Look You Don't Know Me But...

Earlier this week I posted bout the homeless guy on the bus and how he overlooked me in his begging targets. Actually I filed to illustrate why I wrote about this event in the first place. What I really wanted to focus on was wanting to ask this guy if could take his image for the sole purpose of using the image to illustrate my post for the day and I would compensate him a dollar for my rights to use his image.

Here I must confess that for the longest time I took stealth images, mostly on the train in the morning which I would later post to my Face Book account. I harbor a little guilt but not a whole lot since I am in a public place and I believe will with in the standard of the law. I was surprised at how many folk started following my FB and I began getting nervous when people started remarking that some of the images I posted was their neighbor or associate or something...I had sort of lived with the idea that my images were random an anonymous but I realized that everyone know someone or better yet someone knows them. So I stopped taking “person on the train” images—most of the time. I miss these images.

I have only paid for images a few times and I never go more then a dollar or a meal—readers of this blog may remember Ely, an interesting personality which used to play his cello(?) base fiddle(?) instrument at the Galivsan Trax station during lunch and evening rush hours. I actually made a video of Ely and have that video posted on my You Tube account. Check it out, I went there this morning, I am surprised the video is still there. I paid him a dollar he was happy and I felt good and guilt free.

So that is what I was really considering the other night on the bus, was how I would approach asking this guy if it was alright to take his image and then give him a dollar for his time and likeness. What was really holding me back was asking these questions in front of a bus load of people. How to ask the question and how offensive question might be to my fellow riders. I worried would they think as dollar was adequate compensation, was I rude/weird even thinking I could get away with such a practice and finally would they perceive I extorting this commuter who clearly, was having some sort of issues, mental/developmental or what ever. I just wanted a good image to represent the even I am writing about. I think what I am going to do is when there is an issue of a person I wish to use in one of my writings; I will compensate the a $1.00 an advise what I want to use their image for and do all this in a confidential a way as possible. Everyone wins especially me because one image is worth 1000 words.