Do any of you get harassed for photography?

[ennuipoet]

Only issues I’ve had were with a crazy duck lady at the park around the corner. She’s shouted at me a couple times not to take photos of her. Keep biting my tongue instead of responding with something nasty about wanting to find better subjects to photograph than her ugly mug.

Hah! That reminds me. I was out shooting one beautiful evening, waiting for the light to get right on a street near my apartment. I was metering the shot, as a jogger entered the frame. I put the camera down, and he turned and shouted “Hey! How would you like it if I took a picture of you!”

I said “Sure, you have a camera did you want to use mine!”

He called me several bad names and jogged off. I was perplexed as to what happened. It didn’t dawn me until later that he thought I was shooting HIM and was trying to be a dick. My reply completely infuriated him.

That made the whole thing even better.

[emiliogtz]

Several times.

But it’s getting worse around here. A few years ago nobody would care that much. These days, with everybody happily shooting everything around them with their phones and tablets, I’ve been facing the cops twice in a month.

The thing is, the cops get called by some overreacting moron, they get to me, ask me what I’m doing, most of the times, the chat turns friendly and I end up giving them some tips on what point-and-shoot to get for them to photograph their kids. I figure they have been called so many times that they no longer care, and show up just to confirm that no harm has been done. They don’t even ask to see the photographs I’m taking, which is good, since I’t’s been months now with me shooting film exclusively. I can’t believe the cops are the reasonable ones about this whole situation.

But the general population are the real issue over here. I’ve been denied access to malls and stores because I’m carrying my old film SLR while, again, everybody gets to do what they want with their phones. I understand it’s private property so I have to keep my money and go spend it somewhere else. Public parks and squares have been recent sources of frustration too, a warden walks up to me, sees my old camera, smiles while thinking ‘this poor bastard can’t even afford a phone’ and walks away. But I know he was sent my way by some paranoid. Have they even hear about google glass?

It’s a really sad state of affairs.

[Lovesandwich]

The only time that I have ever had a problem was on top of the Rockefeller Center doing some night photos of NYC. I wanted to use my tripod and she came over and said no, it was a tripping hazard. I pointed out that on this big roof, I was the only one up there other than her and she had a camera on a tripod set up. She then flashed her rent-a-cop badge and got all power trippy on me and made the rest of my stay up there miserable.

I have been asked by some homeless in an alley in Vancouver if I was going to take their photos, and I replied “Only if you want me to”. It was a good approach and we had a laugh and they shared some of their very cheap whiskey with me (more like battery acid than whiskey).

I think that the biggest problem with people attitudes is ignorance. They think nothing of people taking photos with point and shoots or mobile phones, which take just as good of photos as SLR’s, but as soon as they see the SLR they think that you are paparazzi or something and it is the ignorance that gets things going.

Lenny, I hope that you crazy neighbour chills out a bit and you don’t have any more incidences with him. =)

[stupido]

I have had only one interesting experience and that was at Ebay in San Jose in 2007. I took a pic of their sign. Yep I was on their property but as I explained to the security people (in black SUVs), I could have just used a telephoto lens from the sidewalk. More here: http://devilanse.wordpress.com/2007/11/18/do-not-take-this-photograph

[stupido]

The pic which caused all the trouble, 5 security personnel and two black SUVs

[Lenny_da_Hog]

Things like that one, especially, kill me.

People erect signs and art on their property to garner attention and make people look, then get defensive when you take a picture of it.

I’ve had a few grumpy encounters over taking shots of those kinds of displays — although some folks are really happy I noticed the effort they’ve put into it.

[Author]

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