[bbluesman]

I've just jumped into this, read the first and last pages, missed all the nuanced discussion, but here's my input.

1) In the US at least, street shooting is legal. I'll leave the ethical questions to others. But see (3) below.

2) I do (or have done) a lot of stealthy street shooting in the USA, Mexico, and Guatemala. One approach: hold a small PNS cam (digital or film) with a fairly wide lens in your hand, roughly aim and trigger it when desired. Another: hang around your neck an autofocus cam (digital or film) and/or use a wide lens stopped down, with a remote cable to work the shutter. Another: nonchalantly hang that cam over your shoulder, but keep a hand on it, and trigger the shutter as desired. Or: just put the SLR to your eye, aim and shoot -- reactions may vary, but they're all interesting.

3) A century ago, as Kodaks etc proliferated, CAMERA FIENDS (snapshooters) were considered major social miscreants, with serious proposals for their extermination. Now, masses of folks carry phonecams, tiny still and video cams, etc, and surveillance cams abound in all but the most remote locations. Privacy is an illusion. Do you know what WalMart or CitiCorp or McFood outlets or your local cops or those crazy tourists are doing with your image? Do you care? Why?

4) Real Soon Now, some of us will have electronic imaging devices implanted in our bodies. We will become walking cameras, filling as much storage as is available with as much imagery as we can stand. Will 'street photography' be as outmoded as CB radio?

Privacy is an illusion-profound,true and agreed,
If 4 is true I'd like 50mm 1.7 lenses...

[gnaztee]

All really nice but this 1 exquisite. Love everything about it. Job well done.

Thank you so much!

It is extremely rare for me to call a photograph perfect, but this one is in every possible way. If I had the money I would buy a print of this from you in a heartbeat.

All right...I'm humbled...thank you very much...I made sure to thank the little girl's mother, who was the "instigator"

[WMBP]

Find someone to go with you, join a photo club and go out on the streets together. For this picture below, i was feeling very bold with someone else along so i set up my tripod square in the center of the sidewalk. It took some time so i had pedestrians walk around to either side of the tripod. But they were OK with it and i got the impression they thought it was kinda funny.

Brassai actually took a bodyguard with him into the streets of Paris in the 1930s. He was shooting prostitutes, pimps, and other inhabitants of the demimonde. The risk of getting beaten up was, I guess, pretty real.

Will

[bbluesman]

Here's a decent podcast on the topic of street photog covering much of what we've discussed here as well as history,etc. Not bad.

[jgredline]

from last week I believe, but I am now just looking at them

[Blue]

Javier,
I like the cow-hippie with the guitar giving you the bird. Did you compliment him on his cowboy boots?

[jgredline]

Javier,
I like the cow-hippie with the guitar giving you the bird. Did you compliment him on his cowboy boots? :Hysterical:

Hey, Blue. I knew you would catch that. Check out how he was trying to be cool and subtle about saluting me....

[KierraElizabeth]

Just coming to this thread, and have read the entire thing..phew!

First--gnatzee--absolutely STUNNING work. I don't normally consider myself a fan of street photography...but dang! I gotta give props where they are due!

Next, this has been a most intriguing discussion re: the ethical issues. I see some very valid and thought-provoking arguments for both sides of the issue.

Finally, a few questions for the regular street photographers that came to mind while I was reading through the posts (please keep in mind I have no agenda other than pure curiosity in asking these):
1--Some of you mentioned the expectation of privacy (or lack thereof) in the street--what about the capture of private moments, illicit acts, or of people/events in 'private' areas of the street, such as an alley, alcove, other? Do you feel that the increased expectation of privacy (or perceived hope for privacy) in these places affects your right to photograph them?

2--For those of you who shoot often (weekly/daily) what is your intent in taking the photos? Simply to look at on your own camera? To show to others/post to your flickr/blog, etc?

