Thanks guys. Xander, when I first saw your threads they reminded me a lot of mine. I came across the same interview with Timothy Allen a few months ago, he has some fantastic work. I thought he came across a bit conceited. Take into consideration:
He was traveling and working for the BBC. He needs to get permission to take peoples photos a) for liability, and b) it's pretty hard to blend into the background with a full camera crew and documentary staff loitering about. If you check out his site I think most of his work displayed is from his time as the Human Planet photographer (his photos are even hosted on human planet's website). He's overlooking the fact that due to this, he was participating in unusual and, photographically speaking, luxurious circumstances that the rest of us usually don't experience when we travel. Of course he can get the intimate, low light, up close shot of some tribal ritual because the whole point of him tagging along with the BBC was to take exactly those shots. Easy for him to ask for permission and get up close when that's his job.
A major point his skips in his 'Better Photo Guide' is the use of a fixer. He had a giant media company, with all their resources, helping him get into foreign places and greasing the wheels so he could get some unreal shots. When you are traveling solo with limited resources, things like this are much more difficult. Some of the places I've traveled to I have used local guides and they make it easier to break the ice with the locals. This is more true the more rural and foreign places you visit. A gringo does not simply walk into some tribal village and start snapping photos. You need a fixer that has a relationship with the people to break the ice. My point is Allen had the BBC and their resources setting all this up for him.
Given, one could have all the resources in the world and still take crappy shots if they didn't know what they were doing. Allen is a pro that has some unbelievable images in his portfolio, he obviously has photographic talent. However I think it is a bit disingenuous for him to talk down on methods that other people use because they aren't fortunate enough to have the same resources he so importantly utilized.
For what it is worth, I usually try and blend in and stay subtly in the background when I am shooting. I prefer the candid, natural scenes of people which usually disappear when the camera is spotted. To be fair, as Doady stated, street shots with ultra zoom lenses don't capture the street in the same manner as a 35-50 mm. Regardless, it simply isn't practical or possible to get to know all your subjects, especially when traveling.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, one could just go around taking photos like this:
• Video Link
pretty sure this was posted here before a while back