Just a wee suggestion...

This seems a timely time to make a little suggestion. At such an early stage of my career, I am fully aware that I am no voice of authority in any capacity on matters in photography, and I must add, and emphasise, that the suggestion doesn’t even need to be made to most photographers who may read this post, but I do feel justified in commenting on this one bugbear.

The launch of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival last Friday was a wondrous event, such enjoyment, excitement, enthusiasm amongst both the crowd and the performers. The Festival really did get off to a flying start (of which, plenty more later). Like tens of other photographers and hundreds of people, I was there, sometimes joining the crowd to sample that magnificent atmosphere, sometimes running ahead of the performers for action shots. It was cracking fun to be amongst the audience and amongst the other adrenaline-fuelled photographers, as it always is, although I was a trifle saddened to observe one or two children being shoved forcefully out of the way for a couple of shots. This is no reflection, you understand, on the jovial spirit on the part of almost every single photographer present, and I do sympathise entirely with the desire to get shots right – but surely attending an event such as Friday’s launch must carry with it a responsibility to allow other people to enjoy themselves, not to sully their experience, and especially not to cause actual upset to the young children that the performance was in no small part created for.

The three things I always say to budding new photographers are to learn the camera’s functions inside out, to get used to embarrassing themselves and, above all, to endeavour to be good company when photographing. Good photography is often intrusive, and often does involve a degree of self-centredness, of course, but I think I have good grounds to say that there is very, very rarely any need to behave like a churlish wet blanket - particularly to children.

I do hope that the rest of the Festival goes as swimmingly as it has so far – and I am very sorry to have magnified and scrutinised one or two small actions, when the attention should of course be on the hundreds of wonderful acts dotted around the fine city – it just seems a pertinent time to encourage people to enter the spirit of the most enjoyable two weeks of the whole year – or at the very least, not to prevent other people from entering that spirit.