Ever worry about getting shot while using your spotmeter?

[sun of sand]

It just seemed unnecessarily confrontational. Personal opinion of course.

Don't worry for his safety it never happened

[Renato Tonelli]

Have the terrorists won?

It's a matter of opinion; my opinion at this very moment is: yes.

[sun of sand]

If the thing that supposedly stops cops from shooting children playing with realistic-looking toy guns is a pink slip thing on the end of the barrel how dumb is the cop that shoots you for for holding a crazy ass gun looking thing up to your eye/square in the middle of your face pointed towards a tree

[sun of sand]

Long before 911 I made the mistake of photographing a non-secure building next to a highly secure building at Sandia National Labs for a client on the fly. That is, there were these great clouds and I knew if I went through proper procedures it would take too long and the clouds would be gone. So I lied my way onto the base (the labs are within an Air Force base) saying I wanted to go to the Nuclear Museum and just kept going till I got to the building. I quickly set up the 4x5 and while under the dark cloth heard screeching tires and automatic weapons being cocked. I had my spot meter on my hand hanging by the lanyard. I froze under the dark cloth as I heard "drop the gun" in an authoritative voice.........anyway I was taken into custody and my film taken until they were able to call my client and confirm that I was on assignment. I never got my film back, but was able to finish the assignment some weeks later by going through the proper channels.

Shortly after 911 while shooting the exterior of a piano store, I was accosted by a security guard who, eying my spot meter while keeping his hand on his pistol, told me patrons of a nearby Starbucks had called him saying that there was a terrorist pointing a large gun (my 4x5 I presume) at the piano store. I guess that piano store was a potential terrorist target.

You should have come back the next day with a blow up of the piano store
Yeahhh I fkn blew it up

ZINGERRRRR



WOW that store charges too much.

[sun of sand]

"In between getting my ID, etc. he told me about Harry the beaver that lived there and other interesting stories."

that -used- to live there
It wasn't just some little story

Yeah, you see Harry the Beaver around here lately? NO..you sure as hell don't do ya
Dont messsss with meeeeeee

Waiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit

Who the F named him that?


I swear I've seen this entire thread on The Simpsons before

[Pete Roody]

just carry a concealed pistol. when they are holding your spot meter (and trying to figure out what it is) ... pull the pistol out, point it at him and ask if this is what he was looking for!

[Henry Ambrose]

Harry the beaver.
That's funny.

[photographs42]

About 15 years ago I was in Albuquerque photographing a Bank designed and built by the company I work for. I flew in the evening before and drove by the bank (it was closed by then) to check it out. The light was particularly nice so I decided to get a couple of images while I was there. So, I’ve got the 4x5 set up 50 feet from the front door and suddenly 5 police cars arrive, without sirens, and the officers jump out and basically surround the place. Strangely, they paid no attention to me but they had their guns drawn and were peeking in the windows as though there was someone in there.

I decided that if there was going to be a shootout, I was in a bad spot, so I casually moved around to the side where one of the officers had stayed with his patrol car. I said “What’s going on” and he replied “You must be the photographer”. He didn’t comment but he studied my digital Pentax in the Zone VI holster for a long moment before telling me that the silent alarm had gone off indicating that someone was in the building.

Per my instruction, the bank had contacted the police to let them know I was coming so I wasn’t a suspect.

As far as the Meter/Gun issue is concerned, I’ve often felt a bit more secure in some of the places I’ve photographed knowing that some people might think I was armed and not mess with me.
Jerome

[Richard Wasserman]

Harry the beaver.
That's funny.

I know, but there were many saplings that had obviously been removed by beavers–teeth marks and all. Hey, I was there, I'm not making this up! Here's the photo:

[ndavid813]

Not law enforcement, but almost - My 5 year old nephew thought my spotmeter V was a pretty cool weapon-like thing, so I showed him how to use it. He went around the house "shooting" everyone. "Mom, you're a 12!" etc. I was shooting a hasselblad so I could show him the relationship between EV, aperature and speed. The pentax was very popular with him so I ended up using my incident meter instead since he was busy shooting people. It was worth it seeing him grasp basic exposure concepts. After that we examined my GPS.