[Leica] Human Traffic

["sam" <salex@idt.net>]

I've done a lot of Leica street "Human Traffic" shooting in the Times Square
area of NYC. In the 60's and 70's, you could pretty much do it without
reaction or confrontation. As the corporate developers let parts of the area
deteriorate prior to the "new" Disneyland, it got a lot more difficult.
There was a time (80's up to mid 90's) when you could have been in serious
danger trying to take people pictures. . .especially on 42nd street.
Once, shooting the dying theatre marquees with no people in my M3 finder, a
10 year old kid actually flagged down a passing police car and complained
that I was taking his picure! Today the area is mostly inhabited by
passing-through commuters and tourists - mostly foreign. Street shooting
doesn't seem to be a problem, though most of the color, texture and people
that made it unique and interesting have gone (there are still some areas -
8th Avenue South of 42nd Street for example - where pointing your Leica
could be asking for BIG trouble).  In the general TS area, it's more likely
that someone else will be shooting YOUR picture! But not often with a Leica,
from my experience.

sam