Personally, I'd find it unnerving to have someone jump out and take a photo of me walking down the street and then hand me a card telling me where I could buy the photo. If you didn't buy it what did they do with it? And how many people actually bought the photos?
These type of shots are pretty easy to find when you're sorting through bins at antique stores and flea markets; usually they're pretty bad. I had a stack of them a few weeks ago that I considered and then realized they were only worth it if I was crazy about the "walking down the street getting shot by a photographer" category. Often they're of really poor quality. I like to imagine the photographer backing up...backing up...backing right into a light pole. It had to be a crummy way to make a living.
These days we have little control over who is taking our photo or how they'll use it. Whether it be surveillance cameras, street photographers, or just people with iPhones snapping away, you could end up on some photo sharing site without your permission. I have been known to do some serious ducking and weaving to avoid having my photo taken.
I had a drunk sitting next to me on a flight who kept trying to take my photo with his cell phone. If he'd succeeded it would have been an even more unpleasant flight. The thing is, he probably had the law on his side.
I imagine some of the photographers who took shots like these had the law on their side, but how many of them took a photo they soon regretted? I mean, you wouldn't want to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and shoot maybe an image of a mob guy or gang member, would you?
Be careful where you point that camera. It's loaded.
This is my
Sepia Saturday contribution this week.
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