One of my goals in photography is to shoot street photography.
Two of my photography heroes are John Free and Eric Kim.
But shooting photos of people I don't know terrifies me. I don't know why.
I've shot street photography before. I've shot strangers before, but these were events where cameras are expected, like festivals, sporting events, family functions.
It's like I have a vampires ethos when I shoot photography. I can only take your picture if you let me. Other than that, my camera stays nestled in my pocket.
Like today:
I carry my Sony RX100 M7 everywhere I go, but it stays mainly in my pocket. I saw tons of photographic opportunities but didn't take the shot. And I have a pang of Catholic guilt about missing it.
If I'm lucky, I'll find a nice shaft of light on a building or a gaggle of pigeons.
But urban photography isn't my cup of tea, nor is urban wildlife. So the pictures bore me, and I usually delete them after a week or so.
Ditto for still life. I've tried still life and to some good effect, but still, after the initial rush of actually taking a damn picture - delete.
Still, I know I need to shoot people. People are interesting. Eyes are interesting. So I know what I need to do but can't do it.
It's ironic because I'm in sales and used to rejection. The difference is I'm selling a product. My photography is my creativity, and my creativity is part of my personality.
So I would take this rejection personally. But, look, I didn't make the rules; I just play it as it lays.
I think that's why I picked up Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton while browsing through Half Price Books.
The one thing that caught me about Brandon's book was the stories, quotes, and tidbits accompanying his portraits.
I liked that.
I'm thinking of forcing myself to do a thirty-day portrait challenge of people I don't know. The thing is, I need to if possible, get a story.
I took a portrait last week at Strawberry Farms when I took this picture of an old gentleman waiting for his daughter. I just wish I remembered the guy's name.
