Overcoming shyness in Little Venice

I had a great day in London yesterday. I combined a business presentation with some photography around Little Venice near Paddington station in the afternoon. London is a really special place to photograph. My imagination was on overdrive for the whole time I was there. I also overcame my shyness to some extent and got speaking to a very attractive young puppet maker who was working on the towpath next to her barge.

A couple of weeks ago when I was in Devon I missed out on several good photo opportunities because I was too shy to strike up a conversation with people. There was the time when I found a beautiful old black Jaguar motor car parked on what looked like a small plot of land laid aside for travellers. I was taking photographs of the car and its surrounding habitat when the owner of the car drove up behind me and asked, in a very friendly way, what I was doing. We spoke for a while about her pride and joy and then she gave me some directions and I was on my way. Then it struck me. Why hadn’t I asked the lady to pose next to her beloved black Jaguar? That would have made a great photograph.

On another occasion on the same weekend, I remember greeting a friendly woman on the Burrows who was walking 3 Greyhounds that were clad in bold polka dot and striped coats. As soon as I had walked on I realised I’d missed an opportunity to take a photograph of the lady with her distinctive looking dogs because I’d been too slow in seeing the opportunity and a bit reluctant to strike up a conversation with a stranger. This is not like me at all because I would normally talk to anyone given the opportunity. I put it down to:

1. It was very early and I was still trying to wake up
2. I had a camera with me which made me feel awkward
3. I felt a bit pretentious portraying myself as a Photographer
4. I also don’t know any conversation lead-in lines which would allude to my intentions without sounding too mercenary (am I worrying unnecessarily about this)
5. I had been away from my hosts for quite sometime and I had some ill-conceived time pressures which were not realistic (need to stop giving a shit)

Later, when I mentioned the dogs to Laura, she told me of a Greyhound sanctuary which is nearby. I parked that thought in my head and promised I’d make an effort to visit the sanctuary on a future visit and make some effort to overcome the reasons for my awkwardness.

Then yesterday while walking around Little Venice in London with my Leica, I saw this attractive young woman doing some interesting work at the side of the canal. I walked past her at first and then, realising my error, I returned to her and struck up a conversation along the lines of “Hi, do you mind if I ask what you are doing?” She didn’t mind at all and told me she was a Puppet Maker. She was soaking pieces of cane in water and then bending them to make a frame for her large puppets. Later, she would dress the frames in fabric to make her figures. She was making the puppets for the Glastonbury festival and told me the Organisers had agreed to give her a free ticket to the festival in return for her puppets. I asked would she mind if I took her photograph. I asked her to bend forward and drop her head towards me as though she was working because I had noticed when I first walked by that her blond hair was in plaits on top of her head and the shapes complimented the twisted canes that she had in her hands.

She was very amenable and we parted company soon after. I walked away and started analysing what had happened. I was really pleased about how it went and I couldn't have picked a more interesting subject to talk to. I was also pleased that I had noticed the woman's hair and the way in which I had linked the person to the activity in which she was engaged.

However, there is always something else that can be done and I realised I should have also asked her to raise her head for a photograph of her attractive face with the ring through her bottom lip. I'm still not 100% satisfied but at least it's a step in the right direction.