Hi, > Don't complain, Boris. Over here, the moms pull out their celphone and call > the cops to complain about he pedophile taking pictures of they kids.
I had a couple mildly of amusing incidents this weekend. I was in a very beautiful travel bookshop in London on Saturday, which is illuminated from above by natural light streaming in through an atrium. It's a lovely, old wood-panelled place. Sitting among stacks of books about Paris was a distinguished old gentleman in a black beret. I had a camera with me so I wandered past him, took a light reading, wandered back again and took the first frame, intending to walk around him, shooting quietly and discreetly. Next thing I know there's this woman standing right in my face. She: Do have permission to photograph in here? Me: No. Do you work here? She (now very agressive): No. Why are you taking my photo? Me: (getting narked): Because that's what I do. I don't have to explain myself to you. She: It's illegal to photograph in a private place. Me: Madam, it is not. Check your law. Besides I don't give a damn. She then storms off in a huff. I was extremely angry but trying not to tell her to f--- off. She'd ruined my shot by now of course, so I stared at some bookshelves trying to calm down. A couple of minutes later one of the people who runs the shop pottered over to me. She undoubtedly recognised me as someone who has bought several hundred pounds worth of books off them. She: Did you take a photograph in here? Me: Yes, I did. That woman overreacted. She: Yes, she did. End of conversation. Later that same afternoon I went down the Tube to get a train a couple of stops. I've lived in London for a long time, and like all Londoners I walk quickly, directly and forcefully through crowds. But right now I can only walk slowly because I have some sort of problem with my hip. So I was on a crowded platform, the train was in and the doors were open. It was very crowded because it was Saturday in the West End, and people were being diverted because of a derailment elsewhere on the system. So I was hobbling slowly along the platform looking for a carriage with some space. Behind me I heard a guy say to his wife, in French "Let's get in the next one", which is where I was heading. Then I hear him say, again in French, "when we get past this c--t". So I stepped half into the door, blocking him, and glared at him so he knew I understood what he'd said, and just let the doors close while I got in and left him and Mme. standing cursing at me on the platform. I was a bit annoyed that I didn't give him a mouthful of the language I learned when I worked on a building site in Bordeaux. Still, har, har, har. I know that probably makes me sound like a shit, but the guy obviously thought nobody in England understands French, and he was being really pushy when it was obvious I was limping, so I felt justified and it cheered me up no end after the woman in the shop! Probably a Parisian! <g> >> IMHO, photography suffers seriously because only very specific kind of >> photography is seen by the general average public. I went with some friends to the Natural History Museum today and by chance there is a very large exhibition in the grounds, in open air, of photographs from 'Earth From the Air' by Yann-Arthus Bertrand (so I guess the French aren't all bad :o)). The images are very large, and superbly printed. The whole area was buzzing because the photos are so good. A great way to bring good photography to a lot of people. --- Bob
