CITYphoto

I started this blog for a couple of reasons. Here’s one of them:

It’s always been a bit of a challenge for me to randomly ask people if I can take their picture. Usually, in the case of news events when there is an overriding factor, it is a little easier. But for the most part, trying to explain to someone why I want to take their photo without coming off as a creep, a pervert, or a ne’er-do-well can be difficult. When a stranger randomly approaches you, your guard goes up. Add a camera into the mix and it’s high alert. “I think you look…interesting” doesn’t do much to disarm them.

Fortunately, at events like Taste of the Northside people are pretty relaxed and even eager to have their picture made. It doesn’t hurt if they have a few beers in them, either.
Mildfire Coffee, the little shop my wife and I own, has had a booth at the event for five years now. We serve iced lattes all night and have a good time. Again, it’s very relaxed and our employees seem to have a great time working it. This year I set up a couple of strobes on the side of the booth pointing outward so I could photograph people as they went by. People were in a good mood and it wasn’t too hard to talk them into posing. I also shot some candid “from-the-hip” shots as the people passed by the booth.

Enjoy!