Sunday Street Photography and The Man with Gold Teeth 

Sunday Street Photography and The Man with Gold Teeth 

Later Night Quick Random Thoughts

With a huge irresistible interest in Street Photography, I’m always drawn to the unexpected & the unpredictability of the small moments, expressions, and details that make Street life endlessly rich. The Thrill are the moment that are Challenging & daring which are Unpredictable in Reactions. On a recent visit to London, I visited a Sunday Market. VERY ECLECTIC. Traders from different countries were selling all sort of new & second hand items. 

Then I saw the big man with gold teeth. Gold Teeth have always drawn my attention. Not only because they are GOLD But, The challenge of walking up & starting a conversation with someone whom you have never met, don’t know & have no idea how they might react. It could turn out very hostile or the opposite & one never knows until you have approached & started a conversation.

Street Photography can be confrontational or offensive to some! 

Approaching strangers is still hard for some Street Photographers. Though most CLASSIC Street Photography is without any interaction but sometimes an honest interaction or connection, is what gives Street Photography its soul. It’s Candid but with Knowledge and permission. It’s about seeing people, and sometimes being brave enough to let them see you back. It’s a completely different type of Street Photography which overlaps with Social Documentary. Perhaps , it’s NOT even Street Photography in it’s Classic form BUT is Social Documentary. Either way, This is what Street Photographers sometimes do.

He was tall, broad-shouldered, he was standing at a modest kiosk selling fresh coconuts and coconut water. A young Pretty Girl was inside the kiosk who was skillfully chopping a straw hole on the top of a fresh coconuts to drink the delicious water inside. But it wasn’t the coconuts that caught my eye ( although we bought Three & drank the water of one )  It was his smile. Or more specifically, the shimmering flash of gold teeth when he smiled. It was magnetic. The kind of detail that feels like it needs to be photographed. My previous experience of shooting Gold and Diamong Teeth was back in New York City at the entrance of The Ferry Pier for the Statue of Liberty! ( Also Below )

Copyright ⓒ Johnny Mobasher

Copyright ⓒ Johnny Mobasher

Have you ever approached someone with GOLD Teeth intentionally wanting to photograph their teeth? I mean, how closer can you get!??? You hesitate!He or She might look tough and unapproachable. Proud and Confident? might “Appear” aggresive! And to be honest, maybe intimidating to some!? 

How do you walk up to someone like that and ask to photograph their teeth withing less than 2 or 3 minutes? Even as someone who thrives on street encounters, might feel that internal push-pull? Curiosity vs. Fear? Is it “IN YOU” ? 

A Big smile, Pleasant & curious demeanour, a compliment and to start with a circumstantial and evident topic? Thinking on your feet is the first crucial ingredient. 

Successful Street Photography is NOT for the Shy! It’s Not for The Introvert! You need to have or develop the ability to be or appear to be an extrovert, sociable, believable, polite , Humorous & Honest….. & Genuine!

Oh sure, Many Iconic shots on the street, were taken with either with a long Lens or wide but well away from the subject or subject’s sight but I’m not thinking about those! 

Street Photography is raw and emotional for the Street Photographer. It’s unpredictable. You never know how someone will react when you lift the camera. That’s part of the thrill — and the risk.

By the end of the three minutes interaction, two strangers, We both laughed.

Click.

That moment was captured — not just in pixels, but in shared humanity.

Alas, I didn’t ask for his name & on refection, I should have done and will do next time as I know this will not be the last time that I will engage with the aim to shoot The Man with The Golden Teeth.