[charlesphoto]

BTW: the bearded transvestite is quite a famous model.

Some nice pics Stuart, and a few that, well....

I find "hip" pics to be exactly that - it looks like the photographer is shooting with their hip, not their eye (which is connected to the head). You'll find in the canon of street photography very few of the successful ones (HCB, Winogrand, Mermelstein come to mind) shot/shoot from the hip. They look and compose and put their head/eye into the photo (and I'm using "head" in the larger sense). There is more often than not a disconnection with hip shooting that is all too obvious. I hesitate to call it laziness - it's more an incompleteness.

And then with the advent of the compact digital suddenly everybody's a street shooter because there's no risk involved (just point in the general direction and let the camera do the rest - and it's silent! And quickly hidden). But it's the sense of challenge and risk that has always made the best photos. A great example is Bruce Davidson's Subway. I'm not saying everyone needs to put themselves in danger like he did, but there's a human quality and connectedness in those photos I see often lacking today. Not to mention a sense of craft.

I think the Ricoh looks like a great tool - I just met a photojournalist who plans on taking one into Myanmar with him in order to be discreet.