Larry you are semi famous now! http://www.photographyisnotacrime.com/2013/02/05/california-man-taken-down-at-gunpoint-for-photographing-airplanes/
On Tue, Feb 5, 2013 at 2:55 PM, P. J. Alling <webstertwenty...@gmail.com> wrote: > Isn't your state the same one where a major city who's name I won't mention > but who's initials are LA bought back a couple of "rocket launchers" for > $400 that you could buy in any Army/Navy store as collectables for about $50 > a piece? Oh, and they made a big deal about getting these "dangerous" > weapons, for all intents and purposes lengths of PVC pipe, off the streets? > I think you know what's happened. The inmates have taken over the asylum. > > By the way I bought a home made "rifle" stock for cameras a few years ago > but decided that I liked the man from Uncleish Kalt camera "pistol" grip > with shoulder stock, I was able to find just about the same time, and gave > the homemade one to a friend, the same one who traveled to southern Africa > for the photo safari. He declined to take the stock because he was /sure/ > that he'd be shot. > > > On 2/5/2013 2:14 AM, Larry Colen wrote: >> >> I posted this story elsewhere, but since it actually has a little to do >> with photography, y'all might be amused: >> >> I showed up at work this morning, swiped my badge at the gates, was about >> to go through when half a dozen Santa Clara policemen came charging out with >> guns drawn. I'm standing there, trying to process the information. Is this >> some sort of a drill? When I realize that they are talking to me, calling me >> by name and telling me to get down on the floor with my hands in plain view. >> >> Six glocks to none, they have me outvoted, and I comply. They put cuffs on >> me, grab my stuff and hustle me into a side room, saying that they'll >> explain it to me in a moment. >> >> .... Into the wayback Sherman. >> >> Last week, I got an email from a friend who is planning a cruise to >> Alaska, and wants to rent some good camera gear for the trip. He's planning >> on renting Pentax gear (all he has at the moment is a point and shoot, but >> used to shoot 35mm Pentax/Ricoh). He's asking me advice, we make plans for >> me to loan him my spare camera and some glass, I though some other fun toys >> in the car to show off, so that everything will be ready when we do make the >> plans, and if it's short notice, they won't be in Santa Cruz when he and I >> are in San Jose. >> >> Friday night, after work, I was killing time, making several phone calls >> to various people, trying to make plans, waiting on calls back. The office >> is almost under the flight path for SJC, and I've been curious how my bigma >> (Sigma 50-500) would work for that. While I'm waiting for calls, I set up >> the bigma on my bushhawk, and wait for a plane to fly over head. While I'm >> waiting, I try taking some shots of nearby buildings. At some point I see >> some security guards walk past but they don't say hi, or even seem to notice >> me. >> >> What had happened was someone had seen "someone with a gun" in the parking >> lot. Told the guards who went for a look, and didn't see anything. >> Something got logged and apparently the night supervisor found out about >> sometime around midnight, looked on the video and saw me with something that >> looked like a gun. >> >> ... back to this morning >> >> I explain what happened, they search my car, find the camera gear, let me >> out of the cuffs. I show them how the bushhawk rifle stock works, and I >> show them, and the folks from HR the photos I took Saturday with that setup. >> >> At some point I lose track of how many times the Santa Clara police, and >> HR ask me "You understand why we had to do this?". >> >> HR offers to let me have the day off, and they'll square it with my boss, >> who knows nothing about this, but I decline. A little later someone from HR >> shows up in my cube with a $25 card for the cafeteria. The woman from HR, >> once again, thanks me for being so cooperative. I, once again, point out >> that it's very easy to be cooperative when six people are pointing guns at >> you. >> >> On my way home from having dinner with a friend (who explained that she >> can no longer even talk to me because it upsets her new boyfriend) I >> reflected on the place I worked my first 9 years out of college. The >> president had a display of WWII era rifles (with firing pins removed IIRC) >> on display in his office (Allies, Japanese, & German maybe?). One year for >> Christmas he bought everyone in the company a cheap .177 pellet rifle and we >> had a pellet range set up in the office. When I was working 60-80 hour >> weeks, usually until 2-4 in the morning, I would often take a 10 minute >> break by pulling out my pellet pistol and doing some target practice. When >> someone at the company bought a new gun, they would often bring it in >> (unloaded of course) to show it off. >> >> It certainly is a different time and place. >> >> -- >> Larry Colen l...@red4est.com sent from i4est >> >> >> >> >> > > > -- > Buy a Leica to get the full “Leica Experience”, (a quick reduction of funds > in the bank account). > > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > 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 PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
