My first portrait at f/1.2 Or, How I nearly got beat up and had my camera broken by this gentleman.
I was walking down 6th Ave at around 16th St. at around 6PM when I spotted this sunglasses seller on the sidewalk. He seemed like a cheerful, relaxed guy -- he was in the middle of an extremely affable exchange with a passerby, laughing and giving a thubms-up while trying to push his wares. As I passed his stand, I glanced over and saw that he was in nice light, the late afternoon sun separating him nicely from the buildings across the street.
What better way to test out the $1,800 Canon 85mm f/1.2L lens I had rented from Adorama about three minutes earlier?
In my experience, the guys in New York selling sunglasses, counterfeit
designer purses, etc. can be pretty wary of photographers, and who can
blame them? Their legal status is sometimes suspect, they routinely
get hassled (or worse) by cops, and can be forgiven for
misunderstanding the motivation of strangers on the street taking
their photos.
Knowing this, I was trying to be quick about grabbing a profile of
this guy, mostly because I was curious about the sharpness of this
lens at f/1.2. I try not to be too sneaky when taking street photos,
and anyone who's seen the lens I'm talking about knows just how
impossible it is to be sneaky with it anyway. He turned and looked at
me just as I was pressing the shutter... I thought nothing of this
except that I now probably had a better photo than what I intended.
By the time I lowered my camera, he had already rounded the sunglasses table on his way toward me. It was so fast that it took me a couple of seconds to realize what was happening. He was screaming in my face, which I initially perceived as a joke, until I realized, to my great surprise, that he was gripping my left wrist and twisting my arm, hard.
His hand that wasn't holding my wrist was curled into a fist that he was brandishing in my face as he demanded repeatedly why I took his picture. I tried to reason with him, telling him to chill out, that it was a public street, and that I take pictures of all kinds of people around New York. He called me a liar and again demanded to know why I took his picture. I told him if he felt that bad about it, I would erase his picture right in front of him, if he would just relax and let go of me. Instead, with the hand that wasn't still trying to twist my left arm, he grabbed for my camera.
At this point I decided that, no matter what, I was keeping my photo of this guy. In a few seconds, people walking by began to take notice of our little dance -- him still twisting my arm and grabbing for my camera, me trying to twist away and protect my brand new 5D with the nearly $2K uninsured piece of glass that I had attached to it a couple of minutes earlier.
Some girl shouted, "the photographer is always right!" over her shoulder as she walked by. While I certainly appreciated the sentiment, it did little to improve my situation. More helpfully, a couple of guys stopped and started pleading with my new friend to let me go, in vain. One of them was holding a cell phone, and I told him to call the police, hoping this would have a cooling effect. It didn't exactly work, but by this time a small crowd was gathering around us, and they were on my side. Finally the psychopath let go, and me and my equipment were able to go on unharmed.
This unfortunate experience has left me with a couple of conclusions.
First, I already know this, but I'd like to repeat it here: New York
tends to get a bad rap, which is largely undeserved. Within about 30
seconds, at least two strangers had stopped to try to help me out.
Without their intervention, things might have spiraled out of control
- either through him breaking my camera/lens/arm (more likely), or
through me giving the side of his skull the business end of the Canon
5D's magnesium alloy body (less likely).
Thanks guys.
Second, I cannot believe how sharp this lens is at f/1.2. It's otherworldly - not to mention the incredibly creamy bokeh... I will own this one day.
So there's the story of this picture. It was hard-won, I'd say. He's a handsome gent, if completely insane and dangerous. If you're walking buy a sunglasses table at around 16th and 6th, watch yourselves.
Also, out of curiosity, if you've read this far: has anything like this ever happened to you?
As for the ethics/morals/logistics/etc. of taking candid photos in public, there's lots of that in the comments.
Comments and faves
d2s, Taylor Siluwe, Jesse Stein, Paul_Cortez, and 60 other people added this photo to their favorites.
Arnau2007 (59 months ago | reply)
Wow. I think I won't be so bold with the pics I take in the coming weeks. This sounds crazy. And like you I'd also have been more worried about the expensive cam/lens than about my arm, haha.
Anyway, its a nice pic though.
