Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/09/19
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I fear you have misunderstood me. My comment about newsworthy scope overriding someone's saying NO would be justifiable only when you were actually doing news photography of a public event, not just having some fun intruding upon some person's privacy with a camera. If I'm being paid to cover Joe "The Razor" Putitoffski's execution and he shields his face with his hand, well, I'm going to try to get the shot. You may think it abhorrent but that's what I'm paid to do and rules of common courtesy are not applying there. If some other observer gets in the shot and then turns to say "Don't you take my picture!", I'm going to respond, "Well, get out of the way!" This is news reportage of a public event in a public place. Anyone whom I'm casually photographing because I think they have a neat face or whatever and who indicates that they'd prefer not to be photographed I immediately cap the lens, apologize for the intrusion, and turn away. If I think that a photograph of them would be particularly interesting, I might try just entreating with them a little bit to see whether the intrusion of a camera was offensive because it was unexpected, or that they just don't like having a picture taken, or whatever. In some cases, some subjects have relented and allowed me to make the photographs, and enjoyed the copies I sent them afterwards. Other times they have remained firm that they didn't want to be photographed or even refused to engage conversation. No problem. >In photographic relations, as in relations between the sexes, NO means NO. >What don't you understand about that, as the feminists are wont to ask? As in relations between the sexes, NO means NO. Absolutely. But sometimes 'no' doesn't mean NO. It means "maybe" or "hmm, i gotta think about it" or "well, only if you tickle my feet" or whatever. Learning to differentiate NO from 'no' is tricky, we sometimes make mistakes. It's the mistakes which guide our learning, best not to make BIG mistakes... Sometimes, it's a miracle the human race continues to breed at all. Godfrey