Photographers

Is it odd that strangers take pictures of me when they think I'm not looking? I think so. This happened twice in the last two days. The first, I was walking down the street, coming home from work and I see a young woman walking towards me. I was reading a book while walking (a new skill I've acquired) and this woman runs out in the middle of the street while there is oncoming traffic heading toward her rapidly. She pulls out her fancy camera and points the lens directly at my profile and snaps two pictures just as I'm mid step in front of a bus-stop billboard. Maybe an artsy shot that will end up in a gallery? That would be cool. She got out of traffic's way just in time. I kept walking and pretended I didn't hear the camera shooting me. The strangest thing is that in that precise moment I was reading about a woman who was having her portrait taken by an artist. Cue the twilight zone music.

The second instance was tonight at dinner. I found a nice restaurant near my place that serves basil in every single dish. I guess that's their trademark. Anyway, I was the only person there, sitting in the corner of this small chic place and I see a flash out of the corner of my eye. I look up to see my waiter, who also appears to be the owner of the restaurant, had a professional camera in his hands and was checking his shot. Mind you, this place isn't big so it was a little awkward with just myself, a waitress behind the counter and the photographer. He was about 5 meters away from me. I went back to my meal and I see another flash. I look up and he is checking his shot on his camera again. This happened about four more times and each time I look up and he looks away, ignoring my silent puzzled look. I probably looked just like my dog when he cocks his head to one side, then the other, when he's confused (or condescending, I can never tell). I realized my outfit eerily matched the decor of the restaurant perfectly and moments before he kept adjusting the lamps around my small table in the corner. Was I in a photo shoot and unaware of it? Did someone hire photographers to spy on me in the city? Or did they just think I was Sandla Bullock, as so many other delusional Thais have pointed out? I guess I'll never know.