Taken on 26th January, 2009 in Madison Square Park, Manhattan, New York. Nikon D90, Exposure 1/320, Aperture f/9.0, Focal Length 18mm, ISO Speed 400. Show on Flickr.

Bruce Gilden walks the streets of New York photographing characters he finds interesting. He shoots openly and unapologetically, sometimes at extremely close range.

It was Nathalie who first told me about him and showed me this youtube video of him in action, in all his obnoxious glory.

I'm fascinated by his approach, especially because I still feel so apprehensive behind the lens.

On Day 3 I wrote about "carrying my camera tilted upward at waist level snapping sneaky shots of passersby" and I'm increasingly using that or similar techniques to photograph people discreetly. I like that I can capture them unobtrusively, that they are in their own world and not reacting to the act of photographing them. But I'm still left with a nagging feeling that something is missing, and I know I need to overcome whatever mental barriers are standing in the way of being an open and confident photographer (ideally however without a hint overbearing arrogance).