Spanish photographer Oscar Monzón sees two contradictory worlds colliding in photography today. On the one hand, cameras and photos are everywhere thanks to camera phones. On the other, restrictions about where photos can be taken have only been increasing. (Look at the battle between the NYPD and photographers at the Occupy protest and the numerous photographers hassled by private security guards.) People have also become more guarded about protecting their digital image and often don’t want their picture taken unless they have control of it.

“When I raise my camera in public people immediately want to know what I’m doing,” he says.

It’s a phenomenon Monzón, 31, has decided to confront head on with his ongoing project Sweet Car.

In the project Monzón takes photos of people at night while they sit unknowingly in their cars at stoplights in downtown Madrid. Standing on a bridge or the street he zooms in with a telephoto lens and pops them with a flash.

(Source: Wired)