You’ve been out shopping all day with your wife, girlfriend or partner. Maybe it’s a family affair and you’ve got the kids with you too, one hanging off each arm, not to mention all the shopping bags that you’re carrying after all you are the family pack horse on such excursions. Anyway you get the picture. It’s been go, go, go since you left home, you’re all hungry and it’s time to catch your breath, stop for a moment and grab a quick bite to eat. Nothing special, just something quick, and healthy. Maybe a takeaway from a street vendor, a small café, or a fast-food takeaway place. You come across the perfect place. It might be on the street or a place in a shopping mall.
You’re about to enter but you’re a Local Guide and your eye catches what you think is a good shot for Google Maps. You drop the shopping bags, let go of the kids, and prepare to take your snap. But, and it’s a big BUT! There’s one problem. It’s a busy street or busy strip in that shopping mall .There’s people everywhere. You try to wait for that perfect moment to take your snap but you realize that in this situation, such a moment will just never come. There’s a continual procession of humanity and they can see that you want to take a picture, but they don’t know why or that you’re a Local Guide. Some look at you rather suspiciously but then again, some give you a smile. What do you do? Do you wave your hands and try to signal to them to stop so that you can take your photo? Do you get the kids, your wife, girlfriend or partner or all of them to help out and interrupt the marching procession? Well you just don’t have time to think do you? The only thing in your head is that photo for Google Maps. Reluctantly, you decide to take life into your own hands and being careful not to have young children in the frame you take a quick snap.
I, myself, rarely if at all, take photos in such situations. I try hard to make sure no one is in the frame. However, on late Saturday afternoon this was my reality. I took a quick snap of this Sushi bar we were about to enter. It’s on one of the busiest strips in Melbourne CBD, on Swanston Street. Later during a much quieter moment at home, I decided to look at the photo and debated for quite sometime on weather I should or should not post it on Maps. I looked carefully at each person in the frame and could see that most, even a young boy on a scooter, were looking away, or their mobile phones, marching on just going on with their business. While pondering, still undecided if I will upload it or not, I see a message on my phone egging me to upload my photo. Well it’s Google so I decided to upload it and write a quick post. If you’re interested you can see this here.
A moment ago, I had a look at this photo on Maps and to my surprise, it’s quickly become the feature photo . In fact, it has already attracted nearly 6,000 views! I decided to look back at some of my other sushi bar photos that I had taken on previous occasions and it hit me! I said to myself, well the photo does show the real scenario as it is! Without all the people in the frame there it wouldn’t be reality. It does show the true experience that one would have at this place and at such a time of the day.
- What do you think, would you take a shot like this and if you did would you upload it on to Maps?
- Just take a good hard look at the photo and try to imagine it without the people! To help you with this, below I’ve added a few photos of such situations. Can you feel the difference in the two different situations?
- Do you share the view I’m making here, the photo above shows “the real experience” and the examples below don’t, they’re more like a ghost town?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
