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people watching and street photography II.

First sold in 1925, the Leica was the first commercially successful camera to use 35 mm film. Its compactness and bright viewfinder matched to lenses of quality helped photographers move through busy streets and capture fleeting moments. Henri Cartier-Bresson acquired the Leica camera with 50 mm lens in Marseilles that would accompany him for many years. The anonymity that the small camera gave him in a crowd or during an intimate moment was essential in overcoming unnatural behavior of those who were aware of being photographed. (He enhanced his anonymity by painting all shiny parts of the Leica with black paint.) The Leica opened up the ability to capture the world in its actual state of movement and transformation. Henri Cartier-Bresson: I went to Marseille. A small allowance enabled me to get along, and I worked with enjoyment. I had just discovered the Leica. It became the extension of my eye, and I have never been separated from it since I found it. I prowled the streets a

people watching and street photography.

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S treet photography is a genre of photography that records everyday life in a public place for artistic purposes. The publicness of the setting enables the photographer to take candid pictures of strangers, often without their knowledge. Street photographers do not necessarily have a social purpose in their mind, they focus on people’s behaviors and they make very detailed observation on people. According to famous street photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson: In photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject, the little human detail can become a leitmotiv. While observing people, street photographers act like a flaneur . Susan Sontag states: Gazing on other people's reality with curiosity, with detachment, with professionalism, the ubiquitous photographer operates as if that activity transcends class interests, as if its perspective is universal. In fact, photography first comes into its own as an extension of the eye of the middle-class flaneur, whose sensibility was so ac

my changed thoughts on people watching.

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People watching is the act of observing different kind of people and their interactions, usually without their knowledge. Some people do people watching as a subconscious activity they engage in everyday life without even realizing, it is usually done when you have leisure time at outside. You do not need a conclusion while watching people subconsciously but, mostly the people-watcher comes up with assumption about the person who is been watched, depending on her/his appearance. The people-watcher portray as a narrator, he/she improvises stories in their mind. Daniel Arnold for The New York Times Image For some people, “people watching” is a hobby which you do for amusement. In that case, it is not an unconscious behavior, people can go and sit in front of window in a café in order to do people watching but the observation does not have to make an inference. This definition of “people watching” leads me to the word “flâneur”. On the other hand, people watching is a great way for inspir

my thoughts on people watching II.

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"People watching" is an act that curious people who love observation their surroundings do, unconsciously.   Madrid, 2016 People have an interest in what is different from them, starting from a very early age. I think we all grow up watching others, observing how they live.   I nfinite number of humans which has infinite ways of expressing themselves, make the world an amazing place for people-watchers.  Although "people watching" is an innate instinct that helps us learn about life, I cannot restrict people-watching to just an act of 'benefit'. People unconsciously teach themselves to live in the master-apprentice relationship thanks to this urge to watch people but, I think "people watching" is a leisure activity which is done for pleasure by the people who are interested in stranger's life.  People watching is mostly an outdoor activity since the people we see everyday are not that interesting for us to watch at some point. But the streets,