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I took a couple of days off this week and was able to spend some time just shooting without the need to be somewhere else. Not feeling the pressure of time freed me up to be creative and patient, and I believe the images reflect that creativity and patience. Having the luxury of time totally transforms the street shooting process. Standing in one spot for twenty minutes waiting for the right shot to come to me is not something I’m able to do ordinarily. What a treat it was. Yesterday I packed along my X-Pro 1 with 35mm and my X100 for a walk from City Hall to Bush and Market via the Tenderloin. I took my time. Watched what was going on. Soaked it all in. I hadn’t walked that way before. I noticed I was being followed and photographed repeatedly by a very animated young woman with a cell phone camera. She approached me at the corner of Turk and Hyde and asked (I’d have said demanded, but the conversation turned out fine) in a very suspicious manner what I was doing, why I was taking pictures. What I did with the photographs once I’d shot them. If I was working with the Police. It was a conversation that will stick with me for awhile because it was the first time that I had had to explain what street photography was to someone who had absolutely no idea what it meant, what it was or why anyone would take photographs of strangers doing seemingly mundane things. To her, I was a threat. What I was saying didn’t make sense, or she didn’t initially believe me. I hadn’t taken her photo either before or after the encounter, but it was obvious she was looking out for her neighborhood and I had nothing to hide, so I was open and friendly and took the time to talk with her......
Via Thomas Menk
