day 38: playing in the rain
playing in the rain © Verena Fischer 2011
I was on the way to the airport to meet Ezequiel when I realised that I left my umbrella at home. It was raining quite a bit and I was walking with my camera. There was not much I could do apart from getting a bit wet if I wanted to take pictures. At the same time I was a bit worried that my camera might get too wet. I was wondering whether I should put it in my bag to keep it dry. A few blocks from here I was glad that I didn’t put it away since I saw some kids playing with their umbrellas. I took a few pictures and one of them turned out just great.
When I walked on I passed the adults who you can see in the background of the picture and they asked me whether I had taken pictures of them. I told them that I took a picture of the kids. Immediately the woman in the group asked briskly: “Why?!” and I said “Well, because they were having fun!” The woman looked at me strangely and said “Normally you have to ask the parents first if you want to take pictures of their kids …”. In fact, in Germany this is true and it’s not only the case for children, but for taking pictures of anyone, really. Most people don’t know this though. You have to even ask *before* you take the picture and the same goes for publication of these images. I only asked the father of the children whether I can keep the picture. However, this is also a grey area since I’m not publishing the pictures in Germany and additionally the internet is a very vast space. People from around here are not likely to find their picture here on this blog.
As you can see, candid street photography is technically impossible in Germany. I will not let this stop me though, since art has to remain free. I go with the option of a disclaimer here: If you find your picture on this blog and you don’t want this, drop me a line and I will remove it immediately.
Grundgesetz – Artikel 5
(3) Kunst und Wissenschaft, Forschung und Lehre sind frei.
German basic law – article 5
(3) Art and science, research and teaching are free.
experiments in experience 
I love the playfulness of the little girl with her brightly colored umbrella. The colors are a nice contrast against the dreary day.
September 19, 2011 at 7:20 pm
I also liked that a lot. Children just don’t care so much about the things that we adults find annoying 🙂
September 20, 2011 at 8:22 am
Children can find fun in anything – love the colors – but even here in the states I am hesitant to take pictures of children without asking first.
September 19, 2011 at 7:25 pm
It’s difficult isn’t it? I wonder what’s the harm, really. Our attitude is reflected in the confused “Why?!” of the woman. Is it really so strange to make a picture of children having fun? A mother told me that on holiday at a beach in Turkey old men were taking pictures of her girls and she always had to go over to them and tell them to delete the picture. That’s obviously an entirely different story!
September 20, 2011 at 8:29 am
But… it’s obvious the little girl had fun!
September 19, 2011 at 8:46 pm
Exactly … I was also a bit amused by the “Why?!”
September 20, 2011 at 8:29 am
Reminds me of how much fun I had playing in puddles when I was younger…
(maybe that’s part of the reason I like rainy days so much)!
Very nicely done!
🙂
September 19, 2011 at 9:20 pm
Thanks 🙂 Playing in puddles was just fantastic as a kid. I remember jumping right in!
Nowadays I’m not so fond of rainy days. Feels just cold!
September 20, 2011 at 8:31 am
Children are so carefree even in the rain, and this photo captures that. Joyful, colorful, fun. 🙂
September 19, 2011 at 11:01 pm
Yeah, kids just don’t worry about the same things! That’s what I like about them! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
September 20, 2011 at 8:32 am
Its almost the same in Canada. You can take the picture you just can’t “publish it”. Which means pretty much do anything with it.
September 20, 2011 at 2:01 am
Germany is probably the most restrictive country in that sense. Everyone has control over their own picture. In some way it’s good I guess, because it means that nobody can just take a picture of you and use it to advertise something that you dislike.
September 20, 2011 at 8:36 am
I meant can’t do anything with it. So tired today 🙂
September 20, 2011 at 2:03 am
Haha, understood what you meant anyway 🙂 Know what you mean with the tiredness *yawns*
September 20, 2011 at 8:36 am
Beautiful! The photo captures the spirit of freedom you are talking about, the freedom to play and explore that all artists need in order to make their work. It also has a lovely counterpoint in the boy appearing to hide behind his umbrella, protected.
Great work.
September 20, 2011 at 4:25 am
I’m glad you like it!
Exactly, I think art has to remain free for us to remain the creative beings that humans always used to be. Once we restrict art, censor it and set standards for it, it becomes perverted and useless. I sometimes like to look at the comparison of ballroom tango and tango argentino. Ballroom tango is a restricted version of tango that set standards to the dance many years ago. Tango argentino has moved on and developed: it is free, improvised, with free interpretation, full of emotion. Ballroom tango cannot change and is only of use for people who want to compete in skill. It lost all emotion that tango originally had!
September 20, 2011 at 8:42 am
Wunderbares Regenfoto! So schön farbig und fröhlich! Was kann uns Regen anhaben?
September 20, 2011 at 10:05 am
Danke 🙂 Frag mal meinen Mann was der Regen ihm anhaben kann, der beschwert sich immer … Ist bestimmt aus Zucker 😉
September 20, 2011 at 10:14 am
Great contrast in the cloudy day and the bright umbrella. I love your stories too!
September 22, 2011 at 5:33 pm
Thanks! Glad you like the stories too. I sometimes feel like not writing them, since I’m lazy, but then I think they add to the pictures too.
October 2, 2011 at 3:11 pm