If you're walking around with a DSLR or mirrorless and pointing it a random people in public, you're going to attract attention. In a crowded, touristy area, you're not going to raise much suspicion. But walk around a cozy neighborhood snapping pics, and you're probably going to make some people uncomfortable.

I was in Portland visiting family, and in the middle of a weekday thought it would be interesting to walk around his neighborhood taking pictures or some of the old houses, coffeeshops, etc. Started inside a cool old coffee house, and was immediately aware that my activities were making some of the other patrons uncomfortable, so I shuttered my lens, drank my coffee, and headed out to the street.

As I embarked on the sidewalk, I took a few test shots to calibrate my exposure settings, and as I was looking down at my camera, I was approached by a man who aggressively threw his paper coffee cup at my head: missing by inches, but certainly catching my attention.

"What the f-ck are you taking pictures of boy!"

I was shocked, and as I looked up and gathered a comprehension of what was happening, I realized that a homeless/crazy man was coming at me. I hadn't even taken a picture of him, but he clearly didn't like that I was taking pictures. He came at me and tried to grab my camera.

Fortunately, I am no slouch, and was able to dodge him, but he kept coming at me. I told him I didn't take any pictures of him, but he was screaming that he wanted to see my camera. Fat chance.
What ensued was a 15 minute chase through the streets of the Portland suburbs with him eventually giving up on the pursuit. But my heart was racing and my lungs burning: a less athletic victim would have faced a potentially violent confrontation.

While I'm sure this kind of reaction is probably reserved for the mentally unstable, it's likely that more reserved individuals would still harbor a bit of resentment towards an outsider entering their neighborhood for the novelty of capturing people in their home environments.

So my advice to your question would be this: street photography is probably most suited for areas that could be described as downtown, crowded, touristy, or some kind of event.

Report to ebay....the seller has a time period to respond and either send the correct lens or refund al your money and ask also for yur shipping as it was not the correct product.
If you paid through paypal....whch I highly recommend for any internet purchase, report to them as well.

This happened to me on a much smaller scale with a video game. I had to send the video game back and then I received al the money including cost to ship back.
Insure it and track it so they cant claim it was damaged. Also take pics of the lens.
I have done ebay for at least 10 years and that is only problem I ever had.

I really do love it and I like the processing. Two things. There's too much foreground that doesn't add anything. The antlers and the candle holder simply distract from your subject. They both intersect with the arbor and take away from it. I LOVE the arbor and the flowers. They add so much to your whole scheme. If you shot from a higher position maybe their heads wouldn't intersect with the arbor, but I'm not sure if that would make it better or not .. it's just something I would have tried in taking a variety of shots. The antlers could be off in the background somehwere or sticking in the dirt as if they'd been there awhile. The candle stick has to go in my opionion. But .. listen to this .. it's a very good image and I'm just what-iffing.

I shot digital for a few years and used film filters all of the time, I liked the look of film (as I thought it was) so one day I just said to myself "I might as well shoot film!" so I got a film camera to see if it was for me.


I've been shooting actual film exclusively ever since and couldn't be happier. I sold all of my digital cameras and never looked back.

It's possible to not shoot digital in this age you know. Film is plentiful, processing is easy and folks who do processing are still around and it's not that expensive if you find a good place and stick with it. (I use Willow Photo Lab for color, for B&W I do it myself.)

I thank you for (bravely) revealing your beliefs (something for which you may take some heat from the radical righties), and for your support, but here's the problem...

This dastardly, destructive gov't shutdown by only one cruel, mean-spirited, wealthy, son-of-an-equally-obnoxious-father, all over tRump's arse-whole belief in a border wall and his lying promises that Mexico would pay, should be of primary concern to everyone living in the US, to every citizen of the US politically, and to every inhabitant of spaceship earth, eventually, if this travesty is allowed to go on.

I believe it's important to get the word out in every possible way - - statistically speaking, it looks like the tide is turning against tRump, & when dedicated folks who aren't getting paid can't feed their kids or keep a roof over their heads, I have already seen tRump v**ers say they feel betrayed - - how could they not when Mr. high-and-mighty doesn't give a crap about their welfare.

There are over 90,000 members on UHH, most of whom also signed up for GCC - - and I have been here for a while, so I'm not trolling. But there are only a bit more than 1,000 signed on to The Attic so, now that this topic has been relocated, hardly anyone will see it.

How very sad to learn that there are politically uninterested photographers who are literally unable to see "the big picture" - - I wonder what kind of photography you can accomplish with your head in the sand - - perhaps you know no one suffering from this horrendous shutdown, but I hope you open your eyes and look/ask around.