˙Cаvin 〄 (59 months ago | reply)
Awesome Shot!
joewig (59 months ago | reply)
What a story. These are those instances where shooting from the hip woudl definitely have been warranted. You gotta case your area and be wary if in the least bit in doubt. These salesguys are exactly what you said, of a questionable legal status AND their culture doesn't always look well on being photograph. Stealth photography has its merits at time.
Looks like the death glance to me. (I've gotten afew in my days of shooting street). They can be unsettling. Your situation could have been much worse.
The glass is excellent. Just a note however. I would give this a tighter crop since the background is blurred you wouldn't lose anything. His face is awesomely detailed and I would want to see more of it.
Keep up the good work.
Dmitry Gudkov (59 months ago | reply)
Joe, thanks for your comment. The thing is, I WAS trying to be a bit stealthy - when I framed the shot it was a profile picture, and he turned and glared just as I squeezed off the shot. I've been making a concerted effort to be more open/less sneaky in my street photography - if a person catches me as (usually after) I take their picture, I want make eye contact and a connection, and not look like I was trying to get away with something.
Fortunately I was on an extremely crowded street in daylight. I think with street photography you're always taking your chances at least a little bit.
Thanks for the tip on the crop, I totally agree. I replaced with a closer vertical crop that I think works well.
Love your street photos.
hannabirke (59 months ago | reply)
this is an amazing photograph. the light on his hair - his eyes - i'm glad you didn't crop the orange bits out in the background.
interesting that you make eye contact afterwards - i often do the opposite if i haven't asked for the photo - no eye contact - it never happened - we just go on about our business as i find the most confrontations happen where i am if i acknowledge what's just gone on. but i think environment makes a big difference in this.
worst that's ever happened to me is a shouting match with someone insisting i needed his permission and me insisting i didn't. i could have handled it better.
glad nothing got broken.
A Morld of Wonder (59 months ago | reply)
Scary.
Jer*ry (59 months ago | reply)
Great shot, great writeup! (Maybe I should say "gripping narrative" but it might sound like an attempt to be cute with words ...)
Glad you got out of the situation with you and the camera unbroken. Excellent submission to the "hassled" group, thanks for adding!
Dmitry Gudkov (59 months ago | reply)
Gripping, narrative, love it. Thanks for the comments.
teresia (59 months ago | reply)
Fantastic photo. He does look a bit demented around the eyes. But what a scary story. Thanks for sharing.
iowapix (59 months ago | reply)
At times I can be a stinker and I weigh almost 200 lbs (90 kg).
I probably would have tried to keep snapping and asked if he had a green card or if he wanted a plane ride back to Somolia or Nigeria.
Taylor Siluwe (59 months ago | reply)
Great story, and subject as well. I understand your wanting to be less sneaky. I sometimes feel like a pervert or as if I'm stealing something; although its not a good feeling, when I get away with a particularly surrepticious capture, I'm THRILLED. Which is why i continue to not ask permission. I'd rather catch people being people anyway. Something is lost when the subject knows. Sneaky is better, but, as you know, it has its dangers.
In winter I take pics from inside my car a lot. A young drug-dealer type caught me and came over and banged on the glass demanding to know why I took his picture. Of course I lied, got equally aggressive and said, '... and why would I want YOUR picture anyway?' (lol)
Another time an old lady caught capturing some skateboarders. She cussed me out and said I was breaking the law. I told her I wasn't breaking any laws but quietly took her abuse anyway until she tired and walked away.
Never argue with an old lady. Bad mojo.
Paul_Cortez (58 months ago | reply)
This is a great capture. I'm always interested in the stories behind photos. Great job.
–tradewinds•> (58 months ago | reply)
amazing shot and story
SangPhotographer (58 months ago | reply)
amazing shot, really awesomeness bravery..
crazie_boogie (58 months ago | reply)
Too bad you didn't have a tazer at hand to give him the jolt of a lifetime that he deserved.. He certainly would not do that again if he was zapped and left wriggling on the ground..
MattInVA2006 (57 months ago | reply)
We'll have him shipped back home.
No problems.
