Sunday, July 20, 2008

Two Things Challenge: People / Watch

Sunday reading in the park : DuPont Circle


Salvaging bruised fruit for taste testing : DuPont Circle Organic Farmer's Market

This week's Two Things Challenge was People / Watch. Photographing people is a challenge for me. I always feel like I'm being intrusive or stealing their spirits or something. But, I figured this week's challenge was a good way to overcome my hang ups and dive right in.

Multi-tasking on a Sunday morning : DuPont Circle

I chose three different venues for my photography: DuPont Circle--The Organic Farmer's Market and the park circle itself; the White House--near the South Lawn and in Lafayette Park; and the Renwick Gallery of Art--inside and out.

A busload of Korean tourists taking each other's pictures :
The White House / South Lawn



Solitary sitter : The Renwick Gallery of Art

One of the things that always strikes me about this city is its international attraction--both to people who come here to live and people who come here to visit. And they come from all over the world! This morning, in the span of three hours, I heard French, Korean, Hungarian, English, Spanish, Dutch, Urdu or Punjabi (I'm not sure which), and an African language I couldn't identify. I love that!


Looking : Lafayette Park

I love this picture. Click on it to enlarge and you'll notice none of these women are looking in the same direction. I also love the juxtaposition of three of them in very bright, vibrant colors and the older woman in softer, muted tones. Just a lovely group of women, I think.

Restoration project : Front Gates of the White House

I should probably title this one "Tourists Watching People" or something witty. Really what I wondered was, does President Bush know these painters are working on a Sunday and, if so, what does he think?

To see a few more People Watching shots, visit Standing Room Only.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 07/08

9 comments:

Virginia said...

what wonderful photographs today. You are so talented in finding the perfect composition for your interesting subjects.

Maya said...

Wow, you got a lot of nice ones! I'm impressed. I especially like the tourists taking photos of each other and the brightly clothed women on the bench. Funny that we both thought of the Farmer's Market!

stromsjo said...

I find it difficult to "do people" as well. A matter of training I suppose.

I like that solitary sitter.

Jane Hards Photography said...

I am always amazed at how some city scenes have a real sense of space.
Fabulous electic collection of people watching moments.

Janet Kincaid said...

Virginia: Thanks! Mostly I try to frame, but occasionally, I just shoot and luck out. (See below.)


Maya: I like that one, too. It turned out better than I expected. I wasn't even looking at the LCD monitor to see what I was shooting. I just raised the camera above my head and snapped. It wasn't until I got home that I realized how well that picture turned out!

Per: Taking people pictures is hard for me, too, so this was a good challenge. You should give it a try and let us know the results!


Babooshka: Thank you! I also like how eclectic these pictures are. They aren't all photos of just white Americans. There's a lot of everything here, kind of like this city!

Rob said...

What a great mix of people watching people going about their business. I must admit, I am self conciopus of snapping people photos that I tend to rush the photo, not paying attention to composition at all. I don't know why this makes me nervous. But a great asignment to get out of the box and try. Thanks!

Janet Kincaid said...

Rob: Thanks! I also feel very conspicuous taking random people shots. But the few times I've done it have produced gratifying results. I'd like be as good at it as Kim at Seattle Daily Photo is. Her people shots are amazing!

The Artful Eye said...

I love these photos. Favorites- multi.tasking and colorful gals looking all ways. I found myself humming, people, people who watch people are the luckiest peeeeeeooople in the world. Until you told to screw off. Now I'm silly with laughter.

Janet Kincaid said...

Andrea: ROFL! Actually, I'd have started singing right along with you, assuming we were together. If you were just some random person who saw me taking people's pictures and started singing, I'd probably take your picture!