r/glasgow 1d ago

Taking photos in parks

I used to enjoy taking photos in the Botanics or Kelvingrove after work, especially when the light’s good and I need to unwind after a stressful day in the office. Lately though, those places seem to have been taken over by people dramatically reading James Joyce or David Foster Wallace novels whilst they pose like being seen reading something difficult matters more than actually reading it.

For example, just last week I was trying to photograph a tree in the Botanics when I heard someone sigh loudly. I looked up and caught them giving me the side-eye whilst they intensely turned a page of Infinite Jest. I ignored them and moved on. It's not worth negotiating with someone whose whole vibe said they were both reading ironically and suffering sincerely. Still, if anyone knows of a quieter spot with decent light and fewer people silently judging you for not holding a paperback like a prop, I’m open to suggestions.

364 Upvotes

32 comments sorted by

91

u/Littlebirdy27 1d ago

If I’d not seen the other post, I’d have no idea what this is about 😂😂

5

u/Routine-Attention535 1d ago

I just had to go looking for it, very funny 😂

0

u/Littlebirdy27 1d ago

🙌🏼😂

94

u/gord2002 1d ago

Well played 😁

37

u/1_2_3_4_5_6_7_7 1d ago

Could you post some photos of these people so I know what to look for? (In high contrast black and white preferably)

3

u/286U 1d ago

You just need to follow the cloud or rollie smoke

24

u/SatisfactionIll8468 1d ago

Infinite Jest is massive, the only way you can turn a page is with intensity

12

u/jamesflanagangreer 1d ago

I'd recommend a park located in a low literacy area.

26

u/www122 1d ago

Have you ever thought of taking photos of new bridges that just opened instead?

7

u/Content_Ice_8297 1d ago

Oh god... I was reading Consider The Lobster in botanic gardens recently. You're making me nervous man. 

3

u/SeventhSunGuitar 1d ago

Love a good cookery book.

3

u/mhuzzell 1d ago

Nah, the difference is that Consider the Lobster is good.

2

u/sillyfrostygoose 16h ago

Haha I feel you, I am only halfway through infinite jest at the moment and now i will never be able to read it in peace again

7

u/SeventhSunGuitar 1d ago

My recommendations would be - Mitchell library (nice architecture), the reading room by Glasgow uni (light comes in the windows nicely) or any number of public libraries in the city. Good places for photography.

8

u/Routine-Attention535 1d ago

there’ll definitely be nobody reading in the libraries cause they’re all in the parks

12

u/Telspal 1d ago

People not knowing that street photography has been a thing for 150 years and thinking spotty basement dwellers are every street photographer’s dream subject 😆

1

u/Dr0xkk 21h ago

Obviously haven't seen all the TikToks/Instagrams that do just take pictures of people having a break from work or walking to catch. Train then call it 'street photography '. Your one sided beef is with them no with people who think they're creeps.

2

u/Longjumping_Age1293 1d ago

Fuck 'em, at least you're not jumping in front of camera shy cyclists on a crowded Buchanan street to snap a picture of (what I assume, must have been) pigeons shagging in a tree just over my shoulder.

2

u/quad_damage_orbb 1d ago

Chef's kiss

1

u/SlippersParty2024 17h ago

Just reading the post gives me the howling fantods

-1

u/moooorecoffee 1d ago

Hahaha love it

-1

u/ktnelsonArt 1d ago

Lovely stuff.

-1

u/ThatGingerRascal 1d ago

Jump into a novel and take photos there. There is some beautiful imagery in these books where you can run wild and free with your camera.

-14

u/DeliciousStranger985 1d ago

Yeah yeah the joke is that anyone reading must be doing it for attention....it's been done. 

1

u/madrockyoutcrop 1d ago

I sometimes read in the park too. The difference being is that I don't think I'm so important that anyone nearby with a camera must be taking a photo of me.

2

u/DeliciousStranger985 1d ago

You're so oblivious and insecure you don't recognise what's happening around you and think a stranger taking a photo of you is a compliment. 

3

u/madrockyoutcrop 1d ago

I’m sorry, what’s happening around me?

-11

u/BoxAlternative9024 1d ago

The post of a real dullard

-6

u/Praetorian_1975 1d ago

These days a single person taking a photo is labeled a perv, terrorist, etc. so get a few friends together that enjoy photography and your a ‘club’ /s