She sits on the curb of busy Telegraph Avenue, knees pressed together, elbows firmly anchored on them, covering her mouth as she speaks. There is no one near her, so she is probably not concerned about being overheard. Her body language speaks more loudly than her voice here. She folds herself around her phone – a study in withdrawal. With the coming of the cell phone, conversations are often on public view. How we feel about what we say and hear during such conversations is on public view. The body speaks as much as the voice here, and so does the camera.

(I am often asked if it is ethical to photograph strangers from a distance under such circumstances. My answer is always the same. Ethical photographers should never violate the privacy of another human being with their cameras. However, once a person enters a public space, whatever they may do there becomes public, and not private. Photographers in a free society should be able to express themselves about whatever they may see in public spaces and photograph whatever they want, and share the results, as long as it is for non-commercial purposes. The law, at least in the USA, calls it “fair use.” In the case of the images in my cyberbook, all of them are made as teaching examples for educational purposes, which in many societies is considered “fair use.”)