People Pictures

Big Dawg Slingshots, street performers in Asheville, North Carolina
Big Dawg Slingshots, street performers in Asheville, North Carolina

Monte very astutely observed in my last post that all of the photos I posted had people in them, and what a departure that was for me.  And it’s true – people who don’t know what kind of photography I do frequently ask me if I do weddings, and I almost always reply that I don’t take pictures with people in them.

Big Dawg Slingshots, street performers in Asheville, North Carolina
Big Dawg Slingshots, street performers in Asheville, North Carolina
Big Dawg Slingshots, street performers in Asheville, North Carolina
Big Dawg Slingshots, street performers in Asheville, North Carolina

On our recent visit to Asheville, however, I took way more pictures of people than I ever do.  After Monte’s comment I realized that, for me, Asheville was all about the people.

Random photographs while wandering around Asheville, North Carolina
Random photographs while wandering around Asheville, North Carolina
Random photographs while wandering around Asheville, North Carolina
Random photographs while wandering around Asheville, North Carolina
Random photographs while wandering around Asheville, North Carolina
Random photographs while wandering around Asheville, North Carolina
Random photographs while wandering around Asheville, North Carolina
Random photographs while wandering around Asheville, North Carolina

A lot of places tend, for me at least, to be about other things – buildings, architecture, historical landmarks, nature, etc.  But even though most of those other things can be found there, Asheville was mostly about the people.

"Before I Die" wall in Asheville, North Carolina
“Before I Die” wall in Asheville, North Carolina
Random photographs while wandering around Asheville, North Carolina
Random photographs while wandering around Asheville, North Carolina

I think the thing I enjoyed most about shooting there was that no one really paid any attention to me.  Here in Charlotte, a person with a camera is often looked upon with suspicion, especially by the rent-a-cops that stand in front of (“guard” would be a misuse of the word) the bank buildings.  A few people cast a sideways glance, but it seemed like for the most part I was just another tourist, and one who happened to have a camera.

Street musicians in Asheville, North Carolina
Street musicians in Asheville, North Carolina
Street musicians in Asheville, North Carolina
Street musicians in Asheville, North Carolina

I did find that using a wrist strap on the camera instead of a shoulder strap helped me be more spontaneous, and to a certain extent it made the camera a little less apparent to the people I was aiming it at.  All in all it was a fun experience, and one I hope to try again soon!

Random photographs while wandering around Asheville, North Carolina
Random photographs while wandering around Asheville, North Carolina

4 thoughts on “People Pictures”

  1. Whoa, love that last image! People are good subjects, candid or posed. I’m going to use that word balance here. I just wonder if we grow, as a photographer and a conscious human, when we have a balance in life rather than focus on one thing. Your last image has a person and architecture and shadows and light. It has a story within it for me. A good balance!

    1. Ha, thanks Monte! It’s an interesting journey we’re on. Kathy & I always say that we’re most interested in the people and their stories, but that’s hard to capture and I don’t usually have the guts to ask people for permission to photograph them. So candids like these will do for the time being. They still capture my sense of the place but don’t completely tell the story I want to tell.

  2. We just got back home, Tom, and I’m still trying to catch up. Although I’ve been following some of my favorite blogs I haven’t done a lot of commenting. I did read – with a great deal of interest – your account of your switch to the Fuji XT-1. I honestly thought that you’d stick with Canon (you had a great system). Anyway, welcome to the “smaller is sometimes better” world.

    I’m with you on “people pictures”. I used to religiously avoid having people in images but I’ve recently started including them. I think adding a touch of humanity can be a good thing, especially when they’re acting a little dumb!

    1. Thanks, Paul. And Welcome Home. I have been doing a lot more “skimming” myself lately and haven’t commented as much as I’d like, but I have been reading! I often read posts on my tablet but don’t like to type comments on there, so I end up forgetting to go back.

      The switch to Fuji turned out to be much more of a “no brainer” than I expected it to be. Two things made it easy: First was the size and weight. After our trip to Colorado I decided I was done with the big camera outfit no matter how good it was. Second is the fact that the image quality is so darned good! I haven’t come across anything yet to indicate that smaller isn’t anything but smaller. About the only difference is that I limit the Fuji to ISO 3200 where the Canon could go a little higher, but that’s more of a gimmick than a useful tool. The lens quality is noticeably better than the older Canon lenses I was using. And everything is so small!

      I think you can look forward to seeing more people in my pictures. At least I hope so!

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