RE: [Leica] Human Traffic

[Photovilla@aol.com]

<<

Hi Dan, hope you bring your own kids with you to the playground.  Around

here parents might not take kindly to a stranger taking pictures of their

kids in a playground.  I would be afraid of someone calling the cops.  I

would find street photography safer.  But having said that, I wonder if

Johnny would have the same laisser-faire reaction from his subjects here in

Canada or the USA.  I believe people might be more confrontational on this

side of the pond.  Speculation on my part. Maybe some of the Luggers can

relate their experience in street photography in the USA and Canada.


Rene>>

When I taught a class in photography at CUNY in NYC a few years ago one of my 
students was actually picked up for shooting near a playground in Central 
Park. He wasn't even shooting the children as I recall. He wanted to be Garry 
Winogrand.

The cops actually called me at the school and asked if this guy was an 
enrolled student in my class as he told them that he was just shooting 
"street photography" for his class. 

After I confirmed that he was indeed enrolled, they still "detained" him for 
several hours not believing that he wasn't shooting the children. I'm not 
sure how shooting children turns into "pedophile" in their book anyway...but 
it did in his case. They warned and threatened him and finally let him go. We 
had a great class that day, a real discussion! ;->

Another photographer I know was doing a book on US shopping malls and when 
someone asked him for his film after he shot a photo he ended up getting a 
glass of coke thrown on him! (hope he had a filter on that Summicron that 
day!) This wasn't any sort of "incriminating" photo either. Just a shot of 
"human traffic." 

I think Bruce Davidson was assaulted several times and maybe robbed shooting 
his book Subway as I recall, which is a similar type idea but on the Subways 
of NY in the 70's.

In my opinion, shooting "human traffic" is probably one of the more difficult 
things to do safely. Just too many variables, at least here in the city where 
the traffic is thick and you never know who you are going to meet...

It is exciting though. Never know what is going to happen, and I don't mean 
the lighting!

Let me shoot portraits and landscapes any day!<g>

later,
Rich