A Macanese friend of mine who lives in Australia was in town for a quick visit. So on Sunday I decided to take him to Lan Gwai Lau, a forgotten part of old Macau peninsula that, I realise, it’s becoming trendy with new business.

As I was taking the usual street photos, all of a sudden I saw this lady in a fashion store wearing a cheongsam. After a failed attempt to take a photo without her consent, I just couldn’t resist myself and asked:

“Excuse me, can I take a photo of you? Because you look beautiful with the cheongsam.”

She agreed and I took the photo below. Ok, it’s not a masterpiece, but at least I was able to have her pose for the photo.

Walking out of the store, my friend was like:

“Wow, you were so smooth approaching her for the photo! That was really cool!”

The truth is, I’d never approached anybody for photos like this – it was a first.

Yet if you are into street photography and looking for interesting photos of people, this is the only way. To get good photos you need to get close, and by getting close there is no way you can do it without their consent.

Unless you don’t see a problem being impolite and pointing a camera to a stranger’s face – not me.

So this is part of the craft that I’m willing to develop. Talk to people, build some chemistry and then ask for a photo.

In any case, below the remaining photos from my walk.

All taken with my beloved Epson R-D1x.