where there’s smoke there’s forum fire
I was taking photos in Grand Central Terminal of the Metro North trains when a Port Authority Police Officer saw my flash. He told me to delete the photos I took of the platform and tunnels. I didn't even walk into the tunnels, I took photos from the platform.
I was pretty pissed off because I really liked that photo. If I were smart and didn't pop the flash, I probably would have gotten away with it. Fast primes FTW!
Back in 2000 I had some trouble in Beijing during the June anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. I was snapping off some shots of the walls, the square itself, posters of the president and some soldiers on guard when one guard left his post grabbed my camera and stripped out the roll of film from my F4. He almost smashed the camera body on the ground as well he was so ticked off. Then another guard came over, took the camera from him and gave it back to me. He then just dismissed me with his hand. I didn't even leave I continued on shooting some students who were demonstrating at the South entrance with my backup crappy Minolta point and shoot film body not even scared but fuming angry. Even today, I dream about the one shot I had that was destroyed on the film I lost, as the guard rushed me and the look on his face. It could have been a lot worse I guess and probably should have left, but I needed the shots!
By the way, I'd love to hear some stories from Mike Gunter on this topic. I bet he has some amazing war stories for us if we ask nicely? :)
NSXType-R said:
Fast primes FTW!
Precisely! Stealth is key when photographing in and around sensitive areas. NYC appears far more post-9/11 sensitive (for obvious reasons) than Los Angeles. Fast primes, VR, and no tripod will get you by 99% of the time--shoot quickly and keep moving.
Not sure if this is trouble, but I almost had a Northern Hawk Owl fly into me today, I guess it didn't like getting shot.
studio460 said:
Precisely! Stealth is key when photographing in and around sensitive areas. NYC appears far more post-9/11 sensitive (for obvious reasons) than Los Angeles. Fast primes, VR, and no tripod will get you by 99% of the time--shoot quickly and keep moving.
I didn't have the 35mm 1.8 at the time (It wasn't even out yet!) and I was pretty bad with a camera back then.
Add the fact that back then I was stupid enough to probably use Auto on the D40, it popped the flash on me, and I lost a photo that I might have liked.
I'm still not very happy. It's not like I looked suspicious either. Just another random college student.
I have to wonder about the 'photographers must be terrorists' line of thinking. I'm pretty sure that if I was intent on recording visual data for nefarious purposes, I'd use an iPhone or any smartphone with a badass camera, something discreet and so very common - practically invisible - that I could walk up to whatever I'm interested in and shoot.
elvishefer said:
I have to wonder about the 'photographers must be terrorists' line of thinking. I'm pretty sure that if I was intent on recording visual data for nefarious purposes, I'd use an iPhone or any smartphone with a badass camera, something discreet and so very common - practically invisible - that I could walk up to whatever I'm interested in and shoot.
Yeah, this is why we can't find the D7000 anywhere. All those al Qaeda preorders. :P Unfortunately, fear tends to outpace common sense.
I shared this story in a prior thread, but my worst prediciment was while photographing a large black bear, a second one snuck up behind me. The large bear was upset by the little one invading his space and the little one did not pay attention to the large bear as he was more interested in the shiny camera around my neck. There was about 12 feet seperating them and I was between them. That was much more uncomfortable than the guard with an m16 that stopped me or the two armed guards from the federal reserve that stopped and questioned me.
I got confronted by a officer for doing a commercial shoot on a mountain. It was a porfolio thing for the model and I already had permission from the lodge which the shoot was on. I tried to tell him this and he kept going on about how it was a commercial shoot and I needed a permit and he was going to write me up a $1500 ticket. Pretty much trying to be the tough guy in front of the model. So I called the lodge gave him the phone and went back to what I was doing.(the shoot) He hung up, threw the phone in the car and got in his vehical and left. I have alot of respect for what they are doing but dont be a ass.
~Cheers
NSXType-R said:
I was taking photos in Grand Central Terminal of the Metro North trains when a Port Authority Police Officer saw my flash. He told me to delete the photos I took of the platform and tunnels. I didn't even walk into the tunnels, I took photos from the platform.I was pretty pissed off because I really liked that photo. If I were smart and didn't pop the flash, I probably would have gotten away with it. Fast primes FTW!
This might be a benefit of having double card slots in the camera. Set the 2nd card up as backup so if you're approached by the law and told to delete those pics you can show them as you delete the ones on card #1. Better yet, if you see them approach you just slyly remove card 2 before he gets close.
Bland I'd love to scan them actually, but they are back in Canada in my mom's attic. I have a pretty decent scanner now which I have been using for some slide film. I might see if I can get some done this summer maybe.
Waiting patiently for Mike...
Hmmm Lets see...
I was interrogated by a husky security guard at the Library tower in dtwn LA (everybody is) and Ive almost was assaulted by a homeless man somewhere in Venice beach (actually it's happened several times). I'm not too scared of much and will do alot to get a good shot so while I've had my share of crazy stuff I usually just go with it and forget it happened.
How I avoid problems is usually fast lenses (I need more primes btw), swift footedness (is that even a word?), and that nifty hide image function on the playback. Oddly it always seems like its always the people who I'm not taking a picture of that have the biggest issue with candids.
My suggestions to nikon is to write firmware to allow the function button to be assigned to the hide image function.
Hi all,
The only picture that some may have seen and remembered is a blurry B&W picture of a guy running from a helicopter (it was full). It's blurry because I took it behind over my shoulder as I was running just in front of him to go to another area to call for another 'chopper.
