This photo was taken at the end of June at the marché du Chaudron, the largest fairground market in Saint-Denis. The fairground stalls are always the same. In the photo, you can see all the remedies on sale at the stall. I found the writing very amusing. What also attracted me at the time were the giant spoons and the broom. Who has a mouth as big as that?
For several weeks now, I’ve been going to the market once a week to buy fruit and vegetables. If you want quality produce, it’s the perfect place. Most of the stallholders are also the producers. Everything is fresh and the prices are much lower than elsewhere. I went back past the stand I mentioned at the beginning. All sorts of things were laid out on the table: African statuettes, Tamil masks, statues of the Virgin Mary, Ganesh statuettes, all sorts of remedies, oil lamps… The stand was very photogenic and as I was hanging around, I started taking photos. It was at this point that the woman running the stall stopped me and told me that she forbade me to take photos. I told her straight away that it was OK and that I respected her wishes.
But she didn’t stop there, she was very upset, saying that I hadn’t asked her permission to take photos and that you have to ask people for permission to take photos and that we didn’t have the right to do that … In short, the usual spiel. I knew very well that there was no point in arguing that it was a public place and that I could take photos. I remained very courteous, telling her that her stand was very beautiful (which I really thought it was), but she dismissed me, telling me to leave her to her work and to go and do it elsewhere. As if I was doing something shameful or degrading.
That kind of behaviour doesn’t affect me any more. It’s surprisingly aggressive at first, but it doesn’t upset me the way it did when I first started Street Photography. There’s no point in arguing or trying to explain your approach in such cases. The person in front of you isn’t receptive and doesn’t want to hear what you have to say. I even think that arguing could have driven her even crazier. I had to take 3 photos of his stand and frankly, none of them were interesting. In the current situation, who cares who’s right, who’s in the right? I could have taken some nice photos if I’d spent a bit more time photographing his stand, but it doesn’t matter, there are other situations. It’s like sometimes I see a scene in the distance that could have been terrible if I’d been within range. But I wasn’t able to capture it, so I’m not any more disappointed than that. There will be others, there’s no point in having regrets. They’re like photos ruined by a focus problem, an unwanted element or a late shutter release.
Wednesday was Gwen’s birthday and on the way back from the market, I stopped off in Saint-Denis to buy some flowers for the occasion. I stopped off at the little covered market. And while I was waiting for my bouquet to be made, I was snapping away as usual.
The woman running the stand asked me why I was taking so many photos. Funnily enough, it was the second time in the morning that someone had asked me that. But this time it was more out of curiosity on the part of the person. I explained a bit about my approach without going into details. The simplest thing was to show her some photos I’d taken in the Petit Marché area over the years. She recognised the places and some of the people, but was still dubious about why I was taking the photos. Two different situations and two different reactions. In fact, I was better rewarded because I took 2 very interesting photos while waiting for my bouquet of flowers.
Confrontation has been rare since I started over 8 years ago. But it can happen, and the best way to deal with it is to play the appeasement card. There’s no point in opposing them head-on and trying to assert your rights. It’s not a question of giving in, but of avoiding wasting time in pointless battles.
All the photos were taken with the Ricoh GR3.
Hi Jeff! Look at you, with two new posts in as many days! Just as you were saying you had little to say! Totally agree with you here … there’s very little to be gained when somebody is so antagonistic. Confrontations are rare, but I always try to diffuse the situation with a smile and walk on quickly. I always joke that as a middle-aged woman I’m almost invisible on the streets anyway … it’s my superpower!
Btw … those two shots are great … some kind of cosmic balancing occurred to cancel out the negative exchange.
That’s the way to go. When you don’t have anything to say, well just stay quiet! 😅
This episode caught my attention cos it’s rare that I experience confrontation in Street Photography. May be it’s because that I’m tall, massive and not very engaging at first glance. Ask John Harper! Who would want to argue with me on the streets!! Well those women did! Unlike you, I can’t smile on the streets. I’m so focused on what I ‘m doing that sometimes I don’t even pay attention to what’s going on around me at certain times.
😂😂 Big Jeff. Very scary Deborah, believe me.
People just bend in front of me. Sometimes they crawl 🫣
I think you chose the right way to go, and won the round. Great job great photos.
I think that I didn’t lose time trying to make her figure out that I wasn’t doing something wrong. Anyway what would be the point? Sometimes it’s better to let it go. As the near future proved it, opportunities awaits you everywhere. I wasn’t playing my life on this one.
Pointless trying to reason with some people. Just move on to better things. That said I find it amazing that they don’t understand what is essentially documentary photography. They must have seen it during their lives, at school, 20th century history books are full of it. Plus you must be known around St Denis by now. Anyway, karma put everything right I the end. QED those two fabulous shots.
I’m documenting popular places and I don’t think they know something about documentary. The work we produce is irrelevant today because we live in the present and that’s fine. But in decades, our work will become priceless because it will become a testimony of a lost era. Nobody record life as it is on the streets, in public places.
Yeah I think you played it right, Jeff. I’ve never had a good interaction trying to explain myself to people who object. I’ve found it’s best to just give a smile and a wave and move along. There are so many people around doing dodgy things, so I understand the suspicion, though— it’s a real shame.
We are weirdos on the streets. I can deal with that. I accept that people can’t understand what I’m doing on the streets. But I’m not hiding. I can shoot blindly just because I can sense that people won’t agree or just because I want the scenery to remain candid.