Off-street photography - Art in the Park (1): capturing individuals

Articles, books, and other advice on 'street photography' typically have sections early on about overcoming your discomfort at photographing strangers, at intruding yourself into other people's private lives as they go about their business 'on the street'. But I have to start one step back from that, because 'the street' is already outside my comfort zone. I don't hang about in the street, or sit in pavement cafés passing the time . . . I'm not a flâneuse! Streets are places I go to do something specific, to accomplish that, and then leave . . . they're not a place of enjoyment for me.

So, to begin to practise 'street' photography, I seek out non-street public places, where people congregate and I feel more at home. One such is the annual August 'Art in the Park' festival held locally to where I live. I spent a couple of hours there today.

I don't get up close to individuals to photograph them, contrary to frequent advice, because I would hate it if someone did that to me. I use a long lens (a discreet one, on a compact camera) and look for images of people who are unaware that they are being observed at all.