There are no people in this photo (seating at the back at BioMio). Yet the cafe was packed up front (where I met the girls for coffee today) – super cozy place, plenty of light, perfect place to take some photos – and this is what I come home with: the back section near the toilets (empty). I really do need to get over the block I have about taking photos of strangers – the big fear being of irritating or offending. I hate having my photo taken, and I suppose I assume other people do too. But there are ways of being less intrusive aren’t there? Of taking photos of places – and the people in them – that is less noticed or in anyone’s face. And I mean with my big obvious camera – not my iPhone (god bless the iPhone for hipstamatic and the instant ability to be more subtle about when and where you take a quick photo).

So in an effort to find the right balance of balls and respect for other people’s privacy – I think I’ve landed on a project that’ll push some of my boundaries: 50 strangers. I’ve seen it in various stages of completion here and there, on blogs, flickr, etc., and I think that taking rather close up photos of 50 strangers (which means I’ll actually have to approach people I don’t know and ask them to tolerate/ participate in something I don’t like myself) – will get me taking the kinds of photos I like very best – which almost always include people. Maybe if I’m comfortable with it – the people in the shot will be too.

I realized that some years ago while looking through some of my travel photos from 1992 – when I was 18 and backpacking through Europe. I remember (and still had the habit of) waiting until the scene through my viewfinder was devoid of people – a fellow tourist had moved out of the way, or a woman on her way to work had walked out of the picture – before pressing click. The result was 100′s of photos of buildings. Buildings, interiors and landscapes – most of which look more or less the same today. Wheren’t there any PEOPLE living in Europe in 1992? You wouldn’t know it from my photos. And for all that waiting to get the right shot – the photos that are by far the most interesting are the ones where people (accidentally or not) were included anyways. Those are the ones that trigger the most memories, bring unexpected smiles (the hairstyles!), and communicate the most about a place and its atmosphere. I have gotten better about it over the years – when I’m out travelling especially – but there’s a ways yet.

Project 50 strangers. Damn the first few (or all 50!) are going to be tough..