What happens when you are taking photos of strangers – that is – people you have only just met? Sometimes the laughter continues as you raise your eye to the viewfinder and take the photograph.
Sometimes the subjects stiffen and pose for the camera. The problem is to know what is happening in the very short moment when the shot is being taken.
With the Nikon D700, the viewfinder is very big and the range of the diopter adjustment is enough for me to see clearly what is going on.
With my travelling camera – the Nikon D60 that I used here – the viewfinder is small and the range of the diopter adjustment is simply not enough for my eyesight, so the image in the viewfinder is slightly blurred.
I sometimes peek around the camera and look at my subjects directly rather than through the viewfinder. This technique only works when there is a good margin for error around the subject – because inevitably the camera can move while taking the shot.
The problem with this shot of the three monks is that we were in a narrow alley so the framing was tight. Therefore I couldn’t peek around the camera and engage with them – instead I finished up with this rather unsatisfactory view.
Three Monks At Majnu Ka Tilla
On the other hand, when it’s possible to grab the moment, as here with an auto-rickshaw driver who was next to us at a traffic light, I could see him as his glances moved from me to my wife, to our driver and back.
The Driver's Wicked Smile
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