The next thing I knew I was being chased down the street – has social media killed the art of street photography?

I watched a fly-on-the-wall film of the late Cartier-Bresson while scripting links for a Sky Arts photography documentary series. He seemed less focused on taking the perfect photograph and more like a heron stalking its prey, weaving between bodies and traffic. Nowadays, we are constantly under surveillance, thanks to CCTV and smartphones.

However, I believe social media, and awareness of it, has placed street photography under threat. A veteran street photographer, Joel Meyerowitz, shared my concerns in an interview. In public spaces, street photography is still allowed, but people are now more suspicious and wary of being photographed. They may perceive photographers as weirdos, stalkers, or even potential terrorists.

I had an unpleasant experience when I tried to capture a moment in Central London. A decorator on a ladder caught my eye, forming a classic 'frame-within-a-frame'. But upon pressing the shutter release, he chased me down the street. This experience reminded me of another encounter with a security detail when I attempted to photograph Prince Edward.

The camera I used might have resembled a gun, and the photographer's hand reaching for his own camera may have been interpreted as a threat. Despite these incidents, I still manage to capture some street photographs I'm happy with. A memorable moment in Lisbon involved a lady framed within a tram window, lost in thought, echoing Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother. Such unposed, happy accidents are what makes street photography pure magic.