I have an obsession with things. I like shooting people as well, but I tend to stick to things. Things don’t care when you take a picture of them. They don’t spasm into rictus as soon as a camera raises. They don’t worry that you have an ulterior motive. Sometimes people worry that you might have an ulterior motive when you shoot one of their things. I’ve been stopped by cops who think I’m casing a joint. People almost always get uncomfortable when you shoot them. Strangers as much as people who are familiar. Even people who want you to shoot them sometimes clam up when you go to shoot them. I get that, a photographer on the N train was snapping pictures of Robyn and I on the train, and it made me super uncomfortable. I hate getting my picture taken, but I’ve learned to live with it since I tend to put people in the same position. It just feels hypocritical for me to object. It’s a strange sensation, one that I’m acutely aware of whenever I shoot someone. If I didn’t tend to love the pictures I get of people I probably would never even take them. To me, more often then not, its a series of awkward moments.
Note: So if you look at the numbers of the last 7 posts or so they all got fouled up. Something happened and the schedule didn’t work the way it was supposed to.