Day 111: Another Grab Shot

I pulled into the driveway of a friends house in Brownville, NY to watch a parade. I see this neighbor kid sitting on his front entranceway porch. The light is nice. I like the kids face and pose. Hurriedly I grab the camera and make a quick snap through the dirty drivers side window. Then, I put the window down and make a couple of more snaps. However, the boy noticed me. I asked him not to move, and grabbed a couple more shots. You see, I was concerned about the degradation of the image being shot through the dirty window. However, my brief interaction with the kid polluted the situation. In the end, it was the first frame, the grab shot through that window that worked the best. The lesson here is shoot first, ask questions later. By that I mean, if you see it, photograph it as quickly as possible. Afterwards you can sort out the ethics and moral issues of whether or not you should have taken the picture in the first place. I think the real issue is shoot the photo and then decide if you should circulate it or not. Sometimes a photo is sensitive, so what the Hell, take it, but keep it to yourself. Reveal it later, years later, maybe after you are dead. How would it be if no one had photographed the horrific scenes in the ghettos of Poland and the concentration camps of World War II? All that would be left would be verbal anecdotes. Take the picture. It may be uncomfortable at the time, but if you don't, you can not go back to get it.