Cameras Instead of Shopping Bags

My biggest surprise in India: people love having their picture taken.

I should say that I am not a street photographer. My biggest fear is upsetting someone when I try to take a candid picture of them. Still, I decided to give street photography a shot, and I started close to home, at the local market.

The market happens once a week, after 4 pm, just couple of blocks from my place. I normally go there to buy groceries. I love it because the vegetables and fruit look fresh, the stands and the road are full of characters, and you get to bargain.

One evening a friend, who is also a photographer, came along. We carried cameras instead of shopping bags. I was a little worried. People might not like cameras pointed at them, and I don't speak the language. That seemed like a recipe for disaster.

The opposite happened. Many of the people behind the stands smiled and posed, and some even asked us to take their picture as we passed. 

Our outing turned into more of a portrait session than true street photography. Even so, it showed me a different side of people, and it encouraged me to go out with my camera more.