Android9 (57 months ago | reply)
Great pic, with an amazing story to go with it. I too am in total love with this lens after getting a chance to take some shots with it last weekend. I can't believe how it isolates the subject and leaves that smooth background.
Diana Pinto (57 months ago | reply)
I would probably have fainted if I got that kind of reaction! The lengths we go to get shots, eh? But the lens is stellar, I want one, too.
nickleus (56 months ago | reply)
awesome interesting story and photo! great job! i have never had this happen to me, but i haven't been too obvious either. so i guess the next step is to make a dslr tazer add-on just for such moments?
--
Found in a search. (?)
Luke Gibbons (56 months ago | reply)
haha this story made me laugh. Me and you both will one day own this lens. The sharpness and bokeh is brilliant.
Marcfoto (55 months ago | reply)
Great shot! I bet he's really a nice guy, once you get to know him...
eddies images (55 months ago | reply)
Great story. Something similar happened to me in Jamaica once, but I was fortunate that there was a Jamaican police officer standing nearby (with an assault rifle at his side) who heard the guy yelling at me to 'Give him the pictures!' and came to my rescue. Nice shot.
Armin E(busy) (54 months ago | reply)
Good job...very well done
Alberto Feltrin (54 months ago | reply)
amazin boken....it seems unreal!!!!! fantastic!
cjc4454 (52 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Caught in the Act ~ of Flickr~ing!, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Dmitry Gudkov (52 months ago | reply)
thanks for all the comments guys
eastanbul [deleted] (52 months ago | reply)
I'm deeply impressed by the story going to this image - I felt like being there when reading thru- keep it up, man!
Dmitry Gudkov (52 months ago | reply)
thanks eastanbul. i'm actually glad the guy was too crazy to just let me erase the photo. then i'd just have the story and nothing to show for it.
cjc4454 (52 months ago | reply)
thanks for adding this to our group
Seen in CAUGHT IN THE ACT~ OF FLICKR~ING!
[http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3530/buddyico ns/1005837@N23.jpg]
jambo ardalan jalayer (52 months ago | reply)
yes this happened to me with a UN police officer in front of the UN
he was like dont take anyones picture without their permission
sashakasha (52 months ago | reply)
I perceive this portrait as of someone with dignity, self confidence, sense of purpose,Nelson Mandela kinda guy... Ha ha ha!
I sniffed another picture with a story for you:
flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/161990986/in/set -72157594567...
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http://www.flickriver.com/photos/goodcough/po pular-interesting/ (?)
a.willms (51 months ago | reply)
Nice story, and good photo. I never would have guessed the context just by looking at it. It almost looks like he's posing.
Arina_57 (51 months ago | reply)
Great photo, and even better with the story.
Ive always had this fear of this happening to fortunately it hasnt. I try to use longer lenses if Im being sneaky, or make obvious and ask for permission.
I found pretending to take a photo of a friend and shooting over shoulder works if your trying to be sneaky, but that requires some one to be with you
mirque84 (51 months ago | reply)
hey. nice photo, crazy story.
i'd say the face is really sharp and the bokeh freakin tight as well, BUT i would really think about buying this lens for that price. in my eyes the chromatic aberration is unacceptable. no offence towards you and your pic. but don't you agree that such an expensive lense should not yield such heavy color eges as seen in his shirt's typo and his shoulders?
esp. not if it's a fix lense.
i'm just curious :)
nxllv (51 months ago | reply)
very nice photo!
well worth the struggle, im sure.
lol
fardan19 (50 months ago | reply)
what a story
nice photo
underflo (50 months ago | reply)
I'm trying to think of reasons not to buy this lens. Your commentary didn't help!
I hate when people freak out if I take their picture. The guy looks friendly but apparently he was uncool.
