Travel Photography | Nepal | Can I Take Your Photograph, Please?

© 2014 Wazari Wazir | Once Upon a Time in Nepal

I simply could not resist photographing them, the light was so wonderful. I’m sure, I  will be haunted by this moment if I didn’t get the shot, well, at least I should try to ask them. Photographing strangers, isn’t easy, nobody ever said it was. Actually I just about to leave this place, heading back to our van for the next destination when I struck at this place. Actually at first I was drawn by the lighting, then I saw a great moment.

I brace myself asking them, whether I can take their photograph, not a single words uttered by them, they just nodded their heads and smile. I just took it as a”yes” and quickly getting closer to them. Before that, I know, the worst thing that they will say is NO, and they won’t kill me or hit me, so that’s why I didn’t hesitate to ask their permission.

I took the photograph above with 24 mm wide angle lens, really getting close to them, I simply love the moment, they were enjoying their time talking to each other. In contrast, sometimes, we “Smartphone Generation”, whenever we have meals in front of our table, most of us tend to take a photograph of the foods in front of us, posted it to Facebook, Instagram, Tweets about it and getting lost in the Social Media World, hardly talking to each others, even though we are sitting next to each other.

Anyway, this post is not about Social Media, it is about photographing a strangers, people that you have never met, people that are unique and worth to be photograph. If you are shy kind of a person, then maybe people photography is not for you, better stick to landscape any any other genre that you don’t have to communicate with your subject.

I’m not always getting “YES” for an answer from a stranger. I’m not hurt when someone said NO, I really respect their privacy but I will never leave a great moment or person  just like that without even trying. I’m quite happy to have a simple conversation with a strangers that I met even though I get NO for an answer.

There was a time, when I spent more than half an hour talking to a stranger, I keep asking whether I can take a photograph of her, I think you can figure it out on why I spent so much time, but in the end, she firmly said NO, but I really enjoy the conversation, getting to know about someones background, her education, her family, getting to know about my family, getting to know about their life, about my little children that I left at home. I think that’s what traveling is all about, getting connected. To be able to photograph someone is a bonus for me.

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