Stepping Off the Curb of My Comfort Zone

Less "right," more "joy." -- Jim Miotke

One challenge I'm giving myself with photography is to step outside my comfort zone. For me, that is street photography. It scares me a bit, but I am also drawn to it as a way to feel more connected with the people and places I visit. It is outside my comfort zone for two reasons. First, and most obvious, is the probability of having to interact with people when taking their picture. Being a pretty non-confrontational person, this is a challenge for me. It has helped me perfect my preferred technique of photographing people from behind. I'm trying to move away from this. It doesn't help that my kids have dubbed me "Creepy Stalker Mom." Second, is having to give up a degree of control over my subject. When you're taking a picture of an inanimate object or scene, you can spend time working on composition, lighting, etc. until you have a pretty good idea of what you want. Try that with street photography, and by the time you are ready the moment has passed or your subject is in the next block. 

I recently took an online photo course with Jim Miotke through BetterPhoto.com. Something he said about perfectionism really made an impression on me. He said that in creative endeavors perfectionism is actually the lowest standard, not the highest, because it is fear-based. By having to have everything perfect, you are actually letting your fear stop you from starting. As Jim says, "The quality of photography fun is proportionate to your ability to handle uncertainty."

Very motivating to be sure, but since the weather here still stinks, I went digging back through some old pictures looking for inspiration, and was amazed to find that I have been doing a bit of street photography all along. So until I can actually get out and do more, here is some of what I found:

A merchant giving samples at an open-air market in Placa de Pi, Barcelona

 Street performer, Barcelona

 Man blowing bubbles in the square opposite the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

 Coolest. Dreds. Ever. Previa del Mar, Spain

Ironic sign (hopefully) Dominica

 The road through Mahaut, Dominica

Santa-Con, downtown Cincinnati

Tiger Dreams #1 and #2, Cincinnati Zoo

Drummers, Newport on the Levee, Kentucky, across from Cincinnati

 Although not technically a street scene, I couldn't resist taking this picture of an Amish family on the Continental Divide in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.

O.k., so there are a few "photographing from behind" pictures in here. Something to work on!