People watching or crowd watching is the act of observing people and their interactions, usually without their knowledge. It involves picking up on idiosyncrasies to try to guess at another person’s story. This includes speech in action, relationship interactions, body language, expressions, clothing and activities. Eavesdropping may accompany the activity, though is not required. For some people it is considered a hobby, but for many others it is a subconscious activity they partake in every day without even realizing. People watching is not to be confused with naturalistic observation. Naturalistic observation is used for scientific purposes, whereas people watching is a casual activity, used for relaxation or inspiration for characters or characters’ mannerisms in their own creative works. It should also not be confused with street photography; while the street photographer necessarily does people watching, he or she does so for the purpose of taking photographs of the people for art and documentary purposes.
What i aim to do is observe people in their natural environment bring psychology and geography together. I would like to possibly make a series of photographs or illustrations to document what I see. I am interested to find out and observe how people act in certain environments and how their surroundings make them act, for example signage. I intend to carry out this observation in Cardiff town centre.
Tammy Collins 