I like to observe people through my long lens. The camera is like a wall which I could hide behind while I observe my subject. Initially people might be quite wary seeing me pointing my camera and a long lens in their direction but after a while they get used to me and carry on with their own business. That is the best time for me to take their pictures. I will patiently wait for a particular smile, a particular expression or a particular gesture and in a decisive moment I softly press my shutter release button and a candid picture is made.
When I was at Serangoon Road taking pictures, I was observing two couples across the street who took turns taking pictures for one another. Suddenly at the corner of eyes, I caught sight of a tall lady among the crowd. She was along and snapping away with her compact camera. I tried to catch a glimpse of her face but I only managed to take two shots of her with her face turned in the other direction.
Disappointed with not being able to see her face I return to observe the couples across the street. By then they have left and I turned around trying to find my new target. Too my surprise the tall lady was pointing her camera in my direction and trying to take a picture. In a split second, I raise my camera to my eyes with my right hand and a twist of my lens with my left hand, to zoom in on her, and then followed by a quick trigger on my camera's shutter release button to capture a picture of her smiling.
I quickly check my LCD screen to see if I managed to capture a picture of her. I got a picture of her smiling and her camera covers her face. I couldn't get a better shot of her because when I lift up my head after checking the LCD, she had disappeared into the crowd! Unlike in the movie (where the actor will likely get to make friend with the lady), I did not get to know the lady in the pictures, sight!
