I often ask myself if street photography is dangerous.
The answer is not simple and straightforward. It all depends on:
1) your style of taking the pictures in public places;
2) where you take the pictures.
I will turn to point number one. The fact is that I do not try to hide my camera. I always try to be as confident as possible. The important thing with my case is the fact that usually, I do not try to make pictures of other people. That does not mean that I do not have any classic street photos with humans, but I try to avoid placing people in my frames. I believe that this information is crucial when we talk regarding safety during shooting photos on the streets.
I do not have much interaction with other humans during my photo walks. Of course, sometimes I talk to strangers about various things. The themes of these small talks are, for example, photography, local problems, or just the weather. In the same time, I never meet with aggression from other people.
For me, it is critical to try to avoid and minimize the possibility to be in a dangerous situation.
When I see groups of people drinking beer or vodka in the park, I try to avoid to interact with them. Nevertheless, I always try to remember that if the dangerous situation occurs, probably in the worst scenario, I will be punched in the face and the aggressor would steal my camera. When I imagine this situation, I stay calm and relaxed, and thanks to that, I remain confident. I explain to myself that in the worst case scenario, I will go to the hospital and after this, I will buy a new camera and start my photo journey once again, with different equipment.
Equally important is point number two. All cities and towns have their dangerous districts and neighborhoods. I try to avoid going to the most dangerous areas to take pictures. As I said before, I always try to minimize the possibility to be in an unsafe situation. Going to dangerous places can be risky for you and your equipment. Of course, some photographers love to be in the middle of critical moments, but I do not belong to them.
I believe that making a good picture is not worthy of our health and life.
To summarize, street photography can be a dangerous hobby. But at the same time, it is only up to you how you deal with the possibility of becoming in a hazardous situation. I am sure that we all can minimize such option and that we are in control in 95% of all the things which can happen to us.
All in all, in the end, we all going to die. Does it matter if we die in a car accident, by having cancer or during shooting photos on the streets? For me, it does not matter.
