The middle Saturday in January is reserved on my calendar for the annual Fly Fishing Show. It is a three day event and I enjoy meeting old friends there. January is a good time for it, when many fisherman (unless they like ice fishing) are suffering from cabin fever.
As a photographer I have a great deal of fun. I am completely inept at "street photography". Every attempt I have made to improve my skills at candid shots of people on the streets has been met with more anxiety than the effort is worth. I am so fearful that someone will spot me aiming a camera at them and, even worse, take exception to that.
But at the Fly Fishing Show, this is not a problem. It is so busy with people excited about talking and looking, that I am simply not noticed. Of course, I make things easier on myself by leaving my flash at home, even though I know many images would be made better with it (i.e. get rid of those raccoon eyes caused by terrible ceiling lighting).
Plus it's a relatively safe place to be, as we are all of the same mind. A funny story: I did have one fly tying demonstrator see me, and he actually took off his reading glasses so I could capture (what to him would be) a better picture!
So, if you would like to experience the fun of candid people pictures, go to a show. I'm thinking a flower show or car show would be good places to "get away with" aiming a camera at people without much stress or notice.
One disadvantage of the Fly Fishing Show is that most of the demonstrators, vendors, and participants were middle-aged men. (Hey, I fit right in.) There were very few women, though as you will see below I tried.
I used an Olympus E-M1 with a 35-100mm Panasonic zoom (70-200mm-equiv), generally wide open at F2.8.
As a photographer I have a great deal of fun. I am completely inept at "street photography". Every attempt I have made to improve my skills at candid shots of people on the streets has been met with more anxiety than the effort is worth. I am so fearful that someone will spot me aiming a camera at them and, even worse, take exception to that.
But at the Fly Fishing Show, this is not a problem. It is so busy with people excited about talking and looking, that I am simply not noticed. Of course, I make things easier on myself by leaving my flash at home, even though I know many images would be made better with it (i.e. get rid of those raccoon eyes caused by terrible ceiling lighting).
Plus it's a relatively safe place to be, as we are all of the same mind. A funny story: I did have one fly tying demonstrator see me, and he actually took off his reading glasses so I could capture (what to him would be) a better picture!
So, if you would like to experience the fun of candid people pictures, go to a show. I'm thinking a flower show or car show would be good places to "get away with" aiming a camera at people without much stress or notice.
One disadvantage of the Fly Fishing Show is that most of the demonstrators, vendors, and participants were middle-aged men. (Hey, I fit right in.) There were very few women, though as you will see below I tried.
I used an Olympus E-M1 with a 35-100mm Panasonic zoom (70-200mm-equiv), generally wide open at F2.8.
Below are reduced-resolution images:
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