I am a window shopper, spending more time outside the shop looking through the glass windows and viewing the mannequins at various angles. And if I am in a mall, it is quite an effort to window shop at all the showrooms. If you are also photographing people and looking for some of those candid moments, the mall probably offers a great place. And while you are at the mall, the food court is The Spot.

Although lately all the mall management have restricted photography inside the malls and people in general have also become skeptical of anyone taking their pictures, the food court offers a busy spot and no one really minds while you are taking general snap shots of families enjoying a moment together. I always ask before clicking, and while I sometimes get a smiling “oh sure”, sometimes a rude “for what? no! no!” is common. And if you ever get to ask someone at the food court, you meet a “umm-hmm” – a sort of “go ahead, I really don’t care!”. But I have always been courteous in not invading anyone’s privacy or snapping moments one would like to keep “personal”. Thats a sort of professional ethics and a “thank you” in return.

I just came back after spending five hours at the Great Mall just north of San Jose. And this time, I did shop with the green bills! I stopped at the food court. Six hours? non stop? Yes, its the miracle of the sugar coated dough of Cinnabon and a fruit shake, totaling almost a few hundred calories. And while I was there, I kept clicking my D200.

Food court at the Great Mall, San Jose