Re: [Leica] Reassuring the public

["Dan Post" <dwpost@email.msn.com>]

Paul-
Not a bad idea, and you might offer to give them a signed print if they seem
apprehensive. I know that many PJs use a polaroid snap as a gift to reassure
subjects in foreign lands- I saw where some NG photographer did it and was
nearly covered up by children who wanted their photgrph made!
Getting to meet the folks there might help- if it is a 'neighborhood' park-
the same families probably frequent the same areas; then once you are known
to several people, you should become an accepted part of the scenery, as it
were.
Let us know how it works!
Dan
- -----Original Message-----
From: Paul Chefurka <chefurka@magma.ca>
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Date: Saturday, May 15, 1999 8:49 PM
Subject: [Leica] Reassuring the public


>I hope some of you will have helpful suggestions about resolving a
>situation that many amateur street photographers face in their work.
>It's about the concern that parents have when they see some stranger
>snapping pictures of their children in a public place.
>
>I'm strictly amateur these days, and I've given myself the assignment
>of producing a photo-essay on the human activities in a local
>river-edge park, to be shot in evening light during the summer.
>
>One of the features of the park is a very popular play structure -
>slides, ladders, swings, climbing tubes, all set in a sand pit -
>basically a kids' heaven.  Of course, such a setting is a natural for
>shooting our future captains of industry at their least
>self-conscious.  And this is one of the things I did this evening.
>
>However.
>
>I discovered that it's not the 70's any more, and some parents are
>very concerned about a strange man with a couple of Leicas snapping
>pictures of their kids.  I was not approached directly; my wife told
>me about a man who had expressed to her his apprehension about my
>activities.  I went up and spoke to him, explaining my amateur status,
>emphasizing that the photos were for my own enjoyment and that they
>would not be published anywhere.  He said that basically he didn't
>know me from Adam, and had no way of knowing whether his son's
>pictures might appear next week in some scuzzy L.A. publication.
>Ultimately he accepted my expressions of good will, and nothing more
>came of it.
>
>I understand his concern, however, and want to do something to address
>it.  As I see it, I have two choices - find some way of allaying his
>fears, or stop taking these sorts of photos.  Obviously I'd rather try
>the first option.
>
>As I see it, there are two ways of allaying concern - talk to people
>either before the fact or after the fact.  Before the fact doesn't
>work in this situation - I can't single out a child, find their parent
>or guardian, get permission, return to the situation, and expect to
>get any kind of spontaneous photo.  So that leaves me with figuring
>out how to alleviate concerns that are expressed to me either after
>the photos are taken or during their taking.
>
>Tonight I tried relying on my honest face, my obvious lack of guile
>and my willingness to speak to the concerned father.  While this goes
>a long way, it will not satisfy everyone, and I have no desire to be
>assaulted over my hobby or have my cameras damaged through an excess
>of protective zeal.
>
>The best idea I've come up with so far is a business sized card. It
>would have printed on it something like the following:
>
>My name is Paul Chefurka
>My address is 1020 Barwell Avenue, Ottawa
>My telephone number is 613-829-2651
>I am an amateur photographer - taking pictures is my hobby.
>None of my photographs are intended for publication.
>
>I could hand this card to anyone with concerns, to supplement my
>honest face and guileless demeanor :-)
>
>Has anyone here used a similar technique, and if so does it help?
>Are there any other suggestions about how to defuse this potentially
>unpleasant situation?
>
>Paul Chefurka