So today I get told to not take photos!

pahl

Hope this is the correct place to post this.

It was another Saturday of basketball games. We were playing a tournament in another town that is about 10 miles away. At the end of the tournament were hear of a house fire near our town.

It is the neighbors house of one of the players. This player is a good friend of our sons and he was coming home with us after the games. We stopped to eat before heading back to town. His parent went home right away to check on there house and the neighbors house.

So about a hour or so later we are coming back to town and decide to go check out the fire. I would not have really cared about it, but it was the neighbors house of our friends.

So we pull up and the fire trucks are still there. We park at our friends house and walk over to were other people were standing watching the fire.

I took my camera bag with me. Pulled out my camera and started taking photos. Just of the house and fire trucks.

After about half a dozen shots a lady come up to me and ask what I am taking photos for.

I tell here that we just come from the basketball tournaments and I had my camera with me. I also say something about it's a hobby of mine.

She tells me that they (as she looks over to a couple of people crying) do not want me to be taking photos and to stop it!

I was shocked. In my mind I was thinking she was going to ask if they could get some prints from me.

The last thing I was expecting was for someone to tell me to stop taking photos.

I look around and see what I would guess was the home owners crying and 3 or 4 other people with point and shoot cameras.

I just said ok and walked away.

I can understand it must be a really upsetting time for the family, but it was not like I was taking photos of them crying or anything.

Anyone else ever run into a similar situation were you were told to stop taking photos?

Do you think I did the right thing?

What would you have done?

Awais Yaqub

Me
Depending on situation to avoid :argue i would have done same . But usually i say "shooting for my web" and people go wow

btw i am sorry for your friend's house :cry

DavidTO

As long as you were on public property you were well within your rights, AFAIK.

What's right and what's wrong is really up to you.

Photog

Public right of way = within your rights to shoot.

Right to be there and reason to be there can be two different things though.

Deciding to put the camera down is up to you.

Had I been in your situation I would've done the same--put it away. Nevermind that there are people with cell phone cameras.

If you're credentialed, different matter.

wxwax

Photog!

Photog

Hey Waxie!

(took the plunge into stills...boy am I a n00b!)

photodoug

unless you were "doing your job" or convinced you were taking Pulitzer Prize winning shots, the right thing to do was probably to respect the feelings of the folks that were experiencing that awful moment....would have been my choice anyway.

pahl

I kind of feel bad that I took the photos now.
Then to top it all off I forgot to change the camera ISO as it was still on 1600 from the basketball games.

Nice sunny day out. Lots of great colors with the blue sky, red trucks, yellow fire jackets, etc...

I have decided not to put them up on my website. I live in a small town (1500 people) and I know there are a number of people checking my site for game photos. It would not take long for word to get back to them that the photos they did not want me to take have been posted online.

Live and learn...

e4ymod

I would have probably just complied and stopped taking the pictures... but I always carry this in case I run into an a-hole:

http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm

FatNakedGuy

I would have snapped a candid of the owners crying and then put the camera away. Gotta have the complete story, right?

pahl

Some thoughts on what I would do different next time.

Don't go stand were everyone else is if you have a choice.

This will give you more time to shoot if you see someone heading your way to tell you to stop.

It will also give you a chance to take some candid photos of the other people watching the fire.

Next time.

ian408

photog!

Photog

ian408 wrote:

photog!

Ian

mlboyd

pahl wrote:

Some thoughts on what I would do different next time.

Don't go stand were everyone else is if you have a choice.

This will give you more time to shoot if you see someone heading your way to tell you to stop.

It will also give you a chance to take some candid photos of the other people watching the fire.

Next time.

Maybe you could let the owners (if that's who was upset) know that you'll share the photos with them if they need them for insurance purposes or much later down the road decide that they want them just for historical purposes. Sometimes documenting a scene for people who are too emotional to do it themselves is important.

I also understand them not wanting a camera there. The loss and even sense of violation of a house fire can be more intense than most of us would expect. For me, it was kind of like having a loved one die and being forced to stand naked in the public square all at the same time.