What would you do?

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loneranger

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So this morning I am out early taking pictures of some old run down houses, when suddenly an angry guy, living next to the house I was photographing, basically jumped in front of my car. What are you doing, he says angrily. Nervously I said I was taking pictures , that I was a photographer, so sensing my anxiety, he gets more angry and asks me why, and what do I find interesting in this piece of sh-t house, I just could not convince him of my benign intentions no matter what I said, he finally said he was going to get my license plate and call the police, so I sped off, and I could see him trying to get the plate, as I left,
So I am now sitting at home waiting for the cops to knock on my door,
Feeling like a criminal,
My question to you all is,
How could I have diffused the situation, so it would not get to this point?
 
I would have told him that it was none of his business and to go ahead and call the cops. Maybe that's the wrong approach, but it may have ended with that. I'll be interested to see what others have to say.
Gerry
 
Be friendly as I presume you did; when that fails leave, walk away. The cops have real criminals to engage. HCB talked about being harassed/threatened and he said he would jump into his car immediately and leave....and this was in the South during the height of the Racist Era.
 
35mmdelux said:
HCB talked about being harassed/threatened and he said he would jump into his car immediately and leave....and this was in the South during the height of the Racist Era.
Click to expand...
The difference between now and the HCB era (1950s?) is that your location can be tracked instantly,
 
loneranger said:
I know what you guys are saying, but I am middle eastern , so any suspicious behavior will probably be taken more seriously,
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Which is another reason for you to have offered to call the police, I think.
Maybe get a bunch of other photogs together to shoot the same house?
Rob
 
Here in the UK, I would just act friendly and try to diffuse the situation.

I know if the police did arrive, they would be more pissed off with the guy that they are wasting his time. As long as you act friendly to the coppers, who are they going to side with? The friendly chap, or the guy who is acting pissed off for no real reason.


Obviously there will be big cultural differences with where you live. Its always going to help by being as friendly as possible though! Depends on the laws too surrounding taking photographs of private properties/
 
LR...been there too...unlike you, and to your credit, I tend to get confrontational a little too quickly...but I believe that the advice already given is solid...I would add that if you take a moment to search your heart and know that your intentions are honorable you should not fear this person or the police...easy for me though, I wasn't there...
 
It is very easy for us to give advice from the comfort of our computers but I will expand a bit on my prior post.
I'm presuming you are in the US, clearly different countries have different laws, so this may be exactly the wrong thing to do, depending on where you are.
Anyway,
I do not accept that simply taking photos is a "suspicious activity", it can potentially become so by the way a person reacts when confronted about it;
You were not doing anything wrong but when harassed, you acted as if you had been.
If, on the other hand, you had reacted with something like, "let me save you the time, I'll call the police." That might have reduced his aggression. And when they get there and are responding to a call about "some one is harassing me on a public street" in stead of "there is some suspicious dark skinned person acting weird", they would be responding to your call rather than the other guy's.
Rob
 
It isn't always possible to have a rational conversation with someone who is irrational. In fact, it's seldom possible I'd say. You did what I would have done. As for the cops, you didn't do anything wrong, so he can call them until doomsday.

There's too many loosely hinged individuals running around w/ weapons these days (the cops for one, but that's another story), so it's best to seek "graceful distancing", (see number 17, and yes these folks were nuts, but entertainingly so)

http://www.kerista.com/kerdocs/84.html

Ergo, leave forthwith.
 
rbiemer said:
It is very easy for us to give advice from the comfort of our computers but I will expand a bit on my prior post.
I'm presuming you are in the US, clearly different countries have different laws, so this may be exactly the wrong thing to do, depending on where you are.
Anyway,
I do not accept that simply taking photos is a "suspicious activity", it can potentially become so by the way a person reacts when confronted about it;
You were not doing anything wrong but when harassed, you acted as if you had been.
If, on the other hand, you had reacted with something like, "let me save you the time, I'll call the police." That might have reduced his aggression. And when they get there and are responding to a call about "some one is harassing me on a public street" in stead of "there is some suspicious dark skinned person acting weird", they would be responding to your call rather than the other guy's.
Rob
Click to expand...
Rob, it depends on the cop that responds, some are cool, others will act like the SS in Nazi era,
 
Yeah, yeah... I'd have told him to piss off, I'd have called the police, I would.. I would.. Truth is, when this really happens to us, we're blissfully going around playing HCB and far from expecting a confrontation. So I'd most likely have done exactly what you did, even though I know my rights and bla bla bla..

As I took the picture below, the guy first reacted by covering his face (making the picture much better IMO) and then started shouting at me. I didn't do anything wrong by taking his picture, and as a street performer he should tolerate to be looked at, listened to, and even photographed. Did I say any of this to him right then? Nope, I just walked away happy with my shot.

l100129421.jpg
 
You should of pulled your cell phone out & called the police for him. Maybe even reported him for harassment. Never should run unless you feel overly threatened.
 
I guess I can , to some extent, understand why someone in bikini would be upset about their picture showing up on some website, but why would a picture of an old house elicit such a negative reaction from a neighbor,
 
loneranger said:
I guess I can , to some extent, understand why someone in bikini would be upset about their picture showing up on some website, but why would a picture of an old house elicit such a negative reaction from a neighbor,
Click to expand...
Some people just love being bullies. Other than that I don't know. Sorry you had such a bad experience. just don't let this discourage you from making photo's.
 
loneranger said:
Is Santa Monica, ca, close to you?
Click to expand...

If you're in Los Angeles the cops are acutely aware of your rights and it's very unlikely they would do anything to try to stop you. They would probably be pissed at the nut job that called on you.

The paparazzi have forced the cops to be aware of how far photographers rights go.
 
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