You can smell the freshly cut flowers for blocks. All of the smiling faces, beautiful colors and happy people were nice to see but it wasn't really what I wanted to look at.
I decided to skip the market of tourists to get lost in the streets of downtown Los Angeles at 6:30 in the morning. The idea and essence of "street shooting" to some photographers is to take a photograph unnoticed. Yes, I can do that but for the most part, I like to interact with my subjects. Because of where I like to go, most of the time I don't necessarily blend in with the surroundings I choose to place myself in. Most people will notice me. In some cases, the locals were more than happy to pose for me. Even though I prefer "non posed" photographs, I enjoyed these two men being more than willing to be in front of the lens.
I walked up and down the streets until I got a little lost. For a moment, I felt uneasy but I kept my head up so I wouldn't miss anything. A tall blonde holding a large camera and wearing flip flops in the heart of the city in the early morning isn't something the locals come across I suppose. There were mumblings with everyone I passed and one individual said, "hey lady, you want to take my picture?" To that I turned and said, "why yes I do!" Once I pointed the camera towards his direction, his friends surrounding him cracked up and yelled, "ahhhhhh, she called your bluff!" He hid and ran around in circles and when he finally calmed down, he lit a joint and told me to take a picture. I did.
I eventually headed back to the flower market to breathe in the delicious scents and to take a last look before I left. The city is so beautiful in the morning, especially on a Saturday when it's void of weekday workers.
