One of the things I love most about street
photography is this feeling that I lose all consciousness of myself when out shooting on the streets. I no longer think of myself consciously as an entity– rather, I feel like my body melts into the streets and I become physically and spiritually embedded into the environment that I explore.
I lose consciousness of walking, of breathing, and even of holding my
camera. I let my eyes wander– being fascinated by the people living their everyday lives on the streets, and their interactions. Whenever I see something I want to capture– I don’t hesitate. I fluidly approach my subject, and the camera almost takes the photo by itself. Of course I generally follow-up with a smile and a brief hello, and either continue to talk with them, or continue on my way.
One of the
philosophies of Zen is that you should lose self-consciousness of yourself, and especially of your own ego. You don’t think of yourself as being great and the center of the world. Rather, you see yourself as something quite insignificant and just like a grain of sand in a
desert.
When I am out shooting on the streets, the feeling of getting lost in the “flow” makes me feel much more comfortable shooting in the streets (and is often when I take my best photos). The second I become self-conscious, I find myself (
sores dogan) drawing too much attention to myself and my subjects can sense my hesitation and feel less comfortable.
