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| Photo © S. Banos |
If I ever get the time, energy and focus to scan and edit sixty of so silver negs to make a book of my: a) greatest hits, b) sign related images, c) pictures taken on daily constitutionals- this will probably be the title and cover photo. Can't possibly get any better at ultimate lifetime statements. Or maybe just the lead photo, been actually fancying photoless covers of late. It's a helluva lot more convenient doing post on a computer screen, but a whole lotta work nonetheless as I'm repeatedly reminded when doing submission scans.
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Last weekend a large, hysterically amped up female came blundering down a San Franciscan hill, yelling and screaming in my general direction. When she got within twenty feet of me she stopped, and after panting a few rounds to regain her breath, lunged towards me threatening to smash my *@#!! camera. "You can't take my picture, it's against the *@#!! law. Give me the *@#!! camera, I'm gonna smash it right now!" Oh, so that's what she was screaming.
Holding my camera at arm's length beyond her reach, I considered my options, all the time quite amused by the extensive "legal knowledge" this obviously law abiding individual had at her possession. I had just had a fairly productive afternoon snapping a few possibilities here and there in the Tenderloin, enough to earn myself a beer on my return, and was feeling rather contemplative and mellow a coupla blocks from home. Analyzing and deciphering the fine legalities of photographing in public were not going to persevere here, and fortunately, I didn't feel particularly threatened. I definitely had the reflexes to flee, and if push came to shove I had the confidence to take her despite her obvious weight advantage. Still, should she latch on- it would definitely turn ugly fast, and I just wasn't in the mood to risk getting scratched, gouged, bitten, etc.
Yelling back (my first reaction, just to send the message I wasn't gonna fold under her aural onslaught) was definitely gonna get it on, so I tried the more diplomatic approach. "I wasn't taking a picture of you, my camera wasn't even pointed at you!" It got the expected response- more cussing and threats, but it effectively took it down a notch. Actually, this episode was very much a repeat- I had gone through a very similar episode with a parent in a classroom once who came in (it quickly dawned on me) with the express intent of fighting me- incite your opponent with verbal mayhem, and then.... That time the Vice Principal saved the day (one split second before I had decided to make the first move) by calling me out of the classroom saying I was "needed elsewhere," this time I knew to say my peace, and keep walking. Guess, that was the point all along...
Finally, sad to see Lenscratch jettison the commentary section- doesn't exactly further conversation and the free exchange of ideas, does it? I can understand why if you have a popular blog; it's extra work, but then- it is one of the very purposes of a blog. As for the inevitable assholes, prohibit Anonymous commenters (why would anyone have to comment anonymously on a photography blog anyway?) and spam the rest. But then, blogs are more and more passe with each and every year I suppose. Regardless, I'm not about to do Face time (talk about old news), and I don't fancy commenting in Haiku via Twitter. So... we'll see how it goes another year, or not...
Holding my camera at arm's length beyond her reach, I considered my options, all the time quite amused by the extensive "legal knowledge" this obviously law abiding individual had at her possession. I had just had a fairly productive afternoon snapping a few possibilities here and there in the Tenderloin, enough to earn myself a beer on my return, and was feeling rather contemplative and mellow a coupla blocks from home. Analyzing and deciphering the fine legalities of photographing in public were not going to persevere here, and fortunately, I didn't feel particularly threatened. I definitely had the reflexes to flee, and if push came to shove I had the confidence to take her despite her obvious weight advantage. Still, should she latch on- it would definitely turn ugly fast, and I just wasn't in the mood to risk getting scratched, gouged, bitten, etc.
Yelling back (my first reaction, just to send the message I wasn't gonna fold under her aural onslaught) was definitely gonna get it on, so I tried the more diplomatic approach. "I wasn't taking a picture of you, my camera wasn't even pointed at you!" It got the expected response- more cussing and threats, but it effectively took it down a notch. Actually, this episode was very much a repeat- I had gone through a very similar episode with a parent in a classroom once who came in (it quickly dawned on me) with the express intent of fighting me- incite your opponent with verbal mayhem, and then.... That time the Vice Principal saved the day (one split second before I had decided to make the first move) by calling me out of the classroom saying I was "needed elsewhere," this time I knew to say my peace, and keep walking. Guess, that was the point all along...
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Finally, sad to see Lenscratch jettison the commentary section- doesn't exactly further conversation and the free exchange of ideas, does it? I can understand why if you have a popular blog; it's extra work, but then- it is one of the very purposes of a blog. As for the inevitable assholes, prohibit Anonymous commenters (why would anyone have to comment anonymously on a photography blog anyway?) and spam the rest. But then, blogs are more and more passe with each and every year I suppose. Regardless, I'm not about to do Face time (talk about old news), and I don't fancy commenting in Haiku via Twitter. So... we'll see how it goes another year, or not...
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Oh, and on the international front... Japan Solves Chronic Unemployment/Homelessness!
Happy New Year!!!
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