Suspicious photographers

[Tom]

Today 6 members of our new Photography Club made our first "field trip" to the Bethany Reservoir State Recreation Area near Tracy, California. One of the attractions for the group was the proximity to countless wind generators.

We apparently attracted attention, and were approached separately by a couple of "officials". One guy apologetically explained "I'm required to report any unusual activity, and we don't normally see a group of guys taking photos of our infrastructure".

Six 65-75 year-olds must have appeared really threatening  ???

 

[Mr Bojangles]

Hi Tom:
I'm not going to make any comments with regard to the GROUP. The picture says it all.
I'm glad to know people are in place to "keep us safe" so to speak.

In 2004, out in the woods on a state run Gun Range, a Game Warden made up (I thought) a reason to get information about me as I legally discharged my weapon. So I know that feeling of "what was that about".
My thinking was: Why that Puffed up .......

Are my thoughts correct... you are commenting on people STILL on alert?
I know (believe) you  understood better than I did, three years after 9/11/2001.

 

[kjansen]

Six 65-75 year-olds must have appeared really threatening <$1alt="" title="" onresizestart="return false;" id="smiley__$2" style="padding: 0 3px 0 3px;" />

Yep,  look threatening to me. ;D


Sometimes, I think, these "officials" get bored with their jobs and just want someone to talk to.  I've always found it interesting to visit with them and anyone else I find in my travels.  I'm glad they are out there.

 

[Pepper3]

My vote is get over it. They were doing their job. Not all bad guys dress the part!

 

[Tom]

Lighten up folks. I fully appreciated why they were there, and you won't find a single message among the 37,480 posted here by me that complains about folks keeping us safe. In this case, I told one guy that he didn't need to apologize for doing his job. As we drove away at the completion of our photo op, I commented to my passenger about some additional 'protection' measures I thought that ought to be taken in that location.

The photo was intended to be an exposure test before the 'real' group photo was taken. But, it was a candid shot, and we look like a bunch of old farts trying to figure out the hi tech world of cameras and tripods. Posting it in the context of the rest of the message was intended to be self-deprecating humor 

 

[Bob Buchanan]

Shortly after purchase of my Canon50D I stopped by the Galleria mall in Roseville to do some test shots. Lots of nice color plus it was raining outside. Hadn't been there very long when several mall police came up to me and asked me to leave - and told me they had been following me via mall cameras.

I pointed to the lady taking pics of her kids - and their response was that she was an amateur and that was OK. I explained that the size of the camera does not make someone a pro - to no avail.

 

[SeilerBird]

Just face it Bob, you are a suspicious looking photographer. ;D ;D ;D

 

[Tom]

Here's the rest of the story, and what helped attract attention ...

One of the photographers was demonstrating how to take pictures through a 'cyclone fence', and using manual focus/DOF to make the fence 'invisible'. Three of us had our cameras on tripods close to the fence. We were pointing at something in the distance, but what one of the 'officials' was concerned about was the aqueduct immediately behind the fence. The aqueduct is one of two that supplies water to the Central Valley, and they're a significant part of the water infrastructure.

 

[Tom and Margi]

Tom once pulled off the road to shoot closeups of wild flowers across from the Yuma Proving Ground.  He was immediately approached by a security guard (non-military) who told him she would not confiscate his camera if he erased the digital photos while she watched.  We appreciated the guard's diligence, but it was a little unsettling to say the least.

 

[SeilerBird]

Tom once pulled off the road to shoot closeups of wild flowers across from the Yuma Proving Ground.  He was immediately approached by a security guard (non-military) who told him she would not confiscate his camera if he erased the digital photos while she watched.  We appreciated the guard's diligence, but it was a little unsettling to say the least.

It is probably too late now but if anyone else runs into this problem simply erase the photos. Then when you get home you can get recovery software that will find the photos and you can move them to your computer. No damage done.

 

[SeilerBird]

A few years ago I was photographing a dog catching a frizbee in the water at a lake. A while later I had some big burly drunk come up to me and ask me why I was photographing his kids. I explained to him I did not even notice his kids, I was photographing a dog. He didn't believe me so I found the photo, zoomed in and cropped it so there were no kids in the frame and showed it to him. He finally believed me once I lied. ???

 

[Pepper3]

Nothing personal Tom. They apparently saw a situation that concerned them.  There's just a lot of scary people out there and as I mentioned, not all of them dress for the part.

 

[carson]

What all this means is that the populace and the Government are quite edgy theses days.

I was at a roadside stop just North of the Rio Grande one time. I saw an observation blimp in the sky, cranked up my little camera, zoomed in and took a shot. Wonder if a border agent would have seen me do that, what would have happened. Not one in sight for miles.

 

[Tom]

[quote author=Pepper3]They apparently saw a situation that concerned them.[/quote]

No doubt about it, and I've explained what I think attracted attention. I had no issue with it, nor was I making light of (or objecting to) them doing their job. But I couldn't resist the opportunity to make fun of the 6 'suspicious-looking' old guys trying to get their cameras and tripods set up. Apparently, my humor was lost on some folks.

 

[Bob Buchanan]

But I couldn't resist the opportunity to make fun of the 6 'suspicious-looking' old guys trying to get their cameras and tripods set up. Apparently, my humor was lost on some folks.

    Not to me, Tom. My immediate thought after looking at the posted pic was, how ludicrous for a security person to question that group. A single person in a bush with an 800mm lens is quite different than 6 old guys wrestling with tripods holding palm size point and shoot pocket cameras. 

 

[Lowell]

I appreciate all the Border Patrol, Police and security people do.  But we have to remember, that in any population of individuals, there  will be some that like to to push people around  for no legitimate reason.  It didn't sound like Tom's encounter was anything other than someone doing their job.  Good for him.

 

[Tom]

Aye Bob, and I didn't see the humorous side of it until our group leader sent me the picture last evening. I was expecting to see the "posed" shot, but he obviously realized his 'exposure test' picture was a candid shot. He also knew I'll be posting it in our monthly newsletter (I'm the newsletter editor for the 160-member club, in addition to being their webmaster).

The group leader is the one sans camera and tripod (they were being used to take the picture). He's also a long-time celestial photographer. It's fascinating listening to him talk about the stuff he does, and seeing the post-processing results he gets from an 'all black' scene.

 

[Tom]

Another humorous part of yesterday ...

Four (or five) of the guys are golfers (not me), and they were complaining that, given the time change this weekend, they'll need to get up "an hour earlier" for Tee times next week  ;D

I wonder if one of our "read and pounce" members will jump on this one  ???

 

[RoyM]

Gotta hate it when that happens. ;D We were traveling north from Yuma and I spotted a strange object in the sky. I took a picture from the moving vehicle but it didn't show much. I figured out it was an observation balloon and tried to find a hiding spot for the camera before we got pulled over. :

 

[Pepper3]

I wonder if one of our "read and pounce" members will jump on this one  ???

You seem to be antagonistic over some of  the responses  to your OP. This is a forum, and in a forum you will have different views. I don't feel I have pounced, I have only reacting to your provocation.  Have a good day!