OK, It's been quite a while since I've posted here. Life has been busy, but not really that busy. I've still been photographing a bit, but it's been on and off too. Mostly I've been working on and off on street material with some mix of Alt Right influx's into Berkeley. I've also taken 2 photo workshops in the last year too. The first was fun, easy and nice 3 day visit to the downtown area of Seattle with Peter Turnley of mainly human based street photography, the other was about month ago in SF of three days or more intense more advanced street photography. I came out of both with mixed opinion of the work and of my own work. IN both palaces and cases, my better work was photographing children. Up until last year, I almost never photographed random kids, it just wasn't socially exceptionable in my book. Now I have a better idea of how to read folks in these types of situations and what not, but not always.
Seattle
San Fransisco (SOMA area)
Anyway, forward today here in Berkeley. I finished up a catching a lecture at BAMPF and on the way home wanted to finish up a roll of film. I've been trying to capture folks leaving a street level elevator using a slow shutter speed. Ideally the elevator is in full focus, while people moving into it, out of it, or across it would be motion blur. I've opted not ask folks for any permission in part because I can't really contact folks coming up, and me being the big guy that I am am very blatantly out in front of the elevator with a camera point an camera at it ready to take a picture. If you don't want me to take your your photo, just tell me or at least give some sign that you don't want it. That's always worked for me when I've taken photos like this. Well until today. I had a gentleman walk across the door in front of me and the door and click the camera and he heads to the bus stop next to us. I wing the film and set up for the next shot, which take a minute or two, but this time I didn't take a photo as the person who has come out of the elevator is in a wheelchair. I didn't take the photo for two reasons, first the person is too low in frame and it won't fill frame right. I'm also apprehensive of photographing a person in a wheel chair who is using the elevator for the right reason (It's the only way up out of BART for someone who handicapped). Most folks using this as an exit are very able body'd folks and again wouldn't have a problem photographing them (I do usually smile and if I make eye contact with them say hello too). Anyway, back to guy who waled by, he kind of comes back over and ask's what I'm doing. I'm happy to tell him, street photography and that I'e capturing images of people interacting with the BART elevator in such a way as not capture them, but not in recognizable way. He in turn wants to have an argument the right to not be photographed in public. I stayed as diplomatic as I could, but basically told him, how he would handle this, isn't how I handle it. He's not happy, but his bus come and he's gone. I stand outside this BART elevator another 5 minutes and no one uses it and I move on.
I do understand what the guy say said, and what he felt here. He blindly walked in front of me (all 6 foot 275 pounds of me (I don't hide when I photograph, it's just physically possible) and try read the people around me when I do street photography. But alas, I'm still not always good at reading people. Oh well. Anyway, on the way home stopped by Trader Joes for some milk. IN line, I ran into another gentleman I photographed over a year earlier at one of the alt right troll sessions that have been occurring here in Berkeley. I couldn't talk that long with him and I left him a card so I could share what I had. Hopefully he'll email me and I can share it with him as I think it was a good photo of him t00
Cheers folks
