single woman # 10 ~ standing in the safety zone*

Large earring ~ Philadelphia, PA • click to embiggenIn the entry single woman # 9, Sven W (no link provided) wrote:

Did you sneak make this image surreptitiously or were you talking with her beforehand? She appears to reading the screen on her cell very intently, so perhaps you could sneak a [short] telephoto shot.

Even though this question/comment was made, re: single woman # 9, it could apply to all of my single woman pictures.

Like today's single woman picture, all of my single woman pictures are made surreptitiously (sounds much better than "sneak", don't you think?). That MO is strictly enforced when it comes to making such pictures - I want the object of my eye/camera's gaze to be pictured in situ in an as unaffected manner as possible. That is to say, I most definitely do not want to picture a single woman in a posed or a self-consciously aware state.

If I were to use a "[short] telephoto" lens, getting the desired "shot" would be a much easier proposition than it is with the [long] wide-angle lens - 4/3rd 20mm lens (40mm, 35mm equiv.) - I am using. That lens typically puts me within a 4 ft. reach of my subject which, being a 6'3" / 235lb person, does not exactly allow me to be invisible. Consequently, I must use the hustle and bustle of a crowded environment / event to mask my picturing intentions - a time-honored street photography MO.

In any event, and to this point in the single woman picturing proceedings, the technique seems to be working. While I can not definitively state that none of my subjects - the texting single woman included, were aware of my presence and/or intentions, I can state that, if they were aware, they did not alter the "natural" attitude / behavior they were exhibiting when I first singled them out as a target for my picturing endeavors.

BTW & FYI, as I continue in my picturing pursuit of single woman, I fully expect that, without warning, me and my camera will get whacked upside the head with a purse at some point along the way.

*Standing in the Safety Zone is one of my favorite Fairfield Four songs and albums. I have been very privileged to hear these guys in person (in very small venues) a couple times. They are simply amazing and, when experienced as one of only a few white people in an audience comprised of predominately black women, it is an incredibly intense immersion (pun intended) into the southern (US) submersion baptism / tent revival meeting / black baptist church tradition.

FYI, the vinyl version of the Standing in the Safety Zone album is considered to be one of best ever recordings of the human voice. I have the CD and when heard through a hi-end system - my system has over $2K of wire alone - the soundstage and audial presence are spine-tingling / hair-raising.

In any event, you can listen to Standing in the Safety Zone - the album and the song - HERE. Take the time to click through to the FREE (no personal info required) listening. If you don't want to listen to the entire album, listen to tracks 6, 7 (Standing in the Safety Zone), & 8.

Comments

[Larry]

I really like the fake hair bun and the Picasso eye, great composition.

[Sven W]

Fair call - I meant "sneak" as in "taking the photo without the person being aware of it" rather than you flitting from tree to lamp-post with a long tele-photo.

If you did get observed (after the shot) would you interact with the person? Offer them a copy of the image?