Juan Valdenebro
Truth is beauty
A few minutes ago I was walking down Las Ramblas looking for night shots, and before reaching the port there's a peep show & sex shop to the right, and I saw a very old guy with his cane coming out, so I aimed with my Hexar AF to check the light: it was f/2 1/30 @1600, and then I walked a bit closer as I was too far and he was walking very slowly, so I had time... When I focused and was about to take the shot I saw a woman coming close to me from the right and she was like crazy, horrible junkie face, and started to shout “delete it” while trying to take my camera... “Why did you shoot me? I'm gonna break your f... camera!” In seconds she was trying to hit me, so I was trying to explain her I wasn't shooting her and it wasn't even a digital camera... Of course I couldn't touch her in any way so I was worried about protecting my camera basically, and while trying to keep it safe she jumped on me and I fell down... No harm to the camera...
She hit me in the floor and I stood up quickly to put my camera in a safe place, and when I was trying to calm her down while placing my camera in my inner jacket pocket she hit me hard in my face. Do you remember Mike Tyson? 🙂 A few police officers were close and saw it and came to take her apart from me... It was a woman the officer who asked me to go to the wall while male officers took the crazy woman with them. The female officer was angry at me and asked me to put my camera in the floor and I told her it was a delicate camera and asked her to keep it and she didn't like it. “Don't tell me what I should do, do you want a problem?”
I explained her I was a professional photographer and I shoot in Las Ramblas all the time... She asked me to give her my ID card... From her face I could see she thought I was the bad one in the story... Then she told me I could not take photographs of people if people didn't want me to, and I repeated I didn't, but told her it was a public place and indeed I could do it...
Then a couple of male officers talked with me for a moment and asked the female officer to calm down. The agressive girl was next to me against the wall too, and she was asked for her documents and I heard her tell the officers she works the street and was in prison before. Then a police car came with the chief officer who came to ask me what happened... I offered him coming to my studio and developing the film to show them I didn't shoot the young woman... I also told him the officer woman was against the law telling me I couldn't photograph in a public and touristic place... I was very worried about them taking my roll and losing the frames I had shot yesterday, half the roll...
The chief talked by walkie-talkie with the station about both ID cards, and then asked me if I wanted to go there for agression charges against the prostitute. I decided not to do it as she is dangerous and I shoot around... He apologized for what the officer girl told me and asked me to continue walking and shooting.
I understand the crazy woman in some way, but what got me pissed off yet is the female officer's attitude. Although I tried, I wasn't in the mood for shooting anymore, and just came home.
She hit me in the floor and I stood up quickly to put my camera in a safe place, and when I was trying to calm her down while placing my camera in my inner jacket pocket she hit me hard in my face. Do you remember Mike Tyson? 🙂 A few police officers were close and saw it and came to take her apart from me... It was a woman the officer who asked me to go to the wall while male officers took the crazy woman with them. The female officer was angry at me and asked me to put my camera in the floor and I told her it was a delicate camera and asked her to keep it and she didn't like it. “Don't tell me what I should do, do you want a problem?”
I explained her I was a professional photographer and I shoot in Las Ramblas all the time... She asked me to give her my ID card... From her face I could see she thought I was the bad one in the story... Then she told me I could not take photographs of people if people didn't want me to, and I repeated I didn't, but told her it was a public place and indeed I could do it...
Then a couple of male officers talked with me for a moment and asked the female officer to calm down. The agressive girl was next to me against the wall too, and she was asked for her documents and I heard her tell the officers she works the street and was in prison before. Then a police car came with the chief officer who came to ask me what happened... I offered him coming to my studio and developing the film to show them I didn't shoot the young woman... I also told him the officer woman was against the law telling me I couldn't photograph in a public and touristic place... I was very worried about them taking my roll and losing the frames I had shot yesterday, half the roll...
The chief talked by walkie-talkie with the station about both ID cards, and then asked me if I wanted to go there for agression charges against the prostitute. I decided not to do it as she is dangerous and I shoot around... He apologized for what the officer girl told me and asked me to continue walking and shooting.
I understand the crazy woman in some way, but what got me pissed off yet is the female officer's attitude. Although I tried, I wasn't in the mood for shooting anymore, and just came home.
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