Things I suck at, part 1. Street Photography

So I thought today I might head out for a walk, and maybe walk into the city, bring my camera, take some photos of stuff that I find interesting...

DAMN that's hard. I found myself so preoccupied in my mind of what to take that I wasn't really taking anything of real relevance. I found myself in positions where I would question the moment, then walk away thinking "I should have taken that shot - it was a moment right in front of my eyes and I didn't capture it right then and there" Case in point after the break:

On the left are these two gorgeous dogs - what I missed out on was the owner who was sitting down where the little scott is sitting in this shot. The owner was sitting on the chair while the little scotty was sitting on his lap - a much better and cuter shot IMO. On the right I too a nice shot of people looking at this guy's AWESOME artwork, just using ball-point pens to illustrate everything. The shot I should have taken was a nice closeup of him work on his art - it would have said so much more.

So what is it? Am I too shy to approach a stranger on the street to say can I take your photo? Is it rude to take someone's photo without asking them? Or do we lose the vibe and/or true character of that person as soon as they know they have to pose for a camera?

That's one thing I love about street photography, people's body language - you can tell when someone's in a rush to get somewhere, or when someone's on autopilot, or when someone is deep in thought - there's no pretence on the street - it is what it is - it's an in-between - the spot between A and B where you have those precious little minutes to yourself before you need to be somewhere else. Kinda like these shots...

I can hear the focal police now bearing down on me - "They're out of focus" and yes, I did feel a touch of disappointment in myself after I took the shot knowing it wasn't in focus, but, does that make the shot? Does that slightly blurry effect reflect on the subject in the shot? Is his/her head not on right? Is everything blurry in the 3 minutes from walking out of their office to the train station?

So these things run circles in my head, and I find it hard to take candid shots of people, I almost feel like a peeping tom, or one of those pesky paparazzi, but all I want to convey is a fair reflection on our community in Sydney on the street.

Ha ha this is such a messed up blog! I also took some stuff that's a bit more abstract, which will be in part 2.

Please leave a comment if you have any thoughts or advice for me! Peace!