TO ZOOM OR NOT TO ZOOM

If I had my choice, I'd shoot all human subjects at 16mm. I like being up close and personal, to form a bond, however briefly, with the people I shoot. Shooting inches away from peoples faces is uncomfortable at first (mostly for them), but it usually causes laughter, which I've found to be the best trick in establishing a quick trusting rapport. The picture below, taken in Burma, was shot at 16mm about a foot from this beautiful woman's face. After her initial laughter she relaxed, her kids forgot about my camera, and her immense dignity rose to the surface. For wide-angle shooting, it doesn't get much better than countries like Burma and India. Some people however will never feel comfortable with a camera pointed at their face. I've particularly noticed this in countries like Japan and Peru. I learned quickly in Peru that if I wanted to capture people acting naturally I would have to be sneaky and use my zoom lens. I spotted the man above from across the street in downtown Lima and badly wanted to take his photo.  I hid behind a news stand, and using my 105mm lens made the above shot. After about the 4th shot he noticed me and walked off.  

STICKS AND STONES MAY BREAK MY CAMERA...

As a general rule, Peruvians don't like to have their photos taken. They believe the camera steals their souls. It is important for a photographer to respect that belief. The only thing is, for about one dollar, the camera ceases to steal souls, and generates one hell of a phony grin from the subject, and in turn a rather lousy staged photo. The word in Spanish is "propina" or tip, and I heard it more times than I care to recall. If you don't pay your subject a "propina", you inadvertently turn on the soul sucking power of your camera, and you had better watch out. I myself paid people for their time when they seemed clearly to be in need. At other times I refused to play this ridiculous game, but not without consequence. In each of pictures posted above something was hurled in my direction.  From top to bottom: a bag of nuts, a sombrero, a handful of rocks. Not pictured here are an empty bottle, a cane, and a drunken man on a horse who chased my taxi out of town. I met many great people on my trip, unfortunately I think tourism has spoiled a handful of Peru's most visited cities.  

PERUVIAN BLANKET SMUGGLING BUS

I just got back from a ten day trip to Peru.  During the trip I took a 9 hour bus ride from Puno to Cuzco on the Libertad bus line (in English the "Freedom" line). At the beginning of the journey a local woman handed out blankets for everyone to sit on, except for the two gringos onboard (myself and my traveling partner). At the time I thought it rather rude to exclude the only foreigners with the cohones to ride the bus of the locals. Turns out those blankets were illegal undocumented blankets on which the proper taxes had not been paid. A raid by the police confiscated about half of them. As for the other half, the co-conspirators were able to convince the authorities that they were their own personal blankets. This is the type of excitment you only get when you pay less than $5.00 for a 9 hour bus ride.