Street Hassle

[BrianShaw]

I've found people to be oblivious about that but cooperative when asked to step aside.

[Leigh]

I have an interesting solution to this problem...

I can't speak, the result of a neurological problem that paralyzed my jaw muscles.

When folks try to start a conversion, but I don't participate, they usually give up.

- Leigh

[Alan Gales]

I can't speak, the result of a neurological problem that paralyzed my jaw muscles.



- Leigh

I'm sorry to hear that, Leigh.

[lharby]

Thanks everyone, this is somewhat comforting.

I remember years ago going out with a couple of friends and one bought a golf club in case of any issues, although in a way I think that potentially invite trouble. Difficult in the UK to carry anything more damaging than that.

FWIW, the biggest problem I have had is with security guards, even when I was on proper city property (the street), that were telling me to leave because no photography was permitted...

I hear you on this one, they get very twitchy don't they, trying to flex their muscles, almost as if they have something to hide.

[Willie]

I understand the UK does not let citizens own firearms. Didn't that policy start right after 1776?

[BrianShaw]

Golf club; isn't that too fragile? In my part of the world we carry a baseball bat. Also a hat and ball just in case the bat gets mistaken for a defensive weapon.

[Bob Salomon]

I understand the UK does not let citizens own firearms. Didn't that policy start right after 1776?

That wouldn't explain all those U.K. grouse hunts or the success of English companies like Purdy!

[Michael E]

I choose the LF camera if I don't want to be hassled. People simply react with much more sympathethy to a wood camera than a DSLR. I just returned after three weeks in Quito, Ecuador. Same story as in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, three years ago: Even in rough neighbourhoods with me shooting run-down buildings while the owners watch, people smile, give me thumbs up, lough at me, snap images of me and my camera with their cell phone, ask questions about the camera or want to look at the ground glass. There were many places I wouldn't feel comfortable with a DSLR. Basically the same experience in Europe and the US. The better the neighborhood, the more likely I have a run-in with a security guard or owner. I just explain friendly what I'm doing and proceed to take my picture.

[Drew Wiley]

I've related this over and over again, but people who are serious outdoor types themselves, either on local trails or in wilderness areas, tend to be extremely
respectful, and never step in front of my camera without asking, and don't even ask questions until they've heard the shutter trip. Popular National Park parking
lots or even turnouts are a totally different story. If you merely set a camera on a tripod beside the road in Yosemite, all of a sudden six cars will pull over, spewing dust everywhere, with people wildly machine-gunning their phones and DLSR's every whichaway, who would drive right past otherwise unless there was a sign stating, scenic turnout. They'll even crowd around the cameras taking selfies. That's why I generally avoid such places. Best to sneak a few yards off the road
and into the woods a bit, where they can't see you. Better yet, hike a week in.

[Drew Wiley]

... Sorry if I drifted a tiny bit off topic. But to me anything involving a road in Yosemite during tourist season is essentially urban street photography. There certainly are enough people around.