Benutzernameändernin (50 months ago | reply)
the picture is nice indeed, the story much better. you should probably think about become an author, not a photograher. :-)
sorry guys, but i think you are all blind. dont you see the guy has got green hair? and a purple shoulder?
i have been watching this phenomenon for some months now and now i am sure: canon has a real problem when it comes to color fringing.
in the mean time i can tell the lens/camera combo used only by looking at the green highlights in the background (canon, of course)
to all you nikon guys out there: do you have this problem to such extend as well?
i would have go crazy first to shell out 2K$ for a lens as bad as this one.
and no, you cant remove this with software. and even if you could, it would be another step in your workflow, a step you do not really want to have...
mirque84 (50 months ago | reply)
@ reply2reply: why do you say "we ALL" seem to be blind? that's what i also mentioned and proposed Dmitry to get his hands on a better lens, since this one is much too expensive for that bad chromatic abberation "quality". so i agree with you, but please don't call us all blind ;)
and to your nikon question: the answer is NO :) nikon has a tradition in optimizing the lenses for sharpness and way low chroma abb. all lenses i've seen so far were simply better! fact. i don't wanna roll over the old canon-nikon war, but 2K$ for this lens is waaay too much
Dmitry Gudkov (50 months ago | reply)
@mirque84, re: your earlier comment:
I was certainly surprised that a prime lens of that price would exhibit such noticeable chromatic aberration under some circumstances. For what it's worth, I wasn't thrilled with the size of it, the weight of it, and its unexpectedly slow focus speed.
All that said, there is simply nothing else like it in the Canon lineup (that I'm aware of). While it's a foolish purchase for 99.9% of photographers (me included, currently), this lens gets wide open sharpness and absurdly creamy/dreamlike bokeh that really appeal to me. In my very short time with it, I also noticed an ability to blur foreground in a way I've never seen with another lens (example: www.flickr.com/photos/goodcough/2667049370/).
So to answer your question: "don't you agree that such an expensive lense should not yield such heavy color eges as seen in his shirt's typo and his shoulders?"
Yes, I agree 100%. And hopefully, by the time I can afford this lens, Canon will have come out with an updated version that has addressed these issues. But even if they haven't, I'll still probably get it.
Benutzernameändernin (50 months ago | reply)
@mirque84:
sorry, yes of course you are one of the few Just Men here :-), i like to keep things short...
Let me add two things, none of them especially brilliant:
1.) nowadays it is easier than ever to make your comments public. what however is not visible at the first sight, is how qualified a given person is to make his/her statement at all. in other words: internet is full of garbage :-)
2.) to cut it to a single phrase: nikon builds better lenses, but canon has better cameras. i work at a news agency and see hundreds of pictures daily, shot under all possible conditions. I see green CAs from canon, and wierd looking colours and skin tones from nikon, even from the newest nikon bodies. so yes, neither system is perfect, but it helps if you know what are the weak points.
just my 2c...
CharlieReynolds (50 months ago | reply)
hahaha wow! what a story, i was enthralled. and look at his face, the first sparks of potential rage are just starting to appear, but it's so subtle. i love this photo. and i may very well soon be the proud owner of a 5D mark II, if i choose it over a d700... how's your 5D treating you?
Joseph.Browning [deleted] (49 months ago | reply)
my this is incredible.
wonderful, wonderful story.
I've seen it happen and actually stopped to help the photographer, but it can always be a bit sketchy.
Wonderful picture and wonderful BOKEH!
mirque84 (49 months ago | reply)
well dmitry, i totally understand your point of view. your example actually does not seem to work unfortunately, but i agree with the creamy bokeh. and besides the less good CA it seems to be stunning for portraits as this one. i think the overall comments and favs can speak for themselves :) so i`m looking up for your further desisions, there's no "perfect" in the world, just the best fitting one for certain needs, i'd say
Dmitry Gudkov (49 months ago | reply)
@mirque84, Whoops, I had a parenthesis in my hyperlink. Fixed it. Here's the foreground blur I was talking about: www.flickr.com/photos/goodcough/2667049370/
mirque84 (49 months ago | reply)
thank you. omg, really crazy. lools somehow weird to me, but the bokeh is indeed a creamy one :)
Wolf_Gang Jr (48 months ago | reply)
WOW. That is some story. You got a great picture though!
bellpepper12 (48 months ago | reply)
I love the pic but i'm still wondering why that man ws trying to rip your arm off!!!
stadisa (48 months ago | reply)
you should never have taken this
Dmitry Gudkov (48 months ago | reply)
@stadisa: Why?