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Street photography appeals to me. I enjoy candid shots of people going about daily life. I hate having my own picture taken and therefore, I am reluctant to photograph others. But I’m not above surreptitiously capturing people’s souls. I feel guilty about my snoopiness, which is, I suppose, why the word “voyeur” came to mind. Then I looked up the word. Yikes!
Merriam Webster’s online defines a voyeur as:
But Merriam goes on to point out the origin of the word:
“French, literally, one who sees, from Middle French, from voir to see, from Latin videre.”
Oh, I like that a lot better. Perhaps I’m more of a voir. Cities provide inexhaustible opportunities for street photography. An iPhone is a uniquely apt tool for documenting life. Since everyone has one, no one questions what is actually being done with them, and dialing in the exposure of a photograph looks remarkably like scrolling through a ton of messages and feeds.
My recent travels abroad offered wonderful explorations of a a new skill.
It’s only fair that I start with one of my own silly mug.
I’m a klutz with an iPhone and, because of my fear of confrontation should someone suspect what I’m up to, my photos are taken on the fly. I do what I can to make up for the lack of thoughtful set up in post production.
How do you feel about street photography? Would you be horrified, offended, frightened to find your own image popping up somewhere in the media?
Rangewriter 
Thanks. I like these on the fly images in thebsamevway I enjoy snatches of overheard conversations. They give us moments of illumination/information and invite the mind to take up the story! Regards Thom.
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Thom, that’s a really interesting analogy. Thanks!
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As a beginner street photographer, I found this post particularly inspiring! Lovely photos!! I can’t wait to get out and snap some more shots now!!
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Gee thanks! That really makes me feel good. I hope to see the inspired results! 😉 Have fun.
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I like the black and white usage. Well done.
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Thanks, Keith.
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Great! I’m more than a bit of a voyeur myself. Oh, I that was a slip of the finger, I meant voyager. I love taking pictures of people as well as writing portraits,
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And you write wonderful portraits, I might add!
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Love your b&w shots! Very interesting, but I do have to say if I saw myself pop up in the media, I’d wonder why someone was taking my pic.
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Yeah, I’m sure. But would it totally creep you out or would you find it rather amusing that someone was unobtrusively observing you? I find that candid shots of me are far more flattering than when I know the damned camera is pointed my way. I don’t think it would creep me out, but I don’t really know for sure. As is usually the case, I have mixed feelings about this, too!
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What Thom said. Spot on.
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If I get the sense that my photo is being taken, I get a little freaked out, so am shy about taking others candid photos but skie the expressions and gestures free of self-consciousness.
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I understand that freaky feeling. I’m hoping that what we don’t know won’t hurt us. ;-/
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I like the candid shots, Linda, especially that they’re black and white. I have mixed feelings about my own candid photo being taken and posted somewhere on the internet. As far as I know it’s never happened so one less thing to worry about. 🙂 I especially like the guy sitting at the table, smoking. I could write a story about him just from this photo!
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Oh do, Geralyn! That would be so cool. Post it so I can read it. 😉 We could call it a collaboration.
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Let’s see what I can come up with! 🙂
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Ahh, street photography. I find that the most interesting photographs (to me) from the past tend to fall into the street photography categorization. There’s something delicious about seeing human activity amongst other human activity, isn’t there?
I like the ones you’ve shared. I especially like the one of the man sitting at the table smoking a cigarette, alone with his thoughts.
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Thanks, John. That guy smoking at the table kind of freaked me out a bit. I was very glad he didn’t notice my antics. I guess there’s something very honest in street photography. I find myself drawn to the masters of the craft and I can stare at the images for a long time, always wondering to myself what exactly I’m staring at.
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I’ve enjoyed taking such pictures forever. Sometimes I pretend I’m focusing on something else and take a photo of a person. Sometimes I talk to the person and ask permission. When I was in France a few years ago, I made a point of taking photos of women and their dogs. They were always delighted to pose for me. My favorite photo turned out not to be a little dog in a purse in Paris, but a prairie dog in a purse!
The woman had a little comb which she used to groom the prairie dog to his absolute delight!
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I did see that documentary, Carolyn. It was interesting. And your prairie dog story, that is amazing! You should write a short story about that. I’d love to see the photo some day.
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Did you see the documentary about the amateur photographer Vivien Meier when it was at the Flicks? A kind of governess, she spent most of her life taking such photos with her little Kodak box camera while she and her charges were out walking. After her death, her belongings were auctioned off and one of the men who bought them discovered thousands of photos and even undeveloped rolls of film. He’s making a living off her talent.
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I love photographing people as well. I, too, have wondered about the legalities of privacy so have enjoyed articles by excellent photographers who explain how they handle it. When I’m in doubt, I ask the person for permission to post it where I think I may use it. These photographers I studied said they often like to gain the trust, acceptance and approval of people they want to photograph. Especially in another culture. One, Steve McCurry, has sometimes spent days just living and being amongst people before bringing out the camera.
I suppose voyeurism can enter the world of art, but it has to lie in the motives of the artist. It’s certainly not appropriate to call Michelangelo a voyeur; yet look at the endless studies, drawings and paintings of nudes.
I think we have to watch that the world doesn’t turn us into a bunch of cold, unseeing people out of all the political correctness that is laid on the land. We’d all become afraid to engage, enjoy and elevate the spirit of people through art.
