get over my fear of photographing strangers

He looked so utterly comfortable in such a noisy uncomfortable place that I could not resist taking a photo of it. I hope he slept pleasantly and woke up happy.

I took a photo of a stylishly dressed young woman who was standing at the platform waiting for the train yesterday, but unfortunately it was too blurry to be of any use. Still, I feel happy I dared.

Helsinki has now street beggers from Romania. They sit still in saint-like poses. They are less intimidating than most strangers to take photos of.

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12676 is a nice article (with photos!) of street photography, by a guy who seems to experienced some fear of it at first, too.

There was a stranger in a living room like space in a public lobby, here is the result.

Afterwards I walked to her, told her I had taken a photo, explained why (the space, and her being so relaxed in it). It was quite a pleasant interaction.

I like how ghostly this photo turned out.

This is harder to work on in the cold weather… or that’s my excuse.

Often I see a stranger I’d want to take a photo of but I’m afraid of how they might react. I want to get over this and just take the photos!

I have been thinking of making a card that would include information about why I talk photos and inform them that if they wish, they can leave me their contact info and I’ll give them a copy of the photo.