As I went past a garage on my way home from picking up a (fully working) replacement camera, ie doesn't take 2 seconds to work out the focus on a shot, I saw these protestors outside a petrol station. After I'd filled up I ran over and asked them if I could take some photo's (cheeky, huh?) which they were all quite happy with. (First hurdle crossed! I've done it now!) Anyways, there's me on a traffic island getting photos of them between traffic going past and this drunk starts hassling them!! Damn shame I forgot about the continous shooting button...however, I got a couple of cool shots, of which this is one. It was so perfect timing, one of them even asked if I'd set it up! I assured her not and told her I'd have been much more prepared for it and had my tripod out..... he he.. actually, they were all really nice and I had a good chat with them. Hope U like, and sorry I wittered on!

Luck comes to the preparded person! Good natural composition and the frame fits. The color of the sweaters adds a lot to the overall effect. Asking is not cheeky, just manners that will get a lot of cooperation.

Darn those are fine colors! I like the lady with the simmer down hand motion! Bsteph

Thanks, Chaps! @billglaw - the cheeky bit was filling up at the station they were protesting about and THEN asking them - I thought that was pretty funny at the time..... @Alpha - this is only a part of the main picture, I normally try to only include what I want (coz you mentioned that a coupleof months ago - I DO try to take notice of some things! lol) - trouble is, I was stuck on a little traffic island here next to a 3-lane roundabout. I could have got a fab shot of the protestors with the station behind, but it would have probably got me wasted or caused a nice pile up. (Though I could have got some AMAZING shots then.....lol) @bsteph - yeah, that's one of the first things I noticed when I viewed the shot - I think it adds real intensity to the whole picture. Ta!

Hi guys, One thing realy quick about asking permision. Though it is a nice gesture, it can work against you when a subject knows you are shooting them. They will be typicaly less natural because they want to look good or express somthing. I prifer to not ask because of this. The other thing is (if my memory serves me) acording to the "laws" of jurnalism, if someone places themselves in the public eye, no permition is needed. IE, if you arive at an acident sceen and start shooting pictures. The emergancy personel and victoms of the acident have been put in the public eye in a situation that atracts attention to them, thus eliminating the need for any form of signed release, or notification. This also includes conserts and or any other public events. An example of this: The 2 drunk girls that riped their shirts off infront of a camara durring the last Woodstock consert in VT. (This was a relativly well know court case a while ago, because one of them was related to some politition.) There images wound up all over the internet, and when they tried to sue the person who put them up on his sight, the court decided that they were acting in a manner that put them in the public eye, thus loosing there right to privacy. -Gabe-