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Or maybe you noticed them and didn't think anything of it. I think part of it also depends on where you are … if I go to the National Mall, for example, I think it's a given I'll end up in someone's viewfinder. Not so much if I'm walking across the parking lot at Macy's, though.

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4 hours ago, Arcadia said:

 … if I go to the National Mall, for example, I think it's a given I'll end up in someone's viewfinder. Not so much if I'm walking across the parking lot at Macy's, though.

Just in case anyone is wondering what the difference might be:  Macy's is a department-store chain, whereas the National Mall has nothing to do with shopping -- it's a landscaped park in Washington, D.C.  Most of the major tourist attractions adjoin it, so it gets a lot of foot traffic.  And of course a lot of photos are taken there.

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Oh, that's right! I'm so used to the term "National Mall" that I forget how confusing it can be! We've had more than one visitor wonder why the heck we were taking them to a shopping center. :smile: 

More specifically, the Mall runs from the US Capitol building in the east two miles down to the Lincoln Memorial in the west, with stops for the Washington Monument and bunches of memorials and museums along the way. So, yeah, LOTS of photos.

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To confuse matters even further, "mall" is related to the word "mallet" and originally meant a croquet court.  See details here.

Added:  It turns out that both mallet and mill come from the same ancient root word, which had to do with crushing and grinding.

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There is indeed a crush on the National Mall during the July 4 fireworks. :smile: 

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On 9/1/2019 at 10:18 PM, Arcadia said:

I admit it used to never occur to me to ask someone's permission to take a picture. My Dad was an inveterate photographer who took pictures of anyone and everyone, so it seemed normal to me, I guess. Recently, though, I've had more concerns about it. I've learned not to point my camera at kids, for example. At least, not when they're close enough to be able to identify them. I think I'd still take a snap of a crazy dog lady, though, obviously she'd just be asking for the attention. :P 

Seriously, now I'm thinking about it. If you're doing a private activity in public, is it okay for the public to record it? I don't know, I can see both sides. I have had people take pics of me when I was painting outside, and I admit I don't mind, because I'm out in the public. But if they were so close I could bang my head on their camera … ? Yeah, I think I'd expect them to ask me first.

 

On 9/2/2019 at 11:13 AM, Carol the Dabbler said:

I agree with both of you, it depends on the photographer's method -- how close they are, where the camera is pointed, etc.  It could get kinda creepy.

Now I'm trying to think of a time when I noticed some stranger photographing me in public, and darned if I can come up with any examples.  Maybe I'm just not that interesting?  Or maybe I just didn't notice them?

Ironically, I became very aware of that (people might mind that their pictures are taken) when I was really into photography quite sometime ago. I took pics of mostly nature; animal and scenery, and some unique and colorful city, but I wasn't interested in taking human pictures, sometimes they are far away or just a background of the activity or city scene, or from behind against a relevant backdrop that tells interesting stories. Never with visible identifiable close-up faces.

Then there was this old lady, in a small village in Hoi An, Vietnam, not an usual tourist destination, selling a handmade wooden bird figures, painted red, neatly arranged in a circular bamboo baskets put on her side, sitting on steps, leaning against a peeling wall, one leg up in relaxed sitting position. She wore a bamboo circular hat, traditional styled cloth. It was mesmerizing to me so I couldn't help and took a snap, but then she was aware of me, and gestured politely, that she didn't want her picture taken.

At that point actually, the first time that I could remember, of taking someone's picture frontally, alhough I can say I'm not guilty of other occasions (but not because I was considerate, it just happened that human were not the object of my interest. But I was guilty of seeing my fellow travelmates taking pictures of people without thinking about whether the target minds). At that point I really thought about yes, it seemed really inconsiderate for me, annoying foreigner, thinking that it's okay to take her picture without asking, treating her going through daily life as something exotic. And it wasn't even the time when social media was a big thing yet, let alone now when every image could end up somewhere public.

I still hardly ever take human's picture, but since then, I actually try to ask if I think it could be obtrusive, even when I only take dog's pictures, because I wouldn't know if they mind, and as a picture hater, I really get that.

So there.

Spoiler box is the above mentioned picture. I still really like it.

P.S. Thanks for National Mall explanation! I heard about it before, but forgot, took me awhile to think about scary mall when people taking pictures of each other.

