Part Two of my personal exploration on taking photos of strangers has been heavily edited due to the considerable concern it has caused an individual, I am sorry that rational, honest communication has proven untenable and hope any further harassment will cease.

Part Two was an exploration of the legality of taking people's photo without their permission, thinking about how they may feel about it and how I would feel about it.

It is not illegal to take photo's in public places in New Zealand, but should people be upset about it? I know I would feel uncomfortable because I don't know how they are intending on portraying me or where their image might end up. No one wants to be ridiculed or made to look like a freak or a curiosity, and having absolutely no say, or right to disallow it, is quite dis-empowering.

I shared an image on Google+ a couple of months ago of a young woman that I found amusing, but I removed it again because it did leave her open to ridicule and I began to feel guilty. I thought about how I would feel if it were me and decided I would rather just remove it. My daughter tells me a few of her friends have been ridiculed after appearing publicly on the facebook page of a local photographer. She also showed me some of his images, I can't comment on the quality of the photography - that is up to individuals to decide what they think of it - then I showed her what really good images of people look like - just off the top of my head these guys came to mind;

Joe Atwere: http://500px.com/joeatwerephotos 

Mark Forman: https://plus.google.com/u/0/102920063140431683002/posts

Robert van Koesveld: http://www.robertvankoesveld.com/

They certainly give me a lot to think about in terms of what my objectives are when photographing people and what I would be trying to convey. I would be flattered to have any one of them photograph me in the street (even to be made to look quite quirky by Joe Atwere), in the meantime both my daughter and I would rather avoid the local photographer if he is out and about.