One of the attributes necessary for successful Street Photography is to be totally at ease and be able to boldly walk up to people and shoot, without feeling intimidated or appear self-conscious, in any way. This isn’t easy for most folks. Definitely not easy for people that aren’t confrontational by nature! 
On a recent trip to San Francisco, I decided to work on this a bit. I saw this gent sitting on the divider, totally engrossed in his cell phone. I walked up to him calmly, got to within a couple of feet of him, raised the camera to my eye, focussed quickly, and as he became aware of my presence and looked up at me, squeezed the shutter release. The expression on his face clearly says “Wtf?!” I lowered the camera, nodded at him with a pleasant smile on my face and walked away. No doubt leaving him totally wondering what that was all about!
I need to work on this ability to accost strangers with a camera comfortably a lot more.
Clicking on the image will open up a larger image, for your viewing pleasure:
This (approaching strangers on the street) is probably the most difficult thing for me too, so I applaud you for your effort. More importantly Raaj, you ended up with an excellent image, one that would not have been created had you not made the extra effort. Congratulations!
Peter.
Thanks, Peter.
It is tough, isn’t it? Some people have the ability to carry a camera and literally become invisible – a most desirable ability. Not sure how they do it. May be it comes with practice.