click the image to return to Photos

ar in
The photo was taken in an old harbour cafe in Devon, England. The couple were very still, and for the whole time I was there they just sat gazing wordlessly out of the window. They seemed to be far away in their own thoughts. I wanted to ask them what they were thinking about; you wouldn’t, would you?

For me the photo represents something I have never really resolved; its to do with the ethics of photography. At what point does taking a photo of people without their knowing become an invasion of privacy? The soft shutter, a fraction of a second, what’s the difference? You could say, well, just ask if they mind, but then it becomes a different image. If I was day-dreaming out of a window and some klutz was taking a photo of me I wouldn't be that happy about it.

At the end of the day I feel the event itself, however ordinary, is more important than its image. Yet I still took the picture. They never knew. Hence this discussion I keep having with myself

The photo was taken five years ago. Increasingly I find the best photos remain observed yet untaken. Maybe at some point the perception itself has its own purpose, and renders any subsequent photo unnecessary.

Yada yada! e f


wn thwt they were tinking
about; you , wou ld you?


is more important than its
photograph.