CIVIC!!!

The field trip into Civic was fun.  I had an architectural photographer approach me as I was taking photos of buildings telling me about his career........ and his camera...... and possibly his wife.  I would have been (mildly) interested if i weren't desperate to get a shot of Dora the Explorer sitting by herself on the steps of the Canberra Theater.  Unfortunately, she left, and my abrupt desertion of the conversation was all for nothing. 

The whole point of this exercise I believe was to get people out in the world taking photos of people in their natural habitat.  I am still uneasy asking people if I can take photos of them.  I am not usually a shy person, but I am a quick judge of character and will not willfully take a photo of someone who is homeless or schizophrenic just because it may "shock" people into paying attention to the "degradation of society".  To me, this seems perverse.

I prefer photos that contain a sense of irony. I'd like to take photos that are critical of society and show the viewer a different perspective, rather than just a shocking photo of something that people are so used to ignoring everyday.  It is too easy to disregard something that is sitting right in front of you but if you plant a seed in the viewers brain that makes them think about it long after they have seen the picture, that is when they truly have paid attention.