(15 Jul 2015, 3:44 pm)Jimmi wrote It shouldn't really be a problem if you stay away from anywhere anyone you know may spot you. Durham is the main place I have this problem as I went to New College and I did two courses so that is two sets of groups that got to know me and then I often used to hang around with the likes of goths and emos plus anyone who liked playing Yu-Gi-Oh! (not interested in that myself but I have no problems with anyone who does) so that's more people who know me. The worst thing is it is almost never a good friend who spots me which is a shame as I think many of my friends would be understanding about it especially as many of my friends are into stuff that isn't totally normal either, unfortunately it is usually the people I sort of know me and would likely to post that I am a saddo bus spotter on Facebook.
When I first started taking photos, I found the hardest part was just getting my camera out and taking photos; anywhere for that matter. I find it a lot easier when I'm with somebody, I think it's just the general paranoia of somebody approaching me. Hence why I tend to go out with people on my days out.
Like I've said before, just about everybody at my school who knows me, knows about my hobby. I've never had any real grief about it, and I've found that is because I'm open about it; I think if it was brought into a conversation and I just winced when people mentioned it, they'd see fit for a little piss-take. Friends or not. If I'm going to be honest, teachers are the ones who take the mickey...
People know they can approach me with any questions, for example, one friend who uses the 34/34A to get home to Ouston started noticing a ''posh bus'' (5409!). She used to ask me if I saw it, to work out where it would be on the night so she could enjoy all of the facilities of that specific bus. Other times, if anybody wants to know where to get a bus from or how to get somewhere, they come and ask me.
Just a few nights ago, I was thinking to myself, ''is my hobby quite sad?''. So, I went on Facebook Messenger and asked one of my best friends; he just replied with ''does it bother you that I like cars?''. When I replied no, he said that that was his answer for my question. Another who I later asked, said that he liked me for who I was, not what I did. At the end of the day, what anybody does in their spare time or spends their money on, is entirely up to them.
Then again, I sometimes do wonder why I feel self-conscious about taking photos on my own. At the end of the day, I'm nearly six foot tall.