Working to overcome my reluctance when shooting features

Andrew Janes of Bowling Green jogs on the Slippery Elm trail near Portage, Ohio. Janes took advantage of the    unseasonably warm February weather .

Hope Woods, 5, battles with her brother Lee Allen, 7, for control of a giant paper
airplane. They were enjoying the warm weather Sunday afternoon on their grand-
parent's farm outside of Findlay Ohio,

          Feature photography presented me with a personal challenge that I am still working to overcome.  I will be the first to admit that I hesitate to walk up to strangers, though I'm pretty sure my sense of discomfort with having my own photo taken is a general feeling in society.  Thankfully, most people are very understanding and receptive to the idea, once you explain what you are doing. 
         I headed out to the Slippery Elm trail on a windy yet mild day in February to photograph joggers, thinking that on a beautiful 50-degree afternoon the trail would be inundated with people working out.
        Andrew Janes was the only person to pass by me in the hour or so I waited.  Timing is a key skill I need to develop; luck is an attribute I might not have.  I spend eight hours a week in the car, at the very least. I see good opportunities,  but they seem to be inaccessible due to traffic, lack of parking or lack of light.
       This past Sunday  I was roaming for feature photo opportunities. The unseasonably warm weather for early March gave me plenty of opportunities. As I was driving down a country road I passed a farm owned by former neighbors of ours. Their daughter (whom I went to grade school with) and her husband were out enjoying the day with their children. I stepped outside of the "no friends" box a little,  but opportunity was simply too good to pass up. Tina was riding a tiny motorcycle with her young daughter and her kids were playing with the giant paper airplane in their grandparent's yard.
     Honestly, I can admit that a few months ago I would not have stopped and taken these pictures had I not known them. I feel that I am progressing as a student photojournalist.
    My personal challenge is to overcome my reluctance to approach people, and to not project my phobias onto others.
   Capturing the world is one of the key responsibilities of a photographer, and it's something I want to be able to embrace. 

Tina Woods, of Findlay Ohio, teaches her daughter Hope to ride a mini-bike on her father's farm in rural Hancock county.