Sasha:Step One to Capturing a Gypsy

Ever since I arrived in Italy I have been fascinated by people and how they shape the character of their city. One of the most interesting groups to me are the gypsies. Although ostracized by natives and tourist as beggars and thieves, I see them as a refreshing break from the highly fashion conscious Florentines and adding color to the city. So for the past 2 or 3 weeks I have wanted to take a photograph of one of them, but every time I pass by a gypsy I am stopped by my own timidity and not wanting to come off as a creep.
Well this past week Jana told us in our theme sequence that we were being too timid in our gatherings for inspiration and I realized that I have to buck up and go capture me a gypsy. This weekend she assigned us the task of researching images that corresponded to two things on our brainstorming web. So I tailored one of the things to my gypsy goal: layers. The assignment really helped me hone in and capture things that inspired me.
This weekend me and five other students traveled to Brussels, where I found a ton of inspiration. The city never ceased to amaze me. Around every corner was a different experience as I was bombarded with incredible architecture, history , culture and FOOD. However it was at a huge flea market in a town square where I found the most inspiration. Spread across the whole piazza was a jumble of every kind of household possession you could think of being sold by the most interesting types of people including…gypsies. Well I worked slowly taking pictures of lamps and boxes and buildings ,then I worked my way up to the big time. People. I would pretend to be taking pictures of their merchandise and then snag a picture. Everything was going according to plan until some old Belgian guy selling stuff walked behind me and saw what a huge creeper I was being. He startled me by saying something in French and I retired from taking pictures of people for the weekend. Although I did not reach my ultimate goal of capturing a colorfully dressed gypsy I did get some pictures of people dressed in layers. So I am going to call that step one on the way to capturing a gypsy.