Every since I can remember, I have
always enjoyed people watching.
Observing the dynamics, quirks, and everyday ennui, interests me enough
that I can spend hours being a fly on the wall.
Add a camera, and I can actually document the fascinating mundane. Yes, I know that’s an oxymoron and yes, I know
I sound a little bit creepy. Sorry.
Today the weather was pleasant, I was
alone in my apartment, and I could hear music coming three blocks away from
what I assumed was the park. Being the
month of “Carnival,” things in Buenos Aires have been a little bit more musical
than usual. So, I got dressed, packed my
Canon point and shoot and headed out.
Saturdays are my favorite day of week here. People flock to the parks, vendors set out blankets
advertising an assortment of handicrafts and used goods for sale, and the opportunity to
people watch is much is at its best. My
goal for the day was to work on taking some candid shots, something that has always
been difficult for me. I always feel
self conscious whipping out my camera and taking pictures of random people
doing random things. Sometimes I get
smiles, sometimes frowns, I also get blank looks, curious looks, irritated
looks, amused looks, and sometimes when I take pictures of kids, I get a “stop
taking pictures of my kid you creep” look.
Understandable, I am good enough at reading body language to know when
someone does not want their picture taken.
That’s fine. I sometimes feel the
same way when my husband put his camera in my face.
I spent two hours of circling the park,
listening to live music and taking in Argentine life on a Saturday afternoon. Then the rain clouds rolled in, and it was
time to go home. When I got back home I uploaded my pictures on my computer, and was
not surprised to discover that a lot of the pictures I look are crappy. Unfocused, uninteresting, ordinary. I’m not a professional photographer, not even
semi, I just like taking pictures, and I am still learning how to use my
camera. Yet in my mix of unprofessional pictures, I managed to pick out a few that
I like, a few that show what Argentines like to do in the park on a Saturday.
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| Feeling the Music |
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| The Kiss |
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| Caballo de la Parque |
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| Boys |
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| Painting | | |
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| Concentration |
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| Kitty | |
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| Ajedrez (Chess) |
