM I received from Voyager shortly after my last post on this thread:

Voyager said:
Nifkin said:
Can be new, can be second-hand; a reseller is a vendor (either a business or private individual) who are not amazon themselves, but who use amazon as a storefront to sell their goods. The goods will be listed as either new or used on the specific item's listing. I've sold loads of shiznit as a reseller on amazon. Watch out for some of the 'business' resellers selling new stuff on the site; a lot of this will be grey imports, so best to email them first and find out what sort of warranty is provided :thumbs:
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Since you seem to think that it is important to correct mistakes I would like to point out that traditionally in English we capitalise 'proper nouns' - so in this case 'amazon' should be written starting with a capital letter - Amazon

I presume you did not know this as you have managed to repeat the mistake three times in the quoted paragraph, so it cannot just be a simple typing error - unlike the (not uncommon) hastily typed reply containing a single spelling mistake.

Of course, I would not dream of posting that on the forum to make you look even more stupid than you already are.

HTH
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Seeing as Voyager has blocked me from responding by PM, I thought I'd issue my response here:

Voyager,

We may well traditionally capitalise 'proper nouns', but that rule doesn't strictly apply to proprietary names like amazon. Perhaps your example should have highlighted my misuse of the slang term shiznit instead? Either way, the fact that you went to the trouble to trawl through my earlier posts to find an example to PM me about is quite remarkable, and not a little disturbing. The comment on this thread about the spelling of umbrage really was meant as nothing more than a joke; but, considering the haughty manner you displayed to another member in the same thread (which was also picked up on by the moderators), I guess, in retrospect, it was more than fitting to pick you up on your spelling.

OK, well, I recommend, in future, if you have any issues with anything I or anybody else says in the forum, it's best to deal with the issue openly in the forum, and not send snide PMs all over the place.

Marcel, could you please tell me how I can block any further PMs from this member, or if you could facilitate this for me?

Thanks

Simon

EDIT: I think I've worked out that last request, cheers.
 
fabs said:
Nope, we've blocked all of his.
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Ah! OK Fabs; thanks for letting me know. Anyway, back on topic; I find the best way of avoiding aggro when doing a bit of streeet photography is to use the longest lens possible; a Canon EF 800mm f5.6 L IS USM springs to mind ;)
 
kissfoto said:
''If you pictures are no good, your not close enough'' Robert Capa :thumbs:
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And look where taking his own advice landed him (tragically)!!! :eek::lol:
 
I should probably try this (Glasgow Central Station seems like a good bet) but the nerves will likely get to me as I screw the lens on :lol:
 
kissfoto said:
Thats the name of the game when your in his business, you know the risks. :thumbs:
Basically if you don't push it you don't get the shots.
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Don't get me wrong, Ian; Robert Capa was a master. I just think different focal lengths for different people when it comes to street photography, there's no right or wrong answer in that respect. Although I would say it takes more confidence with shorter FLs, and it may be more comfortable for a lot of novices to start with a telephoto to avoid confrontation; whether this last point is really true in practice is debatable, but at least it provides a sense of security :thumbs:
 
fabs said:
Nope, we've blocked all of his.
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Thank God for that. Well done.

What started off as an interesting OP, swiftly degenerated into a pedantic slanging match and a perfect example of why most internet forums are a waste of time.
 
Nifkin said:
Don't get me wrong, Ian; Robert Capa was a master. I just think different focal lengths for different people when it comes to street photography, there's no right or wrong answer in that respect. Although I would say it takes more confidence with shorter FLs, and it may be more comfortable for a lot of novices to start with a telephoto to avoid confrontation; whether this last point is really true in practice is debatable, but at least it provides a sense of security :thumbs:
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Don't disagree with you on this, there is no wrong or right its what ever you feel comfortable with. I use my 70-200 f2.8 for street shot regularly and I have no problem with that if I get the shot I want. I have also used a 15-30, 28mm, 24mm, when appropriate. Just get out and shoot most people will have no objections..:thumbs::thumbs:
 
classcams said:
The bloke on the left wants to have words with me.
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I love old 19th/early 20th Century pictures like that. And to think, cameras were far bigger and heavier back then, so it would've been much harder to just run away when your subject started rolling up his shirt sleeves! :lol:
 
Not abuse as such but a group of us were taking photos around the Bodlean Library in Oxford. I was waiting for crowds to disperse to take a shot and this woman approached me. She was quite angry, saying she was a resident and was sick of having cameras pointed at her and having her picture taken. I explained that I understood and used to live in Oxford myself, I showed her that I hadn't taken her photo or indeed anyone else's but was trying to photograph the buildings. She just wanted her little rant and I guess I was selected at random. Empathising and keeping a smile soon diffused things and she went on her way.
 