3--(and I know I am opening a whole can of worms here, but again am just interested in the various answers) Do you feel any ethical dilemma in posting photos (such as some that have been posted here) online, in forums, flickr, blog, etc without permission? Especially such forums as are public? Wouldn't this in some sense be considered the publication of someone's image with/without consent? If you do post photos to such places, do you see this as affecting the ethics of your photography, since the end intent is publication?

[Blue]

. . .
3--(and I know I am opening a whole can of worms here, but again am just interested in the various answers) Do you feel any ethical dilemma in posting photos (such as some that have been posted here) online, in forums, flickr, blog, etc without permission? Especially such forums as are public? Wouldn't this in some sense be considered the publication of someone's image with/without consent? If you do post photos to such places, do you see this as affecting the ethics of your photography, since the end intent is publication?

I do it out of interest and historical aspects in part. Past historical records were made because someone made images. Not all were done by the news media etc. It is about people in part and historical buildings, bridges, mills etc as well.

As far as #3 goes, no money is taken hands as in a commercial ad campaign. Do you think the news media asks permission for video and still images before they end up in the print news paper, on TV or on the internet? They do not under the 1st Amendment.

[figmental1978]

1--Some of you mentioned the expectation of privacy (or lack thereof) in the street--what about the capture of private moments, illicit acts, or of people/events in 'private' areas of the street, such as an alley, alcove, other? Do you feel that the increased expectation of privacy (or perceived hope for privacy) in these places affects your right to photograph them?

A public place is just that, if it's legal for me to shoot there I will if I see a potential photo, I don't believe there are 'private' areas on the street. And anyway, what's the big deal with privacy on the streets? We're not paparazzi and stalking people or there homes, privacy is in the home, work place or personal data, not outside.

2--For those of you who shoot often (weekly/daily) what is your intent in taking the photos? Simply to look at on your own camera? To show to others/post to your flickr/blog, etc?

Why does anyone photograph anything? Street photography is just another subject, what's the difference if it's a flower or someone walking down the street smoking a cigarette?

3--(and I know I am opening a whole can of worms here, but again am just interested in the various answers) Do you feel any ethical dilemma in posting photos (such as some that have been posted here) online, in forums, flickr, blog, etc without permission? Especially such forums as are public? Wouldn't this in some sense be considered the publication of someone's image with/without consent? If you do post photos to such places, do you see this as affecting the ethics of your photography, since the end intent is publication?

I do take street photographs and I do post them on my blog or on this forums as well as flickr. If I take a photo of someone and don't ask for permission and I post it on-line and they see it, they than have means to contact me and ask me to remove it. I was just in Shibuya, Tokyo recently and I saw many people walking around and taking photos of people on the street and there was a chance that I was photographed and if I was, thats fine because I'm in a public space and I can only hope I wasn't picking my nose

[flippedgazelle]

As others have stated, if you photograph someone in a public place, that is perfectly legal. As far as illicit, that is another story. For example, if you walked down an alley and snapped a photo of 2 young teens having sex, and then you posted those images on Flickr, you could be found guilty of distributing child pornography.

The only time you need to get a person's consent for a photo is if you stand to get material gain from it, such as an implied endorsement for a product, or selling the photo.

Some other areas are a little fuzzy. I know of someone who was arrested for taking photos of young girls in a swimming pool. From what the police officer told me, the dude was arrested for child endangerment.

[figmental1978]

The things stated above are just common sense though. If I did see teenagers having sex in an alley I wouldn't sit around and take photos of them or even of a drug deal or something like that, I wouldn't put myself in legal or physical danger just to get a shot.

[gnaztee]

Just coming to this thread, and have read the entire thing..phew!

First--gnatzee--absolutely STUNNING work. I don't normally consider myself a fan of street photography...but dang! I gotta give props where they are due!

Thanks Kierra! Something about traveling brings out my photography "eye"

[bbluesman]

Alright street dogs- Here is a good post talking about street photography and one of the masters-Gary Winogrand with some other interesting and useful links.

[flockofbirds]

WOW
This is awesome shot, congrats.