Rock Climbing Man at City Of The Rocks

I first spotted this man high at “City Of The Rocks” and made this photo, and then to my happy surprise his partner appeared as photographed in the next photo. It is so wonderful to see young active people enjoy the wild and beautiful county available in New Mexico.
I practice mostly outdoor rural photography with very few people in them. I do post some photos of people on ViewBug and in the Grant County Beat a local online paper. I always give consent for others as street photographers to take my photo, it would seem most hypocritical to refuse others the same opportunity I so enjoy. By reading this far you can surmise I approve of street photography. But there are some who think street photography is a clear violation of privacy, and others who take it a step further and believe it is against the law. Taking photos of people when they have no idea that you're doing it is called candid photography which can be against the law in some countries. But in the United States there is no presumed privacy in a public space or on public land. While in public, photography of random people is legal, and that includes children. And there are some who do understand the law, but who argue just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. I do have some sympathy for this viewpoint, but I believe this is a highly cultural issue in New Mexico for which there is no clear and concise answer. It has been five years and I have only had one person ask me not to photograph their family members, not only did I honor the request but made sure the photos already taken did survive to be downloaded from my camera. I hold myself accountable to the art of photography as I understand it, and try diligently to not photograph people in such a way that would subject them to potential embarrassment if they discovered the photo online.


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