Stretch.

Well, this blog is called "serendipities", after all, so here's one image that fits the profile. Serendipitous, in that it never would have happened had I attended a local classic car show stag - my companion pointed out this guy lost in thought off at the side and suggested I take a picture, so I did.

I have a bit of a blind spot for taking pictures of people. I mean, I know enough at a family gathering to point the camera at human beings, but when I go out to Take Pictures it rarely occurs to me take any candids. I'm too busy tunneling my vision toward a small detail of flora, or finding patterns in debris. Not that these are bad things on which to focus, but I tend to miss other things in the pursuit.

And while my lack of awareness of the human photo-ops around me is due partly to my attentiveness to other, non-human details, I think my blind spot is also partly due to my not wanting to get into trouble for pointing my camera at those who might object. Much as I admire other photographers' abilities to produce outstanding candids and street photography (and I do, very much), I have a hard time convincing myself it's something I should do. I feel like I'm intruding.

That's something I should work on, within reason - not about to go out tomorrow and shred someone else's right to privacy - but the occasional shot-across-a-street really isn't that heinous. Not a bad thing to challenge your fears a bit, give them a bit of a workout.