Subscribe“Whit ya doin mister?”
by Darren
I always feel a bit unsure of what to do when people approach me while I’m taking pictures in a public place keen to chat about what I’m photographing. I try to frequent these places on weekdays where possible so there are less people about, but sometimes it’s not possible or there are just people about anyway. Another good time to go is early in the morning as there is hardly anyone about and the light is great (evenings still have the great light of course, but can be one of the busiest times of the day).
The one that really makes me grit my teeth is gear anoraks, and the thing that’s most likely to make me bare my teeth is when they jump straight in and ask what some (usually expensive) piece of equipment cost. You don’t ask a taxi driver how much his cab cost, you don’t pass by a building site and ask the builder how much his tools cost, so why these people think it’s ok to ask photographers how much a lens or a camera cost is beyond me. And what does it matter anyway? I’m really not interested in comparing the size of my ….. with yours. And that’s just what it is.
Anyway, much as I might rant on here, normally I do end up engaging them, although if it’s about gear it’s usually just a one or two word answer that hopefully stops the conversation. Sometimes someone engages you and it just makes you smile.
I was taking pictures of these rabbits in Springburn Park in Glasgow when these kids came up to me. “Whit ya doin mister?” one asked in what I’m sure one day will develop into thick Glaswegian. I told them, despite the fact that sitting chatting meant any chance of pictures had just gone out the window. “D’ya want a take a picture of me Mister?” another one asked. I politely declined, and eventually they went on their way and I got back to watching the rabbits.
Related Posts
One Response to ““Whit ya doin mister?””
All content is copyright © 2010 Darren Hector, please do not use images without permission.
I admit, I’ve been a little surprised how often I’ll get asked to take people’s photographs – so it clearly doesn’t require any impressive kit. =:) (In my case, simply a D90 & Tamron 28-300mm – far from the gear you use, I’m sure, but relatively cheap, and an incredible introduction to the sheer versatility of DSLRdom)
Still, gearheads exist just about anywhere – car enthusiasts have highly partisan camps, and computing’s not exactly free of such either. I suppose there will be a natural element of curiosity, when it comes to something comparatively exotic as pro photography equipment – if it’s more just real curiosity, that could be worth seeding, as it were, even at the expense of an opportunity.
(And when it comes to rabbits, you can never be entirely sure when they’ll be inclined to scoot, or merely tolerate you; it seems to be something of an individual matter. Some of the locals won’t mind me being 30′ away, whilst others will zoom into the hedgerow as soon as they feel they safely can)