Viva Mexico - Shutterbug Fever

Groom and I differ in how we go after a photograph. He notices the direction of light, waits patiently for the right scene, sets up a shot carefully. Me? I point and shoot. One can usually find me with a camera in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. My approach is, well, rather casual.

I take 2-3 times as many pictures as Groom because I don’t have the patience. If it catches my eye, it triggers my finger.

I’m a documenter. I like to capture moments like this when we got our bill from the beach-front cantina. It was a simple, torn piece of paper written in pencil and deposited on our damp table, held in place from the tropical breeze by a dirty salt shaker.

Most of the people shots I take are in the moment. I try to capture what I see, not spoil the moment by walking up to them, interrupting the tableau and asking permission. When I’ve tried that, most are quite cooperative, but then they pose, giving me their camera faces. I want the real scene. That’s why some of my shots are blurry, like this one of the little girl staring at me on the bus.

I shoot while I’m walking, parasailing, in a taxi or on a bus, so I don’t always have the most steady hand. I don’t get to set up the shot or have time for a “redo.” But even if they are a little blurry or dark or too bright, I have the memory which brings back the feeling I wanted to save in the first place.

These photographs are a few in the people series and I hope you enjoy a peek into the second-hand window of our cameras.