 

DSC-0501.jpg

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That is a terrific photo, VBS, and doesn't strike me as obviously intrusive -- for one thing, the woman's face is in such deep shadow that I don't see her features unless I really try.  It looks to me more like a picture of the whole scene, with interesting contrast in colors.  On the other hand, I can see how she could have felt like the center of attention that she didn't want.  For one thing, when a camera is pointed at you, you can't tell what focus they're using (could be a zoom close-up), so it's easy to feel vulnerable.  But if you (the photographer) are thinking of it as a picture of a scene (rather than of a specific person), it might never occur to you to ask permission.

So I think there's a gray area.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Oh, cool!  I hadn't known there was a movie coming.

Cats was a huge hit in the West End and also on Broadway (and lots of other places) throughout the 1980's and 90's.  Looks like they've basically filmed the play on location, with a wonderful cast.

I never really had a chance to see the play, so I'll be sure to keep an eye on the movie's reviews, and if it lives up to expectations, will go see it.  Thanks!

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There was a filmed version of the play shown on TV (probably on PBS) lo these many years ago. Man, it didn't look anything like that! I don't recall that it had a plot either, it looks like this version does. Cool, I finally have something to put on my list of things to see. I'm not overly fond of the music, but … cats! :D 

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While looking up the new movie, I ran across a reference to the previous movie, which was as you say, just the play on film (like the NTL plays).  This one is made as a movie, but it's my impression that the "plot" is still just an excuse to sing a whole bunch of songs (poems by T.S. Eliot, set to music).

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  • 1 month later...

So in the news couple of days ago, I read an article about a businessman hiring a hitman to kill his competitor. The hitman then hired another hitman who hired another hitman who hired another hitman who hired another hitman. The last hitman decided to meet up with the target and persuaded him to play dead which resulted in everyone being caught.

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I just had to look that up, and sure enough, here it is from the BBC.  I'm somewhat relieved to hear that it didn't happen anywhere around here.

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On 10/24/2019 at 1:05 PM, Van Buren Supernova said:

So in the news couple of days ago, I read an article about a businessman hiring a hitman to kill his competitor. The hitman then hired another hitman who hired another hitman who hired another hitman who hired another hitman. The last hitman decided to meet up with the target and persuaded him to play dead which resulted in everyone being caught.

Congrats, I think you just won the award for "Best Post Matching the Title of the Thread." Or, to put it another way …   :wtf: !!???!!?!????!?!?!!!!!?!

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On 10/24/2019 at 8:13 PM, Carol the Dabbler said:

I just had to look that up, and sure enough, here it is from the BBC.  I'm somewhat relieved to hear that it didn't happen anywhere around here.

I repeat ... :wtf:  Is it April Fool's, or something? Excuse me, I have to go share this on Facebook......

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  • 2 months later...
On 10/28/2019 at 2:20 PM, Arcadia said:

Congrats, I think you just won the award for "Best Post Matching the Title of the Thread." Or, to put it another way …   :wtf: !!???!!?!????!?!?!!!!!?!

Thank you! What do I get??

Actually, I am not sure whether I should be angry or happy that these guys suck at their task. On one hand, no life was lost, on the other hand, it would drive me crazy if I'm working with those guys. XD

 

On another not so WTF, children toy's thief had been caught red-handed, but he won't be serving time. The toys were meant for Christmas gifts for local charity, collected by police department, and they started going missing. They were then found unusable for gifts because there was slobber all over them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the culprit, Ben. :-) I mean, look at him! :wub:

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Police Therapy Dog Accused of Stealing Toys Donated for Children

 

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On 1/15/2020 at 4:11 PM, Arcadia said:

I hate to admit it, but I actually did that once....

S84r.gif

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I don't remember the specifics, but for some reason I was trying to get water out of a hole during a rainstorm. Scooped up a bucketful, poured it out, only to realize that it just became one with the water that was still pouring into the hole..... :picard2: I can only assume I was in panic mode.

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On 1/17/2020 at 9:57 PM, Arcadia said:

I don't remember the specifics, but for some reason I was trying to get water out of a hole during a rainstorm. Scooped up a bucketful, poured it out, only to realize that it just became one with the water that was still pouring into the hole..... :picard2: I can only assume I was in panic mode.

Phew, that is barely similar with the one I posted. I thought I have to change the way I look at you every single day. :lol4:

Because I myself tried to scoop up water from sinking boat that had merge into the sea. To my defense, if you do it fast enough, there is still hope. :D

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