Those are great. The more I photograph people the more I realize that if you are perceived as open and harmless, they generally don't care. If someone vocally objects or gives me a look of consternation, I try to smile and acknowledge them. If it seems like they want me to move on, I do so immediately.

My longest lens is an 85mm so I generally need to be near people to get them to fill the frame.

Mark, bring that 28mm and come with me sometime to anywhere. It is a lot easier than you think. I am going to print a lot this week from around harajuku and other places- I will post them later. The key is to just get in there and shoot. No one cares.. I swear, nothing has even happened to me, and even if they notice, they probably forget about it by the next day, whereas you might have a photo worth enjoying for the rest of your life

mark, i would love to do a project like this. i reckon some little keitei straps should do nicely - hyakuen stores should have plenny cool ones, although the candy cane is very cool. but yeah, john and erik are right, most people don't mind so much. but i still like to have permission to get peoples portraits. we could go to a number of different locations to get different types - harajuku, shibuya, tokyo, ueno, head out to the country and get some sweet old farmer types.... (might need some mochi for them).... i'm totally up for it. lets do it. get some great portraits in one static street set.

Something nice about a 28mm and other wide angles is of course, that you don't have to plant the lens head-on to your subject, especially if you like to frame people off to the side. If they see you shooting in their direction, they aren't confronted with the lens pointed squarely at them. Subterfuge? Yeah.

Re-reading my post I sound like I have some kind of phobia, which is not the case. I'm not afraid or worried about someone chasing me down after I snap their photo, especially not in Japan. I just don't feel comfortable, that's all. And that will go away with practice like anything else.

John, can my 20mm come out an play to?

Martine, I'd be totally keen to start something like this up. Pick an ally in Harajuku or some other hip hangout, and post a sign.

Erik, I think that's why wide angle is popular for street photography. There's so much you can catch in the frame intentionally or not.

When I get back we have to make an expedition to do this. I have long had dreams of approaching strangers and asking them to *do* something.

A while back I tried a little experiment where I asked people on the street to show me how they felt when Bush was elected. People here in Sweden are quite self-conscious though, and it didn't turn out well. it was probably because of the topic. anyway, I didn't get many photos that day. (plus it was a dark cloudy crappy day). Supprisingly, I had much more sucess when asking people if we can interview them, on camera, about something I was doing a class project for.