The Street Lens

There's nothing as good as shooting someone. With a camera.

So you are on the big city. You're alone, it's a beautiful day and you just feel like walking around a bit. You walk carefully, because you're not used to do such thing alone... And then you realize you really don't recognize a single face you see. That... makes you curious.

...And longing for some kind of silent interaction. You want to get involved, get a piece of their minds, which you know nothing about. But fear keeps you from doing any action. You stare, and even the smallest reaction to your momentaneoum voyeurism kicks up your heart rate like a drug.

You start to be afraid; someone, the most insignificant other in the large world that surrounds you, noticed you noticing them. You expect the environment to feel smaller, but instead, you're the one who does. Everything else grows up before your very own eyes, and your only focus concentrates on the fact that you're watching what no significant other cares about.

And now you're really afraid, even to look at it again. You stop. Why did someone stop in the middle of nowhere? Because, it suddenly became the middle of everywhere.

With your heart rate firing up like a bullet from a Magnum, you reach out for your camera. You spend a few seconds preparing the scene, and it takes just about forever. You press the shutter button, its noisy and metallic sound distinguishes it from the ambience very well. And then you quickly take a look around, waiting for someone to yell at you, run after you, or even punch you.

You walk away like you never even cared. A whole new set awaits you by the other corner, and you know that well. Still, you never forget the very still image from the moment you pressed the camera's button. What you felt for yourself, and what you felt for others.

It just never goes away, grows up with you. And that, dear ones, is street photography. Just like a "Speed" pill inside a tea cup, waiting to kill you in order for you to feel alive.

It's just as beautiful as it's scary.