02-24-10 – On the Streets

This kind of shooting is definitely uncomfortable at first. But it’s good to push the boundaries of comfort.

I have to admit before we go live, I am almost cheating. I live in Manhattan, any time I want to do street work, I head for Times Square. Indeed, two out of the three I am posting tonight are in Times Square. Everyone there has a camera, no one pays attention to you and it is full of people doing interesting things. My third tonight (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ennuipoet/4385734158/ is on my street. I swear I never met this woman before the day I took this shot. I was a little drunk, shooting my neighborhood and she just started posing for me. Now, I can’t walk down the street without her wanting me to photograph her, she’s, uh, special. Interestingly, immediately after I took the shot a drunk old man, came up to me, grabbed my lens and starting screaming at me in Spanish. I kept trying to explain to him that I didn’t take his picture and he just kept yelling, yanking the camera until finally I had enough and hit his arm as hard as I could to make him let go. He screamed, let go, and I took off. This is the first, and hopefully only time, this has ever happened. I don’t shoot in my neighborhood anymore.

ETA: Elsinore if her unrequested posing is out of bounds, let me know and I will sub a shot.

I like Farktography for the free abuse. For example, I have to play $20 a picture to have it ignored by the State Fair 😉

and ennuipoet that’s a great shot. We have something on a smaller scale with Old Sacramento – I’ve used a number of pics I’ve taken in the area in the past, and will probably use another this week. There’s some special crazy down there too, but fortunately they’re not my neighbors 😆

I miss The Big Tomato! I lived in Yuba City for seven years, Sacramento was like a metropolis by comparison. I spent quite of bit of time in Old Sac, unfortunately at lot of that time was under the influence of alcohol so I don’t remember it was clearly as I should. 😳

I miss The Big Tomato! I lived in Yuba City for seven years, Sacramento was like a metropolis by comparison. I spent quite of bit of time in Old Sac, unfortunately at lot of that time was under the influence of alcohol so I don’t remember it was clearly as I should. 😳

Heh. We’ve got other watering holes for that sort of debauchery, but Old Sac is definitely a fun little place. Ever go there for Gold Rush Days? Dirt streets, cowboys, the whole schmear. Good times 🙂

Haven’t made it up to Yuba yet – it’s a bit out of our normal patterns, but I know there’s a bunch of wetlands up that way that we’ve been meaning to check out – probably later this spring…

orionid, unfortunatley Sacramento Beer Week (yes, really!!!1!) is this week, so anything I shoot this weekend will probably have to wait for the next booze contest – if they’re not all blurry…

-as to your question, my vote is that if you didn’t know each other, you didn’t know each other. If you started hanging out after, that’s inconsequential in my book.

I don’t know Verdi :/ but it looks like the locals did a pretty good job – I think the biggest brewery involved is Pyramid, and there are 8 or 10 breweries from the greater area that have some part in it. Maybe next year I’ll have time to do the photo scavenger hunt…

I have a question about the ‘Not Posed’ bit in the description. I understand why it’s there. But it might be one of those impossible-to-police issues.

To me, ennuipoet‘s example pic looks posed. But it also totally fits this theme. I have no problem if he uses it. But if that one is OK, then others like it would be OK too. Right?

/btw – none of my three run into this issue. I’m just trying to get ahead of any hurt feelings.

//am I beating a dead horse? Was this already talked about?

I think we decided it just can’t be people you know.

OK. Got no problem with that. Other than the fuzziness. 🙂

On ennuipoet‘s shot, she’s posing, but he didn’t ask her to pose. That’s the tough part. Some people will just start posing when they see you point a camera their direction. Or they’ll smile or do something they otherwise wouldn’t have done. I can see an argument for allowing the picture on the basis that you didn’t ask her to pose/you didn’t actively pose her in any way. On the other hand, to the casual observer, the photo sure looks posed, so it will look like it’s not in keeping with the rules. So if nothing else, it would be something you’d almost have to post a note with your photo saying you didn’t pose or ask the gal to pose in anyway.

I’m not so committed to the photo that I’m going to post it to make waves, I’ll use my back up. If there is one thing my four years of Farking has taught is that if a door is cracked open, someone will walk through it. I’ll leave the posing door closed. 😀