To Be or Not To Be, Candidly

I love candid or street photos. The capturing (and it is a capture) of a scene that would otherwise disappear into the next without any pause or recognition. It appeals to our natural voyeuristic reflexes. Recently, however, in an article an accomplished street photographer said it was ok to ask a subject, who had noticed the camera just prior to the shot, to just go back to what they were doing and then take the shot. I disagree. It is no longer candid, it is posed. You cannot unring that bell. It may still be a great shot, but to me it is not a true candid street shot. The art of street photography is in catching people unaware that they are being photographed.

Here are a few. Two of the shots that follow were shot with the Leica Q I returned before purchasing the Leica SL.