The great pyramids of London
London, ON, May 2009
I had a good time taking this one. I had dropped our munchkins off on a playdate one day last spring, and because I'm often obsessed with efficiency, didn't want to drive the 6 kilometers home only to make the return trip barely two hours later. So I took the camera with me and headed for a nearby park in the hope that I'd be inspired by the suburban sameness around me.
The park was unimaginably devoid of anything worth shooting. Check that: I'm sure there was something interesting. But I just didn't have the patience on that sunny, windy afternoon. So after walking around for a while and feeling nothing, I headed back to the wondervan. As I approached the street, my brain kicked back into gear and I suddenly saw stories in the suburban sameness.
So I stood on the sidewalk and shot across the street toward these rooftops. The sun was moving in and out of a passing bank of clouds, so it took me a bit longer than usual to get the shot. And while I stood there in a trench coat and boots, looking very Mad Max-, post-Apocalyptic-ish, I lost count of how many passing cars and pedestrians slowed down. Doubtless they wondered what the heck I was up to.
I think I was wondering, too. Either way, the thought that I could give a little jolt to complete strangers made me smile. Before long, my watch beeped, so I packed up my traveling photographic freak show and headed off to pick up the little ones.
Your turn: How do strangers react to your pulling out your camera?
About this photo: It's Thematic Photographic's monochrome week. The fun starts here. It really does!
responding to your query regarding the photographing of strangers. Every picture tells a story!
ReplyDeletehttp://rinklyrimes.blogspot.com/2010/03/in-response.html
I love your descriptions of how you get your shots.
ReplyDeleteLooks a lot like the sea of rooftops I watch (for movement?) each day as I drive into work.
ReplyDeleteIt used to be that whenever I pulled out my SLR, people asked, "do you work for a paper?" or something similar. While I did for a brief time, that usually was not the reason, so I would just say, "No, photography is my hobby."
Where (and when) we live now, DSLR's are prodigious, so my camera barely ever gets me a second look. I like that!
There's always something to shoot, isn't there?
ReplyDeleteUsually strangers like it; it's like you're opening up a small gallery for them, an opportunity to see something from someone else's viewpoint that they wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't pulled out that camera. Mostly they smile afterwards, a small 'thank you' that they don't need to say...I like it :)