Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/09/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]While visiting Vienna, Austria 18 months ago, I was shooting various external locations throughout the city. I happened to be shooting one of the numerous palaces [forget the name of this one], when a complete stranger comes up and starts giving me the fifth degree. Wanted to know what my light meter was, what I was doing there, etc. As soon as he finally saw my M3, which was concealed under my bulky coat while taking meter readings, he relaxed and chatted with me for a short period. It seems I was nosing around their current defense ministry [which I didn't know] and my actions were enough to arouse suspicions. However, once he saw I was just a touron and didn't pose a threat, he let me happily continue snapping pixs. /Mitch - -----Original Message----- From: Mārtiņš Zelmenis [mailto:martin@lrpv.lv] Sent: Friday, September 07, 2001 8:42 AM To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us Subject: Re: [Leica] Private property and buildings WOW, what a story! I encountered smth similar back in the old USSR days in my native Riga - once a plainclothes KGB man became interested why was I shooting an unfinished and abandoned building, and for the second time a policeman made inquiries why was I photographing some soviet navy buildings burning. The Press Pass made it for me; the worst thing about it all: I didn't like the pictures I got - maybe on both occasions I felt too nervous. Martin