NAIDOC Week, originally uploaded by Martin~.
NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) Week 2007 is being celebrated from the 8th to the 15th of July. Some of the festivities took place in Musgrave Park behind Southbank. A great many of the tents and pavilions housed representatives from organisations supportive of ATSI culture and its needs. Not the least of which was the State Government Department of Emergency Services who provided the “Lil Squirt” fire engine for the amusement of the kids. Very popular it was too, providing rides around the park courtesy of its energetic and enthusiastic volunteer driver.
An interesting aside from earlier in the day, walking to work that morning with a monopod under my arm; I called in to the Daily Grind café located in my building to get a cup of coffee. Another customer, obviously a keen photographer himself asked me what I thought of the monopod and after I replied that I find it very useful for street photography, a general discussion ensued about taking candid photographs of strangers.
I got the impression that he was quite wary, even furtive of doing so because of the suspicion the general public sometimes attach to such activities these days. Well it was very interesting and as I am sometimes not backward about coming forward I took the opportunity suggest to him that in my opinion it was all to do with attitude. Not Joe Public’s mind you but his, mine, and every other street photographer’s out there. We are doing nothing wrong; we aren’t terrorists, deviates, thieves, weirdos etc. So my advice was to be positive, display confidence in what we are doing, ditch the nervousness and any outward display of furtiveness, act like we have every right to be there (we do), and nine times out of ten, people will respect us for what we are doing, give us space, and perhaps even encourage us. If people do seem to have a sixth sense concerning behaviour going on around them, I don’t believe we help our cause by miscuing people due to our nervousness or wavering surety about what we are doing.
So my advice was to get out there, act like you belong, (because you do) and generally people will openly or subconsciously acknowledge that you do belong.
Just my 2 cents.
