Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/06/17

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Subject: [Leica] Forbidden building
From: red735i at earthlink.net (Frank Filippone)
Date: Sun Jun 17 15:55:48 2007
References: <200706171144.AA3836215464@cshore.com> <7882e2f87d8b13fed703586af91d5c90@woh.rr.com>

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



Replies: Reply from fehutchings at cableone.net (fred hutchings) ([Leica] Forbidden building)
Reply from ricc at mindspring.com (Ric Carter) ([Leica] Forbidden building)
In reply to: Message from dnygr at cshore.com (dnygr) ([Leica] Forbidden building)
Message from rmcclure2 at woh.rr.com (Rob McClure) ([Leica] Forbidden building)