Take a Look #5
Livingston, Montana
2016
I don’t think, and certainly hope it’s not the case, that the facial expressions of folks coming into my booth at art shows are necessarily representative of their assessment of my work. But if so, these two are definitely not impressed!
Hi Larry, How do you manage to make these candid shots without people noticing when they are looking right at your booth & you (presumably)? I would expect some would not want their photo taken. Are you using your phone camera or a “regular” one? Would it make a difference, do you think? Thanks, Kathy
Kathy, I took these photos with my little Sony RX100. I just held it in my lap aimed appropriately and fired away. Most people are concentrating on the photographs, not me–otherwise the odd faces would be more understandable! Because they tend to have tunnel vision looking at whatever caught their eye, they don’t even notice the camera. If they knew I was taking photos, it would certainly ruin the spontaneity of the shot. As for whether or not they would object to having their photo taken, I suppose some would. But then, given the number of security cameras etc. around anymore, I figure it’s best to always assume you’re on camera any time you are out in public.
I am curious Larry, what kind of comments do people make about your work. The comments I receive are, why did you take a picture of that.
Alan, the photos I tend to show at these art fairs are more “understandable” subjects so I don’t get the “why” question much. Since my booth is typically dominated by my corvid photos (because they sell well), probably the most frequent comment I get is something along the lines of “you must have a thing for crows.” My favorite comment (besides “I want to buy this”) is probably “Yours is the only photography in this show that I like.” I get that fairly often, I think because most photographers at these outdoor art fairs take pretty run of the mill scenic and/or animal shots. That’s not to say they are not done well, because they often are. But folks tend to get anesthetized with that kind of work due to it’s prevalence.