thanks for the detailed reply cotty. unfortunately after almost 6 years my compaq laptop just breathed its last. must have something to do with all the flame wars going on here lately. will get back after i get myself a new machine :)
regards, subash On Sat, Feb 27, 2010 at 6:40 AM, Cotty <[email protected]> wrote: > On 27/2/10, Subash, discombobulated, unleashed: > >>Cotty, IIRC, this is the third or fourth time on the list you've said >>something like that, that it's no longer the same world or something to >>that effect. i would like you to expand on that, if you may. am just >>curious to know what exactly you mean by that. you may choose not to, of >>course :-)) > > Simply that the idea that someone may not be photographing just for > personal pleasure anymore - and in fact may be pursuing a line of > illegality - eg recce of a building entrance, or snapping up little > girls' skirts, means that the public are more aware of such activities, > and rightly or wrongly are more likely to highlight innocent activity to > the authorities. > > Someone seemingly 'acting suspiciously' (define that - ha!) in a crowd > environment is more likely to attract attention in 2010 than only 20 or > 30 years ago from people who are more aware and informed by the media. > 20 or 30 years ago much fewer people were aware that there are people > about who photograph children in compromising situations (for example) > and even though the activity itself has probably been going on for ages, > the awareness has only increased relatively recently. Similarly the > photographing of bridges, buildings etc. I pass no judgement on it being > right or wrong, just that that is what I see has happened. > > Tell you a story. I was filming in the centre of a city and we had > finished and I was putting my kit away in the back of the land rover. As > I drove away I noticed a strange woman looking at me and thought she was > just staring because I was pulling out perilously close to her car or > something. Next day I had a phone call from the police - was asked if I > could meet them in a car park that I would be passing close to that day. > Turns out that the woman had seen something she thought was a gun being > holstered and put away in the back of my land rover! The police had done > some digging based on my vehicle registration (license plate) and seeing > what I did for a living, assumed a mistake in the lady. They were doing > a 'soft stop' on me to check. I figured out what the lady had seen, I > have a microphone and holder with wind-gag that look like this: > > <http://tinyurl.com/notagun> > > and before it goes in the case the wind gag (the furry part) often needs > adjusting up tight (looks like a gun going into a holster). We all had a > good laugh about it - and the copper said he had thought it would be > something like this - had done the digging and decided a soft stop was > in order rather than a 'hard stop' which would have involved armed > police stopping me in an uncompromising manner - slightly scary. > However, common sense prevailed (as did my website, which they looked at > in assessing the situation) and we went away chuckling. > > My point is that the system worked. The woman might have seen a gun > going into a holster, and on a different occasion it might have been a > gun and not a mic. The police did their job well and no harm done. If it > had been a hard stop instead, the outcome would be the same and aside > from me being scared out of my wits, would have been just as satisfied. > Seriously. > > That story doesn't really relate to the other stuff above because we > have had a history of mainland terror in the last half of the last > century but all the same, I still think public awareness in the UK has > changed, and anyone out filming or photographing has to be more aware of > this and in tune with the consequences. > > -- > > > Cheers, > Cotty > > > ___/\__ > || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche > ---------- http://www.cottysnaps.com > _____________________________ > > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
