Accidental Tourist
Project 365 Photos: #28
Here’s a fun game. Scare motorists by taking pictures of expired parking meters! This couple thought they were going to be ticketed, so they came bolting out of a store to hop in their car. They didn’t speak English, but I could tell they were pleading for lenience. I did the mental math and chose to play the easiest card…”no, no…tourist…I’m just a tourist”.
It would have been pointless to launch into my shpiel, “I’m working on a project called 365 Photos, and I’m just taking my daily shots.” The minute you hang a camera around your neck, people assume you’re either a tourist or think you’re some fancy-pants photographer. There’s just no fathoming that any middle-aged mom from the suburbs, in her right mind, would be downtown Vancouver photographing parking meters and fire hydrants–’cause that would be CRAY CRAY.
In Canada, the law permits you to photograph people in publicly-owned spaces without asking for their permission (but don’t rely on me, check it out for yourself). In this case, it wasn’t necessary to tell them I’m a blogger. If however, I spotted someone having a cup of coffee sitting outside a cafe, I’d be hard-pressed to walk up and snap their picture without asking their permission.
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