Photography 1: P & P, Proj 9: A Comfortable Situation

Project 9: A comfortable situation

The objective of this project was to find an outdoor situation where there would be many people and activity, and in which I would feel comfortable using a camera to photograph people.

I chose the annual St David's Day dragon parade in St David's in Pembrokeshire.  There were lots of people involved in the parade.  The children of the city had made the brightly coloured dragons themselves during the days leading up to the event.  Many people were either taking part in the parade or lining the route.  Everyone involved was in a happy mood, enjoying the early spring sunshine.  As there were many people with cameras recording the event, I was able to go unnoticed with my camera.

I have shown some of the resulting images below:

7565; F13; 1/200s; 99mm (Equivalent)

7568; F13; 1/400s; 45mm (Equivalent)

7569; F13; 1/200s; 87mm (Equivalent)

7572; F13; 1/250s; 87mm (Equivalent)

7575; F13; 1/400s; 127mm (Equivalent)

7576; F13; 1/400s; 63mm (Equivalent)

7586; F13; 1/320s; 93mm (Equivalent)

I was very comfortable taking these photographs because of the large crowd and the focus of the crowd on the parade.  There were many other people with cameras.  This meant that I was largely inconspicuous with my own camera.  The result was a relaxed environment where I could take photographs freely without much attention being paid to me.

What have I learned from this project?

When setting out to photograph people so as to capture them in a relaxed pose, it is best to mingle in with the crowd of other onlookers, preferably with cameras of their own.  This enables you to comfortably take photos largely unnoticed.