It's commonly thought to have been taken as coming 'out' of the helicopter. ;-)
My best,
Mike
aetas said:
I got confronted by a officer for doing a commercial shoot on a mountain. It was a porfolio thing for the model and I already had permission from the lodge which the shoot was on. I tried to tell him this and he kept going on about how it was a commercial shoot and I needed a permit and he was going to write me up a $1500 ticket.
He didn't have to be so rude, but technically, you are usually required to have a permit, even when shooting on private property (at least in California). Some municipalities are stricter than others on this. In states other than California, some jurisdictions don't even care about permits.
kyoshinikon said:
I was interrogated by a husky security guard at the Library tower in dtwn LA (everybody is) . . .
Yes. Security personnel at all of the high-rise buildings in downtown Los Angeles continue to be sensitive to post-9/11 concerns. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Library Tower was reportedly targeted at one time.
studio460 said:
Precisely! Stealth is key when photographing in and around sensitive areas. NYC appears far more post-9/11 sensitive (for obvious reasons) than Los Angeles. Fast primes, VR, and no tripod will get you by 99% of the time--shoot quickly and keep moving.
Yeah, keep moving is a good point. If you stop for a long time, you'll be suspicious.
That's what happened when my friend tried to shoot for an extended session from late afternoon until way after dusk on the Brooklyn Bridge. He had a tripod but only a point and shoot but even then the NYPD posted someone to observe him. I don't think he was stopped or approached by any of them, but they were always on his tail.
Rx4Photo said:
This might be a benefit of having double card slots in the camera. Set the 2nd card up as backup so if you're approached by the law and told to delete those pics you can show them as you delete the ones on card #1. Better yet, if you see them approach you just slyly remove card 2 before he gets close.
That's not a bad idea. Will the D7000 delete simultaneously from both cards if you decide to delete a photo or do you get to decide that?
I guess I do have a story, but not shooting stills, shooting video while at work . . .
Since I work in entertainment news, I've been in my share of "gangbangs." The worst was probably when Britney Spears happened to be eating lunch across the street from our studio lot, and, of course, I was told to go out there and shoot her. There was about a dozen paparazzi outside the restaurant. When she exited, I totally had the shot as I backpeddled (shooting, while walking backwards) toward her parked Mercedes, about 75 feet away. The paparazzi seemed infuriated that I blocked their Handycam shots with my "big" broadcast ENG camera (a Sony BVW-600 Betacam at the time). I was the only "regular" ENG news crew out there.
Paparazzi were shoving me and screaming obscenities at me. I didn't care--all I cared about was maintaining my frame. One guy reached out to shove me, and I was just pissed that his arm was blocking my shot--he was screaming, "f--k you, f--k you," just inches from my face. Again, I didn't care, I was just maintaining my shot. I arrived near the front hood of her car, facing the windshield, and as I was shooting Britney, she opened the driver's-side door, and her girlfriend walked around the front of the car, right behind me. Just then, a Brasilian paprazzo from X17 (a major "stalkerazzi" photo agency) pulled down hard, on the audio cables on the back of my camera, and my 26-pound camera nearly flew out of my hands, off of my shoulder, right into Britney's friend's face. I just held onto my zoom grip and didn't let go. My camera "flipped up" and back, nearly two feet in the air, but didn't hit her. The network's microwave truck across the street caught the whole incident from his mast camera.
After the incident, our lawyers reviewed the mast camera footage. They were impressed that I never struck back (which could mean lawsuits against the network). I was just glad I got my shot. I also said, "I don't want to shoot under those conditions again."
Hi,
While the extraction was the hardest - it was a very, very long afternoon - there were a couple of odd ones, too.
One time during a rocket attack I recorded a few frames on bulb and recorded the trails. The photos didn't go anywhere. It was nothing but streaks. Terrifying if you knew what it was, boring if you don't.
We took pictures of everything, award ceremonies, people doing their jobs, things that happened, news items, and whatever needed to be documented. Some of it was mundane, some of it was exciting. The darkrooms were probably close to 100 degrees F at the coolest. I learned a lot. From it I got my job that put me through college.
During school while I was working for the AP there were two stories that, upon reflection, I would just as soon passed. One incident was reworked (vastly) into a movie. It involved an Air Force missile silo that leaked propellant. Local folks got mighty ill from it, some died. I was there in it. I sometimes think if I had thought about it more I might have called it in.
Another was an ammonia pipeline that burst and contaminated nearly 200 acres - great pictures, but again, if I had it to do over again, I might have written great prose from a telephone call.
Studio lives in bigger jungle with tigers with bigger claws, and I give him bigger chops with putting up with Britney.
My best,
Mike
Mike Gunter said:
Studio lives in bigger jungle with tigers with bigger claws, and I give him bigger chops with putting up with Britney.
Au contraire, my dear friend! Next to your tales, my silly Britney story makes me look like a big wussie! I'm sure you have even greater tales to tell, but are too modest to share them all.
Don't forget guys that if you are forced to delete pictures from your card, you can always get them back once you get home with photorec or something similar. To be safe, though, you should shoot with another card after deleting images that you want back.
jerl said:
Don't forget guys that if you are forced to delete pictures from your card, you can always get them back once you get home with photorec or something similar. To be safe, though, you should shoot with another card after deleting images that you want back.
Remember also that you can hide images from playback in the menu. I'm not sure if you could do this quickly enough, but it's another option possibly.
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