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September 7, 2011

A missed photo opportunity.

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Posted by Documentally

Comments (5)

Sep 07, 2011

simfin said...

In those situations do you ask for permission after the shot? There are many times I want to take a pic of members of public but feel awkward and a bit nervous that they may react badly. If it's a specific person then I may show them and ask if they're ok about it but in truth, most days are missed opportunities as I daren't take the shot for fear of a bad reaction.

Sep 07, 2011

Documentally said...

I never ask and am rarely if ever challenged. People don't talk to each other as it is. On the rare occasions I get a funny look. I will comment on how I love the scene and i think if you sound like a geek you have immediately defused the situation. I know the definition of public and private space is a contentious one I like to shoot first and answer questions later.

Sep 07, 2011

Elaine Edwards said...

Love the audioboo and I know just what you mean about the missed opportunity shots. I miss them every day too even though I've always at least one camera. There are times when driving that I just want to screech to a halt on the hard shoulder and capture a field of yellow rapeseed or cows, or a streak of pink and red in a dawn sky, or a snow covered mountain. The cops tend not to like it when you do that though!
The issue of capturing members of the public in such settings as here on the tube is definitely a difficult area. I recently wrote about the Luascrush website, set up to encourage members of the public to post surreptitiously captured pics of people they fancied on public transport. The Data Protection Commissioner in Ireland took an interest in the matter and it was subsequently taken down.
There's an exemption in the data protection act for work of artistic or journalistic merit. But I don't know that it's ever been tested. Put it this way: I don't find your pic at all creepy or weird, but the ones of strangers captured just because someone fancied them were very creepy. How does one glean motive from such images and does it matter? I don't know. I wouldn't be crazy about finding my own image on a site though.

Sep 07, 2011

simfin said...

Have you seen this? http://tubecrush.net/

Sep 07, 2011

Elaine Edwards said...

Oh yes indeed. The luascrush guys based their site on it.