One of the great fears of any photographer is 'missing the shot'. You're at the right time, right place when all the components of the next great Cartier-Bresson 'decisive moment' unfold in front of you ... but you don't have your camera ready to capture it. You've left the camera behind, or you have it with you but you don't have the right lens for the situation. Seconds later the 'moment' has become another opportunity lost.

This was certainly a fear I had when heading off to Japan recently with my new small camera. Not only is the camera small, but it has a fixed lens with a fairly limited zoom range of just 24 to 70mm.

In the past I've always travelled with – and used quite a lot – a telephoto zoom out to 450mm. And I've captured some of my favourite pictures with that zoom. There was no way I would be getting most of those shots with the new camera.

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Henri Cartier-Bresson is one of the most famous photographers of all time. His images, taken during a period when photography was still a rare thing, provide us with incredible insights into ordinary life during the first half of the 20th century.

Another more recently famous photographer is Vivian Maier who took pictures on the streets of Chicago in the mid-20th century. What both Cartier-Bresson and Maier have in common is that they were street photographers. They took candid pictures of people in the street, usually without their subject's knowledge. In doing so they created bodies of work that provide us with lasting insights into society in their times.

Street photography has a history as long as the history of the camera. However, in more recent times it is increasingly frowned upon.

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Five reasons to overcome the fear of missing the shot

No, it's not illegal to take pictures of people in the street