OneTen said:
Not abuse as such but a group of us were taking photos around the Bodlean Library in Oxford. I was waiting for crowds to disperse to take a shot and this woman approached me. She was quite angry, saying she was a resident and was sick of having cameras pointed at her and having her picture taken. I explained that I understood and used to live in Oxford myself, I showed her that I hadn't taken her photo or indeed anyone else's but was trying to photograph the buildings. She just wanted her little rant and I guess I was selected at random. Empathising and keeping a smile soon diffused things and she went on her way.
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Keeping cool and not getting into an argument is very wise. Did you get the shot of the building :banana:
 
This guy was none to please about me taking his pic, I don't speak Khmer but the few word I do understand, swear words were being used. I apologised, showed him his picture, bought him a beer and gave him a smoke and we parted the best of friends, after having taken a few more pics of him.

4355118145_c969b53ab2.jpg
 
Voyager said:
I love the 'Cardiff at night' series.

They document a 'now' that could otherwise be lost and add a human face to scenes that are better known only from news items illustrated by grainy CCTV footage.
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These are a great set of shots. That said, nothing in them would encourage me arm myself with an expensive camera and to venture into Cardiff city centre at night to take photos.
 
zoom said:
These are a great set of shots. That said, nothing in them would encourage me arm myself with an expensive camera and to venture into Cardiff city centre at night to take photos.
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Most people are just out for a good time, don't know if he went alone or he had some cover, I would be tempted to take a friend just to watch my back whilst I'm shooting... don't get a problem here with Khmers who enjoy having their pictures taken most of the time, can have problem with westerners on holiday...:thumbs:
 
I have recently been trying my hand at a bit of candid/street photography and i use a 70-300 to avoid any unnecessary confrontation,also there is a bus shelter in the main street which gives me some cover.
 
I love taking candid shots and usually use my 70-200 and so far I've not had any problems. Maybe it's more relaxed here :thinking:

In the markets especially the stall holders will see me taking pictures and point to themselves, smiling, for me to take their picture.
 
The only grief that I ever had was the 2nd time I tried it, camera was less than a week old and there was a couple of skaters outside of the library, thought "great, an oportinity to play with shutter speeds and understand them better". Once the charva boy understood that he was infact in a public place and I could take pics if I wished to do so, he asked "I hope you're not going to use them illegally!" (Came close to saying something inappropraite and smarmy) anyway, one of the boys got out a compact out after hubby had resurfaced with burger kings for us both, and charva boy started snapping away...so I did what any self respecting nutter would do.....



































...and posed! :lol:
 
MagicMynx said:
The only grief that I ever had was the 2nd time I tried it, camera was less than a week old and there was a couple of skaters outside of the library, thought "great, an oportinity to play with shutter speeds and understand them better". Once the charva boy understood that he was infact in a public place and I could take pics if I wished to do so, he asked "I hope you're not going to use them illegally!" (Came close to saying something inappropraite and smarmy) anyway, one of the boys got out a compact out after hubby had resurfaced with burger kings for us both, and charva boy started snapping away...so I did what any self respecting nutter would do.....



...and posed! :lol:
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Excellent !! :thumbs::thumbs::clap::thinking::cuckoo:
 
clandestine filming defintely gives you a rush :lol:.
Ussually before i'm off i try to have some fun. ;)
wise candid photograph techniques have been said !!
 
My nifty fifty seemed adequate last night, but most of the subjects were more than a little ****ed. I doubt they could have distinguished between a gripped Canon or a mobile phone. :D

I've never done street photography before, but it was great fun. As was candidly photographing people in pubs. :thumbs:
 
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