Language Barrier

Made this while out shooting for an assignment at the Carnem workshop in Milan. The photo, taken with direct flash expresses the frustration I felt at trying to take street portraits of the locals without knowing enough Italian to explain myself to people. The object of the exercise was really to get us out of our comfort zones and in that regard it worked well. Despite my discomfort at the time, I'm rather pleased with how this came out.

George Holroyd said:

Made this while out shooting for an assignment at the Carnem workshop in Milan. The photo, taken with direct flash expresses the frustration I felt at trying to take street portraits of the locals without knowing enough Italian to explain myself to people. The object of the exercise was really to get us out of our comfort zones and in that regard it worked well. Despite my discomfort at the time, I'm rather pleased with how this came out.

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George,

First the picture: I find it both unusual and interesting. So this is a reflection in the store window, but who was the subject and where did you point the flash? I have always liked the blending of two realities. Now you have this, are there siblings?

Asher

George Holroyd said:

...................... the frustration I felt at trying to take street portraits of the locals without knowing enough Italian to explain myself to people. The object of the exercise was really to get us out of our comfort zones and in that regard it worked well. Despite my discomfort at the time, I'm rather pleased with how this came out.

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George,

Have you been comfortable taking pictures of strangers in Paris or elsewhere without or even with permission. What's your comfort zone and lens of choice four street photography of strangers?

Do you feel you have to introduce yourself first?

For me, since I have little to no discomfort taking pictures of strangers, it's almost a non-issue. It's always just a matter of common sense and security. Still, I'd not go into a gang area, even without and expensive camera, with no locally respected escort!

Asher

Asher Kelman said:

First the picture: I find it both unusual and interesting. So this is a reflection in the store window, but who was the subject and where did you point the flash? I have always liked the blending of two realities. Now you have this, are there siblings?

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The photo is of an advertising poster pasted onto a frame on the side of the road. I had an SB-900 on my D7000, which washed out most of the detail of the poster.

I typically don't take pictures of people I don't know. Personally, I'm not much of a fan of street photography and have no interest in pursuing it. FWIW, the law regarding photographing someone without their permission is a little more restrictive here in Paris than in the US.

I'm happy to report that a subsequent version of the above image has been added to the FlakPhoto Collection by Andy Adams. The image, which I've left untitled, is now part of a series that I'm working on, called And I, which attempts to incorporate my tremor into my photography.

http://flakphoto.com/photo/george-holroyd-untitled

Kudos, George!

It's great to work outside one's comfort zone and then one makes progress that influences everything else we do. Maybe try a few more, imagining you are still in that workshop! I like the picture and would love to see siblings and Paris is a really good place for street shooting. They'll just think you are an another American tourist with his camera!

Asher

Thank you, Asher. I have several candidate images that I am considering for inclusion in the series. The idea is for this to become a diary, a single ongoing collection.

George Holroyd said:

The idea is for this to become a diary, a single ongoing collection.

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To this end, I've updated my web site with a new collection of images, titled And I, in which the above image appears. This will serve as my only portfolio for the time being. Thanks in advance for looking.

http://www.georgeholroyd.com/and_i.html