We run the risk of seeing others as only physical threats – not as fellow spirits and souls.
I admit that my antennae are up when I’m in unfamiliar territory. If I feel someone is cutting into my energy field, I remove myself.
Plus, I’ve been surprised… a very theatrical, outgoing, positive friend was caught imitating a poster at a gym. The local paper’s photographer saw her having this fun so snapped a pic and put it on his FB Photography Page. I told her about it (she’s not on FB) and much to my surprise, my friend was gobsmacked. She actually contacted him and gave him what-for. Now that amazed me. She loves attention! But she’s not a cell phone person and doesn’t do any social media except email. I strongly suspect it would have been okay if he’d put it in the local paper – cause she’s used to that media.
Photographing children? I always ask parents before I even raise the camera! I have found children are so thrilled over a moment of total spotlight that I feel bad not having the parent’s email so I could share it. Sometimes I’m brave enough to ask if they’d like to see the photo, but I don’t want them having great expectations…
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Thanks for a marvelous and carefully thought out response, Amy! I know my photography would leap several notches if I would push myself out of my comfort zone and engage with people rather than merely stealing their souls and fleeing. I’m like a hit & run artist. I would learn so much more and my images would have more meaning if I engaged with people. But I also find that there is something innately real and truthful about images of people just being themselves, living the most mundane parts of their lives, unposed, unrehearsed, and caught on the fly. For me, looking at images of people who are unaware they are being observed is the best way to really connect with their humanity and spirit.
That said, I worry about invading another human being’s energy field . . . even if they are unaware that they have been invaded. I’m particularly aware of parental concern. And parents have every right to be bristly and protective. I know that I will not do anything with images I take that could harm people. As a matter of fact, probably 98%of the images I take never see the light of day. But the subjects don’t know this and have no guarantee of that fact. I do carry a business card in case someone wants to have or see a copy of images I’ve taken. But I think I’ve only ever used that once or twice.
Your friend’s situation is interesting. I suspect that if she stumbled across my blog or my Flickr site and discovered herself there, she’d be surprised, a little shocked, and maybe even a little flattered that some stranger had noticed her. But for this very public photographer to have taken her photo and posted it anywhere without her permission seems odd to me, perhaps even illegal. His FB Photography page is undoubtedly a form of advertising of his work. Photography is his profession, so this is a totally different thing. And, I suspect if that photographer had approached her after taking the photo, shown it to her and asked her permission to post it, she may well have been quite pleased about the whole thing.
Interesting things to ponder. Thanks a lot for sharing that story.
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I love street photography, Linda! It’s like a snapshot of life in any given place. I, too, love my new iPhone. I recently replaced my old 3G for a 5S and the camera is splendid. Cheers!
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The 3G to the 5S is quite a leap. Enjoy. The camera is better in the 5S, but I’ve learned to never use the zoom function. Zoomed shots are grainy and awful. But at a standard focal length the iPhone is really remarkable.
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Interesting thread here. You’ve got some great photos! What an eye. I love the one of the woman walking her dog, the guys with the pigeons, and, yes, Smoker Guy.
As far as taking a photo of me without my knowledge is concerned and keeping it for private consumption, I don’t really care much. I totally understand someone’s passion for the art of it and catching people unaware really does reveal a humanity that’s harder to capture otherwise.
But where actually posting it in a public forum without permission is concerned, I do think it’s a gross invasion of privacy. Sorry Linda! With the widespread availability of face recognition software and it’s use by employers, insurance companies, police, stalkers, ex-spouses, collection agencies, rapists, etc. etc. etc, any photos published online can have far reaching consequences, both good and bad. I’d always want to ask if it was okay first, just to make sure.
Thanks for being thought provoking, as usual!
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Dia, I count on you to raise the difficult questions and frame them in a way I hadn’t considered. I really hadn’t thought about face-recognition software and its implications to random shots of people’s faces and locations.
At the same time, I wonder what we are sacrificing in our fear of disclosure and fussing over privacy. Yes, bad things can happen. There are lunatics out there who prey on the innocent. But what would the world be like without the works of masters like Henri Cartier Bresson and Sebastiao Salgado who have captured moments in time? I’m sure they haven’t secured subjects’ permission before or after pressing the shutter release.
It’s a difficult issue. By posting an obscure image of someone, I force that person into my own personal belief system which disregards safety and lacks concern for the evils that lurk. I rob the subject of control. I console myself that so few people ever see my images that chances for evil are pretty finite.
Let’s face reality. Unless one is a shut-in, one’s image is part of the public sphere, like it or not. Nearly every store we walk into records an image, as do many public venues. Safety and privacy are both illusions, in my humble opinion.
I’d love to hear from other readers about their concerns. Does it bother you that you have no control over who sees you, records images of you? Are you bothered by data bases and Big Brother? It is a complex issue. Thanks for raising a provocative point, Dia.
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Great collection of pictures Linda. Awesome.
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Thanks, Arindam!
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My favourite is the toddler walking down steps!
We have a granddaughter who is very good at taking selfies and she puts them on FB. When Peter takes a selfie of the two of us, they always turn out horrible. I would never give him permission to put them on FB!
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Frankly, any selfie of me is a disaster, also!
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