Taking photos, taking courage

David Snider’s “Street Pictures” prompted me to ask the following question: How appropriate is it to take photos of people without their permission? Especially in the United States, with people taking you to court for any – even the most absurd (forgive me for this oxymoron) – reason, how can I know the line between journalism and invasion of privacy? Who sets this line anyway? It seems to me there is no definite answer to these questions, and this makes photographers very courageous people: The best of them always find themselves on the verge of being “punished” somehow, either verbally or legally, for doing what they ought to do.