mondiani Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 May you try not use offensive words, as pathetic when you speak to me? I'm only giving my opinion following my own photography practice, not looking for a fight with anyone.<p> Let me sumarize my experience in a few sentences.<br> Taking pictures is not offensive,<br> Taking street pictures is not offensive,<br> Taking children photography is not devilish<br> Most of people are flattered been choosen by the street photographer when they notice it. Most parents are flattered when you take a picture of their children.<p> I never sneak, I never hide, I take pictures openly and friendly. Most people come to me to discuss friendly with me never to hit me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travis1 Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 to answer the original question, no i don't say anything. I just smile when they see me. I pretend to like them and then walk off. No 2 ways about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike dixon Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 If I get caught, I either smile, or ignore them, or talk to them (depends on the situation). It's no big deal. I have years of experience photographing thousands of people over hundreds of hours in many cities/several countries to back that up. The internet's the only place where people make a fuss over it. [And I'm not too worried about having -my- ass kicked by someone who needs a pipe wrench to focus a 75 Summilux.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin m. Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 I'm not a street photographer - I'm not particularly comfortable photographing uninvited - but there are thirteen people in this frame and not one of them is paying me any attention, even though I'm 6'5" and I'm crouched within a couple of feet. I think what I'm learning is that the human reaction to being photographed can be a primitive one (as Jay's reaction demonstrates) and that people can very quickly sense whether or not you mean them any harm with your camera. Give off the right 'vibe' and you can almost disappear.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_lee2 Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 Nice photo Kevin. Very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad_ Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 Kevin and Mike are right. It's your attitude people react to. I've got a couple of stories, but they're not the norm and barely worth discussing. Common sense, acting like you belong, and a smile work 99.99% of the time. www.citysnaps.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_. Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 <<I think what I'm learning is that the human reaction to being photographed can be a primitive one (as Jay's reaction demonstrates)>> I'll have to accede to your authority on that one as you are a rung or two lower than I on the evolutionary chain. I think I've expressed my position in a rational and sane manner that every parent can relate to. I don't really believe--nor does anybody else here who has children, whether they admit it or choose to join the pack of yapping canines nipping harmlessly at my heels--that anyone would remain complacent and blase to a stranger with a camera snapping pictures of their children. The few misguided peons here who continue to take what I say completely out of context and try to paint a picture of someone whose values are at odds with those of society are so laughably obvious in their bumbling that it doesn't even merit a thoughtful response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_. Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 <<[And I'm not too worried about having -my- ass kicked by someone who needs a pipe wrench to focus a 75 Summilux.]>> Mike, one could also use a pipewrench to focus a street photographer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claudia__ Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 ever heard of "the evil eye"? heh, you big strong he-man SPs should fly to Sicily, take pix of children and report back to us. if you return that is ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray . Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 Maybe a pipewrench on the camera would've helped <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=005SKa">this</a>. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_m__toronto_ Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 with all due respect jay, this paranoia of yours is one of few huge problems in our culture today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_. Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 With all due respect Matt (and that isn't much)you are obviously not a parent or else you've got your head deeply inbedded in the sand, to the detriment of your children. I did not create the situation,the kidnappers, perverts, pornographers and the court system that sets them free to do it again are wholly to blame for it. The very fact that you call it "paranoia" marks you as someone who is clueless and far out of the loop on the issue. Every day children's lives are dstroyed by some pedophile and the vast majority of parents are fed up with laws and courts that place the rights of young victims dead last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_. Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 <<Ray . , jul 30, 2004; 11:47 a.m. Maybe a pipewrench on the camera would've helped this.>> Definitely this.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_m__toronto_ Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 jay, your first line sums your character up to me. hypocrite. you speak of manners and courtesy in public and then you make childish statements like the one above. as said before, a majority of the the child abuse/pedophailia cases are found within the family or friends. very rarely is it a stranger. stop being an arm chair warrior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray . Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 At least you're talking about a photograph now Jay. Nice going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_. Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 <<very rarely is it a stranger. stop being an arm chair warrior.>> Matt I thought your first post gave away your ignorance but it seems you still have plenty of it left. Family and "friends" of the family (included here are teachers and clergy) do indeed make up the majority of child *molestations*, but such acts by strangers are anything but rare and when they do occur are almost always accompanied by additional violence and sometimes murder. And the subjects of child pornographers are rarely ever their family members. Matt you are simply attempting to regurgitate sound bites and passing them off as knowledge. After you've been called in on a few dozen cases to do forensic dentistry on bite marks made on children by these monsters, then come back and tell me I'm an armchair warrior. Meantime stick to what you have a clue about, whatever that might be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_m__toronto_ Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 ok jay, let's drop the child molestation issues. now i'm just calling you for being hypocrytical. your points are very valid, but why can't you leave it at that...instead you have a diarrhea(sp?) of the mouth that just can't seem to stop without adding an insult. "Meantime stick to what you have a clue about, whatever that might be." - why finish like that? serves no purpose but to insult. i've met with a few people on this board. they have some sense of who i am. but again, i don't know you , you don't know me. you or i could be (name your character) putting on a show. in your case, pick a persona and stick with it. get a spine, don't flip flop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vic_. Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 This has officially become a Mexican standoff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin m. Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 Jay, of these "dozens" of cases of molestation and murder, in how many did the perpetrator start off by taking the victims picture in public? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin m. Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 ...'Cause if there was even one, that would make you sound a little less in need of a tranquilizer dart to the hindquarters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_. Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 I can recall at least three where witnesses said the saw the defendant earlier loitering with a camera near the child's school, and another at a playground. In all but one case however it was a camcorder. There was also a case not that long ago that my brother brought to my attention where a convicted pedophile was arrested for stalking kids with a camera. Evidently he stupidly thought that by using a telephoto he could stay far enough away to avoid being guilty of a parole violation! But the most common illicit use of unauthorized photographs of children is to composite their faces onto the bodies of "petite" adults in lewd poses and engaging in sexual acts. I golf with a prosecuting attorney and he's the one who told me about it, I would have never have had the imagination to think that one up. Don't get me wrong, I believe that the majority of street photographers are just out for their own amusement or dream of becoming the next HCB, and have no nefarious intent whatsoever. I just am not willing to make the automatic assumption that the one who's snapping my kids is one of the good guys. But the level-headed among you already knows that. All this is just a couple of the usual suspects trying to bait me and me giving them just enough rope to hogtie themselves with their own clownish doubletalk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin m. Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 Don't get you wrong? Oh, NOW, you're speaking sensibly! After threatening bodily harm to anyone who snapped your pic in public without your permission? After hinting that a pipe wrench would be just the tool for the job? After implying a connection between candid street photography and kidnapping, pedophilia and murder? Your attempt to sound reasonable comes a few years too late; I think all us "usual suspects" "get you" just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtdnyc Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 A few years ago, I was out walking with my nephew, who must have been about 7 years old at the time, and his dog, a 200-pound English mastiff. As we waited for a red light to change, a street photographer jumped in front of us, squatted down, fired off a frame and ran off. Since I have been taking photographs on the street in New York for about 20 years, I understand what he was doing and I recognized the irresistible appeal of photographing small boy with big dog. Still, his behavior creeped me out. If I could have run after him and confronted him without abandoning my nephew, I would have. And I can easily see the situation might have escalated into one where, well, I would want Jay backing me up, regardless who might legally have been in the right. Fast forward a few weeks. My sister-in-law was out with my nephew and the dog. A photographer for the New York Daily News snapped a shot of them, non-furtively, and then requested their names to use in the caption. The image was published and my nephew has a print of it on the wall. (For what it's worth, the photographer in this case was a woman.) Perhaps it's not the act of photography but the manner in which the photographer behaves that makes all the difference in many cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike dixon Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 <i>Don't get me wrong, I believe that the majority of street photographers are just out for their own amusement or dream of becoming the next HCB, and have no nefarious intent whatsoever. I just am not willing to make the automatic assumption that the one who's snapping my kids is one of the good guys.</i><P>I don't think we're getting you wrong. It seems pretty clear that you think assuming that those who might be snapping your kids are among the 0.00001% who might have a criminal intent justifies your belligerence. You make the blanket statement that any parent would share your paranoia, but no one so far has leapt to support that assertion (and I think there are quite a few parents who read this board). If you genuinely think that assaulting strangers for no obvious reason will actually make your children proud or make them feel safe, you really should consult a family counselor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boris_chan1 Posted July 31, 2004 Share Posted July 31, 2004 For the sake of those lacking in stamina, I'd like to offer edited highlights of Jay's contribution to the debate: Jay: ".....you will ask my permission......I......respond.....no.....you run......street shooter who can't work, walk or eat solid food......as a result of a beating......Do I feel lucky?......some hump was taking pictures of my daughters......defending.....children.....pervert.......I am a very large very angry guy.....he......is up to no good.......The right to photograph in public should become assault......shove your camera in your face......kicking him in the face......If you saw a guy like me......you'd sh*t yourself......cowardly bully......devils in our midst.......lower.....on the evolutionary chain.....rational......sane......stranger.....children.....you are obviously not a parent......kidnappers, perverts, pornographers, pedophiles....molestations.....violence......murder......child pornographers.......armchair warrior.....loitering with a camera.....stalking kids......lewd poses......sexual acts.......clownish doubletalk." I can't imagine a more eloquent illustration of the greatest problems facing the USA today - ignorance, fear of the unknown, and downright paranoia. Either that or Florida has become an awful lot more scary since I last visited Disneyland......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now