The strange things people do when they see you out taking pictures.

[kirbinster]

A few months ago I was taking shots at a flea market with my D80 and 70-300 lens and I had several people come up to me and ask if I was taking pictures for the newspaper and when would they be published.

[netbymatt]

I took my camera to every Purdue football game last year, shot the game from the stands and a lot of the pre-game festivities. The tradition on Purdue's campus before a football game is "Breakfast Club." All of the bars open early and everyone gets dressed up in different costumes.

At least twice per game, and usually more, people in costume (often drunk) would come up to me and ask that I take their picture for the newspaper. One time they even yelled across the street at me. Too bad they don't know I have nothing to do any affiliation with the paper. Oh well, it's worth a laugh.

[Ewie]

Originally Posted by CanuckNicole

If anyone has some advice or similar experience, I'd love to know we're not alone

Yep, have the same problem here when we take our daughter to the playground. It's a good spot for some candid photos to send off to the rellies, but man, you should see the looks I get sometimes. I had one mother pull her kid off of a swing thinking I was photographing him when I was'nt. Obviously because I'm a male with a big camera and lens at a kids playground I must automatically be a pervert

[teinee]

I had never experienced any of the things that I have read about on DPS when I have been out with my camera, until...last week we had a really clear, bright day. I left work and went to the local wildlife refuge that I often drive thru, it was the first time I have been out there with my new D80 when others were also willing to be out and about. (I went in the snow and ice, but not many other people were around) I stopped to take a picture of a heron across the lake, and I had three different cars drive up to me and tell me that I had just missed a bobcat stalking some of the deer in a field less than half a mile away. They all made a comment on the fact that with 'that camera' I could have gotten some great shots of it. They were all very friendly and just wanted me to know about the photo op, and it was all because my camera was so noticable. Just something I had never experienced yet. Guess more notice comes with a more visible camera.

[Steena]

Originally Posted by Nobie

I

But, my favorite...you're taking tripod shots and really focused on what you are doing and here comes the inevitable stranger that asks, "So, takin' pictures?"

.

hahahahahahahahahahahaaaaa

[Crashmaster007]

I have been asked what newspaper I was shooting for twice. Once was at a college homecoming parade that my girlfriend was in and the other was walking around a park taking pictures. Both times I had my 70-200 f/4L so I guess they assumed "pro".

Another time when I first got my XTi I was shooting in the same park and some very nice older jogger stopped to talk to me about photography stuff.

I have only had the "hey guy with camera time to...STRIKE A POSE" thing once. It was after a basketball game and I was standing in a lobby looking through my pictures and a group of 5 girls stopped and asked me to take their picture randomly. As soon as I took it they walked off laughing and one yelled "I'll look for that on the internet".

[Major_Small]

I once took a few shots of a K-Mart fashion show for my ex and her family, and later on I found out they were all excited and nervous behind the scenes because they were convinced I was a scout from a modeling agency.

A couple of months ago I actually had some old lady call the police on me. In her mind, somebody setting up a tripod by a lake was most likely robbing her neighbor Even the officer that showed up didn't bother to come over to me. He just sat in his car until I was done and when I started leaving he called me over. Turns out he was also an avid photographer.

My friend used to carry her hasselblad around with her all the time, and she told me she actually got free admission to six flags once because they assumed she was a press photographer or something.

[moi]

I live and work in Saudi Arabia where it is forbidden to take photographs in public. My house is inside the Diplomatic Quarter with lots of Arabic architecture picture ops. as well as small gardens and lots of cats.

One day-as the DQ is quite cosmopolitan- I was taking pics. of cats for friends who love them when I heard, 'NO! NO! NO!'. One of the security police was having coffee at the nearby cafe and had seen me. So I ignored him thinking-'He can come to me'. Plod,plod,plod-'What you do?'
So I put the camera onto view and he, reluctantly-watched by his colleagues-had a peep.
'Oh-nice-OK'.

Now they are completely used to seeing me clambering about in my abaya- taking shots of shadows,birds, flowers, cats, palm trees and always say 'hello'.

At least the camera has proved to be a bit of a 'barrier breaker' here.

[Ewie]

You guys have reminded me of another time that I was the "Official FOX Photographer". When the Simpsons Movie launched last year, I was sent down to a small town about an hour out of Christchurch called (you guessed it) Springfield.

Springfield is a very small whistle stop village on the main East-West route between Christchurch and the Southern Alps. As a promotional idea, FOX decided to donate and erect a "Big Doughnut" in the town park and planned a big unveiling complete with Homer & Bart, the whole deal. On that day the town swelled from about 50 perminant residents to well over 3000 people. Including little ol me with my trusty camera.

It was unbelieveable being jostled around by the crowd as they fought to get close to Homer and Bart, (local actors in costumes). But BY FAR the worst offender was one particular photographer who was there for one of the small local papers. This guy was the pushiest SOB I've ever come across. At one point I set up a shot with Homer and a local Kapa Haka leader to perform a Hongi (tradional Maori welcome) the photographer literally came in over the top of me, shoved me out of the way, grabbed the shot and gave me a very satisfied smirk afterwards. What a jerk!!

I'll take landscape photography any day after that.

[Not Too Shabby]

there are some great sories on here, some are an absolute laugh. here' mine.

My brother and a mate were DJing at a gig and i had my brothers 350D at the time, they finished up and we headed off to another club they had some other cool dj's playing that we wanted to see. So we all rock over to the entrance of this club, they've got their bags of vinyl and i had the camera, the security guard just asumed they were playing there and i was the photographer, he took us all to the desk and told the door girl to let us through cause they were playing, we all just played along and were laughing so hard when we got up stairs, we didn't pay a cent cover charge. haha that was cool but if only they gave us a free bar tab...... oh well you can't have everything