I find it so funny that the "government" at all levels, feel a professional looking camera, by this I mean large and black, must mean the person is a terrorist. If, and stress the word IF, I was a terrorist and taking pictures of my next target, I would not bring attention to myself by using any thing so conspicuous, I would be using the smallest camera I could find. Heck you can by glasses with camera built into the nose bridges. OPPS I should not have mention, now the government will be suspicious of all eye glass wearing people.
The worst thing that ever happen to me however was I was scolded by a Barnes and Nobel manager, I was sitting in the parking lot waiting for there store (cafe) to open, I just got a new camera and planing a day of shooting and was looking it over in the car. Apparently there "contracted" cleaning crew felt I was a threat and complained. After I was in the cafe and drinking my coffee the manager came over and started questioning me. I was a little annoyed in fact a little shocked.
I got into a mild argument with him, he told me I could not have a camera on Barnes and Noble property, I said excuse me it is in the car. I cannot remember the whole conversation, but as I think back I remember one person from the cleaning company had a neck collar, like those used on patients after and injury. I now wonder if he had an claim or something and was not supposed to work.
I don't doubt the truth of the stories mentioned, but I think these are somewhat isolated cases. I took my 4x5 camera into the Wisconsin Capitol building. A security office asked me what I was doing and watched for awhile before moving on. I set up in the center of the rotunda, camera aimed to the ceiling, and crawled on my back under the tripod. Quite the spectacle and no hassle. Also, I forgot my Palm Pilot (which I use for BTZS data) in the car so I walked into an open door of a state assemblyman and asked if I could leave my tripod and Tundra case in his office while I ran to the store. (Perhaps they should have peaked in the Tundra case). Everyone was very friendly.
Just yesterday I went to the local water treatment plant to take some photos with the 4x5. Eventually one of the managers came out to ask what I was doing and if I had permission. I told him that I just came to took pictures and had no permission. He hung around for awhile and then left. Later, his boss came out and asked me about my equipment, said he was a former photographer at the local university, and told me where I could get a good deal on the university's used darkroom equipment.
I know that Wisconsin might not reflect the greater world, but I just wanted to make the point that some people use reasonable judgment.
he told me I could not have a camera on Barnes and Noble property, I said excuse me it is in the car.
They obviously think it is a firearm. There's a big stink down in Florida about whether people can keep guns locked in the trunk of their cars if parked on company property.
You could have informed him that most cell phones now have cameras. They should put a huge sign that cell phones are not only forbidden in their store, but also inside cars in the parking lot. It would be funny to see what kind of drop in business they would experience then.
I would question whether the parking lot is B&N property at all. Most of these stores are in shopping centers. The parking area is common property under control of the leasing company. Now many of them have a thing about photography but usually it's taking the photo, not possessing a camera in your vehicle.
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he told me I could not have a camera on Barnes and Noble property, I said excuse me it is in the car
For me, at that point, I'd ask if he'd like me to leave, and not ever come back. ...Sure, no problem, I will be very happy to remove my camera from your property, if that's what you really want... Have a nice day!
I often have a camera with me on Barnes and Noble property, and I'm likely to be browsing books in the photography section. No one has every said anything to me about this.
I don't usually make photographs in bookstores, but maybe I should, since I spend a fair amount of time in them, and they may not be around much longer. They seem to be doing business, but I've bought five books in the last week, and I couldn't find any of them at B&N, so I went to an independent academic bookstore that I usually prefer anyway, and only found one, so three came from Amazon and one from Alibris.com--which means they all came from independent booksellers in other locations, but they could just as well be warehouses with internet connections as bookstores.
The problems with this is:
Community Support Officers are not police and have no powers besides to call for the police. They are woefully undertrained.
Walking down the street getting in people's faces taking photos can be considered harassment not assault.
The kids in question lied to the police and ACCUSED the man of assault, not the photographing was assault.
and that's the Daily Mail...
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