Awkward photo shoot last night

4 years 1 month ago #676291 by Rick Larin
I was shooting the city skyline last night.  When a person came up, harmless.  They just stayed a short distance away from me, asking all sorts of questions, but didn't leave.  Then they asked to look though my camera a few times.  But this wasn't like other curious bystanders, this person had a legit creepy factor to them.  They stuck by me, even when I moved to another location. "Oh this will be a better spot" they said.  They ended up being next to me, and when I say next to me, they were literally only 2-3 feet away from me the whole time.  Finally after about 1.5 hours, they moved on.  

I have to say, one of the strangest shooting experiences I have had in some time.   

Out of curiosity, would have asked them to leave?  


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4 years 1 month ago #676294 by Nikon Shooter

Rick Larin wrote: Out of curiosity, would have asked them to leave?  


Harmless? This could be legitimate curiosity.

If no threat is felt, this is your decision… but think about
the effect of their harmless presence should have when
less peaceful people had shown up!

Light is free… capturing it is not!
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4 years 1 month ago #676298 by Moe
If he wasn’t hurting anything, it wouldn’t have bothered me


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4 years 1 month ago #676304 by effron
Sorry, we all have a right to a personal space and a couple feet away, unless in a crowd or line, etc, is too close. I would have said something, feelings be damned.

Why so serious?
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4 years 1 month ago #676305 by effron
Also, NO you can't look through my viewfinder, no reason needed.

Why so serious?
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4 years 1 month ago #676308 by Rick Larin
All good, I think now, or next time I just say I need some time to focus


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4 years 1 month ago #676322 by garyrhook
"I appreciate the conversation, but if you'll excuse me I'd like to focus on my work now. Have a good day!"

And then turn to your camera, get to work, and ignore him.

Back pocket: "If you would be so kind, please let me focus." Which is preferable to "go away now."


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4 years 1 month ago #676377 by Uplander
:agree:   But also, keep an extra eye on your gear too.  Sorry but I can't help to think someone like this could be after your gear.  


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4 years 1 month ago #676470 by Rob Conley
"Good meeting you, you have a good night... I need to get back to work" is how I would have responded to the guy.  


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4 years 1 month ago #676484 by Stanly
+1 agree!

Nikon Z6 | Nikon FM10 | Nikon D80 | Nikon 50mm f/1.8D | Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S VR | 35-105mm f/3.5 Macro | 80-200mm f/4.5 | SB600 | Pocket Wizard II
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4 years 1 month ago #676549 by Chipper
Uplander brings up a good point.   ALWAYS keep an eye on your gear.  I hate to sound like a sceptic, but assume anyone coming up might be after your gear when you aren't looking.  So always keep an eye on your gear.  


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4 years 1 month ago #676636 by Pete Franko

Chipper wrote: Uplander brings up a good point.   ALWAYS keep an eye on your gear.  I hate to sound like a sceptic, but assume anyone coming up might be after your gear when you aren't looking.  So always keep an eye on your gear.  


:agree: always keep an eye on your gear!   


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4 years 1 month ago #676758 by icepics
Someone staying around for an hour and a half does not sound like normal behavior. I'd have to wonder if he's homeless, possibly had some mental health issues or could be unstable, etc. You don't know the person, so if you'd become more firm or forceful about him moving away from you, you don't know how he might have reacted.

I worked a job for 20+ years doing home visits in neighborhoods that are on the news with drug activity, shootings, etc. and we learned how to stay safe out there. Trust your instincts. If you're getting a creep vibe from the guy, it might have been better to leave, maybe come back later or try another day (assuming this was public property; if it was someone on your property it would be a different situation).

You probably did well to stay calm, talking to him in a cordial way. Had you acted differently, if he's unstable you don't know what might have potentially set him off. This certainly seemed like odd behavior.

Sharon
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4 years 1 month ago #676812 by Duncan K
So true.  Need evidence of the crazies?  Turn on the news.  If someone like this was around me, I would have picked up and moved to another spot.  


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4 years 1 month ago #676867 by Alex
I had a similar situation like this happen to me last year while in Istanbul Turkey.   I was out shooting the city at sunset, and I actually had 2 guys started following me around.  Being in a foreign country, and out numbered, I took my shots I was after and moved to the next spot.  

But I got the shot I was after!  


Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON Z 7
Lens: 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6
ISO: 160
Aperture: f/11.0
Shutter speed: 15 s
Captured: Sun, 21 Apr 2019 22:08pm

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