KobreGuide Names A Troubled Paradise to the Web's Best Multimedia & Video Journalism

I appreciate the plug from the KobreGuide, which named A Troubled Paradise to their Web's Best Multimedia & Video Journalism. You can find the link here.

The Difficulties of Shooting Street Photography Today

The Scream by Edvard Munch

Yesterday, I was working on an assignment on a travel related piece in Girona, which is a beautiful city about an hour north of Barcelona. As part of the assignment I had to shoot a bakery and a restaurant. Since these types of stories can bring positive publicity for a business, there are rarely any problems and usually if you explain to the customers as well, they don't mind being in the photo either. That being said, I'm always surprised by the people who get hostile about having their picture taken, especially in this type of situation. I mean I can understand it if you are doing something illegal or cheating on your wife, but buying bread? What would someone fear, exactly?

While shooting in the bakery, an older man started to protest as I took photos of the two women selling bread. He was to my side with his back to me and was out of the frame. I told him that he wasn't in the photo and if he were, it would only have been of his back side. I could have gone on to explain that since I was focusing on the two women, he was extremely dark, out of focus and completely unrecognizable, but then again, how do you explain that to someone who doesn't understand the technicalities of photography. And if you're busy and need to work quickly, do you really want to waste your time and energy with someone who is already angry?

On his way out of the bakery, he turned to me and said "in Spain you have to ask for permission first, before you take someone's photo," and then started to go on about Spanish law and how only he was the owner of the rights to his image and nobody could take his photo without his permission. I politely informed him that he was mistaken, but it was such a surreal moment and immediately I thought of this quote: "If a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, then extensive-but-incomplete knowledge is a constant torment."

And that is the case today, street photography is a constant torment. Despite living in a world where everyone has some kind of camera phone on them at all times and constant surveillance by CCTV systems, people are more paranoid and afraid of photography than ever before. Why? What is it that they have to fear?

Adobe Announces Camera Raw Update

In case you missed it...

Here it is!

A Letter From A Freelancer to the New York Times

To read more on the shameful conduct of the New York Times legal department, read this exchange of letters between George Zimble and the legal counsel of the New York Times, story click here. And thanks to Melanie Burford for sharing this with me.

Maldives Multimedia Piece Takes 1st Place Honors

I just received news that my multimedia piece on the Maldives received 1st Place honors in the Team Audio Slideshow of the National Press Photographers Association Monthly Multimedia Contest. The entry which, I produced with the help of the outstanding guys at Bombay Flying Club, beat out entries from the New York Times and the Seattle Times, which is not bad for my first piece. The piece can be seen on the Burn website here, which is where it was first featured .