The Look

Brook Street #3

I'm certainly getting braver with this street photography. Some would say foolhardy. That handbag really hurt!

I wasn't actually aware of "the look" when I took this picture. The sun was bright and all I was concerned with was the general composition. I was just vaguely aware of these two women in their stylish winter chic and thinking that the light was perfect for a good shot. That said, I'm still not sure what constitutes a good shot, nor even whether it is right to be taking such photographs and posting them to an audience like this. There is a lot here that I'm thinking about.

When I set out on my blip adventure it was all about recording a moment from my day, and that is still largely the case. It's not very often that I go out with the camera just in order to get a photograph to blip. Most of my shots are a result of having my camera with me as I go about my day. I found myself here on Brook Street today at the end of a run I took at lunchtime, but I must admit to loitering with intent for a few minutes to see if anything interesting might turn up.

I'm posting this mostly to raise the point that it is very hard to do this kind of photography in a vacuum. The act of observing influences the observed. I've changed the scene here by my very presence on the street with the camera. Does that make it a less valid street photograph? Or just a different kind of street photograph, where the scene involves the photographer and the subject becomes the reaction to the camera? I'd love to have some of your thoughts.

Thanks for the wonderful reaction to yesterday's Snow Day. I've put together a small series of shots from yesterday here. Click on the Slideshow button. I did spend a very enjoyable few hours processing the images and I was really pleased with the results.

PS I didn't actually get hit. That was a blatant lie to catch your interest. The smile did the trick again!