i visit malls for some photography work. note: don’t walk into a mall with a professional looking camera, especially mounted to a tripod, and start snapping pics unless you have permission from mall management. they sort of frown of it. mobile phone: no problem. camera: problem. i can’t explain it. i always have permission and inform security when i arrive.
a camera is seen as an invitation to start a conversation by a good number of people. i suppose photography is something that a lot of people relate to. some conversations are from suspicious people. some are from curious people. most, i think, are just people looking to have a conversation. the camera is the ‘in’ for that.
you’d be surprised how many times i get asked by some random person or persons to take their picture. i suppose walking around with a professional looking camera on a tripod lends one a level of credibility. not that i deserve it necessarily. for almost 3 years i would politely decline and say that i had a job to finish. occasionally i would oblige. recently, i’ve embraced the phenomenon and gladly capture spontaneous environmental portraits. some people ask to be sent the pic. some people simply want to see it on the camera screen and then move on.
i thought i would show some of the mall people. just for fun really.
