Don't be paparazzi, acknowledge the person holding the leash
How to play it cool when you want to take a photograph of an outside dog
Walking dogs is peaceful. It’s a time when I can do walking meditation and enjoy the weather. I have had two times the fun this past Juneteenth week because I am dogsitting my mother’s dog Jackie and have my dog Junee. What could I possibly have to complain about with these two?
There was that one day though. Junee was squatting into position in the grass, and I stopped to open a bag. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a woman walking my way. However, she didn’t keep walking. She stopped shoulder to shoulder with me, yelled out, “Did you get it?” and aimed her smartphone camera directly at Jackie to take a photograph. Didn’t ask for permission. Didn’t let me know she was doing it. Didn’t even seem to care that she was head-muffing distance away from me.
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I know some consumers are choosing to boycott Amazon for its DEI removal. However, after thinking about this thoroughly, I choose to continue promoting intriguing products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and (specifically) Black-owned businesses who still feature their items on Amazon. All five of my Substack publications now include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a Black-owned business. (I have visited the seller’s official site, not just the Amazon Black-owned logo, to verify this.) If you still choose to boycott, I 100% respect that decision.
I leaned over to look at who she was talking to, and I saw two women on her phone screen. I looked from them and back to her. Clearly, my facial expression said everything I didn’t say out loud because she mumbled “sorry” and speed-walked away. It was another one of those “I know you like dogs, but calm down” and “keep dogs safe” moments that I’d discussed before.
And I shook my head at the audacity of it all, pondering on whether I should pull my own phone out, follow her and start randomly snapping photographs of her so she understood how that feels. If she had simply asked to take a photo of Jackie, I’d have had no problem with that. But the entitlement made my blood boil.
People should respect each other’s space pre-COVID, during COVID, post-COVID — celebrities included
I don’t have much patience for TMZ. Everything on that channel or site is “I heard” or “an insider said” without a shred of proof or quotes directly from the celebrity. It’s like listening to mean girls — but in grown men’s bodies. And I wasn’t interested in hearing those clowns when I was in high school, so I’m definitely not intrigued by it as an adult. As a former entertainment reporter, if I wanted clarification, I would just ask the question to the celebrity’s face. If they answered, fine. If they didn’t, that’s OK too.
.jpg){kind=link}
Recently, I attempted to watch “TMZ Investigates: What Happened to Justin Bieber?” I’m not a Belieber, but I do enjoy a few songs. TMZ has hooked me into their “TMZ Presents: United States V. Sean Combs: Inside the Diddy Trial” and a few “TMZ: No B.S.” episodes, so I went down this rabbit hole of hearing what’s going on with Bieber recently (or not). What threw me off the most was onlookers and bloggers acting like Bieber was overreacting to paparazzi and smartphone busybodies documenting his every move. While they blamed it on drugs, I put 100% of the blame on them.
But I’m guilty of being paparazzi too
I was at a VIP party and was assigned to write a blog about the event. Our staff photographer was taking photographs of something else happening at the event, and the celebrity had just walked by to say hello to the marketing manager next to me. Still standing there after he went under a closed-off roped area, I tried to take a few pics with my smartphone and could never get the flash quite right.
The photo was blurry, too bright or too dark. I made eye contact with him, hoping he’d do me a solid and pose. Instead, he leaned over to someone in his crew. That person then came over and asked me to stop taking pictures of the singer. I apologized, explained my role with the newspaper and quickly moved on. Was I a little perturbed? Yes. I didn’t want to use stock images for someone who was less than 20 feet away from me. But I understood that he wanted to just enjoy himself in that little space of his before he had to walk into the public area again and not have a camera flashing in his face.
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links.
Still, like the Bieber photographers and the lady who encroached on me about Jackie, I wondered why is it that some people don't respect personal space? I’ve been a dog lover since I was 9, and it has just never occurred to me to be this intrusive.