I frequently go out and "hip shoot." I also use a pinhole camera which has no viewfinder, and which has taught me a lot about looking at a scene and visualizing what's on film without looking through the viewfinder. It's a bit easier with the pinhole, since it has to be used on a tripod.(posted 8605 days ago)In addition to the reason Mike gives (shooting without being noticed), I do it for the perspective. It's hard to walk around in a crouch. One technique I have tried is putting the camera on a neck strap and using a cable release in my pocket. Helps to have a motor drive. Another "blind" shooting technique is setting the camera on something and using the timer or a cable release.
In case anyone is interested and Mike doesn't mind, here's one of mine:
