On Free Will

For the most part I think we don't actually have free will. A lot of our lives are predetermined based on where we live, how we're brought up, and the conditions we find ourselves in. In many cases there is little we can actually do that is truly free. Though recently I've been exercising a bit more of that concept, at least. Trying to remove any form of social anxiety and push back at some of the weird established ideas that the place I'm in seems to hold. In this particular case, it's surrounding photography. As you can see from this first image: hold a camera up and everyone freezes. Do I care anymore? Nah. I tried to look up general photography laws here and didn't find anything that implies street stuff isn't legal. Only the usual regarding police/military and anything that really invades a person's privacy. Nothing about whatever is in public.

I've taken to photographing people without a care in the world anymore. Getting really close to the unique subjects and spaces that seem to open themselves up to me that I tend to just walk by. Ignoring the potential for something that feels different to what I'd usually take, or even usually see from other photographers here. Everyone else just does portraits, artistic and beautiful as they are, I love the authenticity of just capturing a stranger in the street. Finding stories and moments that seem either stupid, silly, or just displaying regular life around in one way or another.

Society certainly feels tense as of late. People do seem a bit more lost in their own worlds. I've lost count of the times where I've walked in the street and had people nudge into me or just display a total lack of awareness. It's a strange thing to see in a city that is already incredibly small and rather repetitive. As if it's everyone's first day in it, or on Earth for that matter. This has had me wanting to point the camera at people more, to capture these moments of people interacting within spaces. And with how each person interacts within those spaces in such unique, and sometimes crazy manners. As per usual though, the stray animals tend to be the most relaxed. The kindest and sweetest things.

Some of these images were also shot on film stock, I'm sure you can tell which ones. This is also something I would like to start doing more: shooting film. I absolutely loved that feeling before, with the manual and mechanical. There's definitely a completely different feeling to shooting film in the street compared to digital. Even down to the feeling of pressing the shutter and having to advance the film after each frame. As the weather improves here I am really excited about photography, I do feel like I am waking up alongside the city with more warmth and sun that appears. So excited to spend more time out there and just really push myself to be creative and capture in different ways. No longer letting social norms or fear control me in doing so. I want to shoot, and so I shall!