(This blog post first appeared on March 2, 2012)

This is my second blog post on the topic of my With People project.

During an early morning walk, in an older neighborhood in Shanghai, I passed these two ladies. Using gestures, I asked if I could take a photograph of them. They blushed and seemed flattered, but they indicated with gestures of their own that they did not want their photograph taken. My practice is to always honor such requests. Later that morning, on my way back through the neighborhood, I saw the ladies again. We recognized one another. I again indicated that I would like to take their photograph. This time, they hesitated briefly, then they agreed. They posed for this photograph behind their baskets of melons. The lady on the right held up her hand and asked me to wait before I took the photograph. She then buttoned the top button on her blouse. They were as dignified as they were gracious.

I place this photograph within the genre of environmental portraiture. Nevertheless, as is often the case when it comes to photographs “with people”, the lines between the genres involving the photographing of people get blurred. The people that I encountered in these older neighborhoods mostly were people who were working hard to get by from day-to-day. The baskets full of melons represented the way that these ladies were getting by. Where were they going with them? Perhaps they planned to sell them from where they were. What will they do if they don’t sell them? Modern China was just around the corner. Some people were clearly doing well in modern China, but, for many of the people that I encountered in the older neighborhoods … getting by did not seem to be so easy. Thus, the line was blurred, the photograph is an example of an environmental portrait, however, there is also a element of social documentation present. This is another example of why I have decided to call this long term project of mine With People.

What are your thoughts about photographing people that you meet on the street? Have you ever done it? Perhaps it has never occurred to you to do such a thing. My interest in this type of photography was influenced by the art of painters like Edward Hopper and photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson and Willy Ronis.