Sure ...you gotta give 'em a chance. Had you taken the stance that some people have suggested and, when he asked what you were up to, told him it was none of his business, protested being investigated or harassed, and so forth, you both would have had lousy evenings and you'd not have had time to reflect on that great sunset from the comfort of your hotel room.
Shel > [Original Message] > From: Bob Shell > Several years ago I was driving on a very remote dirt road in Nevada. > That evening there was a really spectacular sunset and I pulled off the > road and set up my tripod to try and catch some of the flaming colors > over the mountains to the west. As I was working, lost in the moment > and image, I heard a vehicle approaching. I looked back to see a big > black SUV with "Moapa Tribal Police" on the door. It worried me when > it pulled in behind my rental car and this giant of a man in uniform > got out. I didn't want to miss the fleeting moments of the sunset so I > kept on taking pictures as he walked over to me. > > He said hello, asked what I was doing, and put his hands on his hips > and stretched back and said, "Yep, mighty purty sunset this ev'nin." > We got to talking and it turned out he was just sort of lonely, since > his "beat" was this big area of desert and about all he usually saw in > the evenings were a few coyotes. So I shot my photos until it got too > dark, and we chatted the whole time, and I packed up my gear, we shook > hands, and both of us drove away. Me for my hotel back at Mt. > Charleston, he on the rest of his usual patrol. > > My point is that there are a lot of really nice people out there in > uniform. Most of them don't want to harass photographers, or anyone > else.
