Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/06/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]OK... you are the first person to represent the other side of this discussion....Most excellent.... I am 50++, Italian with a olive complexion, was born in the US, speak without an accent ( well, NJ is not exactly the accent capital of the world), and carry a full and obvious camera bag. I park in designated parking spaces, obey the laws for driving, pedestrian traffic, etc. I show up with a 4x5 ( or larger ) camera, set up a tripod, take a full 30 minutes to an hour to take a picture.....I am as obvious as it is possible to be. I take pictures of public buildings that have been there for maybe 50 years, all along photographed to the hilt, both publicly and privately. Photos of things I shoot are available in the city archives, library, and on line. I take the pictures from public property ( the street) where it is totally legal to do so. I am an amateur who takes pictures for his own enjoyment, not for resale nor PJ. The bad guys hide their cameras, take at best, a digital 35mm picture in like 5 seconds, and make sure no one sees them. So why exactly are banks or other institutions worried about people like me? What can we do to be more obvious, less threatening, or otherwise get people less upset? If we ask for permission, we are almost always told no.... without valid reason. ( It is company policy, even though there is no law to allow this position, or it is against the law, which is a falsehood, or they give no reason and threaten to call the cops, or the ultimate.. the person that can authorize your taking pictures is not available) How can we get permission to take pictures without going through a lot of hassle.... the guys with P+S digitals take the same picture and are not bothered...... Why pick on folk like me? I am not a threat. Frank Filippone red735i@earthlink.net -----Original Message----- From: lug-bounces+red735i=earthlink.net@leica-users.org [mailto:lug-bounces+red735i=earthlink.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Rob McClure Sent: Sunday, June 17, 2007 12:08 PM To: Leica Users Group Subject: Re: [Leica] Forbidden building Doug, As a banker, it makes me nervous seeing someone taking photos of our buildings. There is no rational reason for it as you have well-stated, but after a number of recent, nasty bank robberies, anything out of the normal is grounds for caution. That said, I often grab pictures of other banks' facilities -- usually of a branch for sale, a unique drive-up arrangement or some other feature we might wish to poach. I always take the shot from a car using a long lens so as not to attract attention and cause angst for local bank management or law enforcement. Regards, Rob McClure On Jun 17, 2007, at 12:44 PM, dnygr wrote:h > Yesterday while photographying in NYC, a man approached me and > informed me that "it was against the law to photograph the building," > the Credit Suisse bank. He had a red blazer on with somethings written > on it. I don't know if he was a security guard or not. > > I was taken aback by the man's statement. It was not the first time > that near a bank someone had motioned for me not to take a photograph. > > I hope the man felt better after warning me off. Keeping people with > film in their cameras from taking photos will certainly make him and > building safter. It is a well known fact that terrorists have not > discoverd that digital cameras are easy to disguise in the palm of > hand. It is also well known that terrorists are dumb, cowardly and > unable to think of using a cell phone to take a photo. They would also > never think of entering an adjoing building and taking a photo > unobserved out the window or doing that from inside a passing car. > > Has anyone on the lug experienced anything similar? > > Doug > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > Rob McClure Upper Sandusky, OH _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information