What are some odd interactions you've had while out with your camera?

[aw614]

Using either my Canon L1/L2, got the is that a Leica? question multiple times

 

[Daniela]

I have found French people to be very curious and prone to come up and directly ask what I'm doing. I'd find it very off-putting in the beginning, but now realize it's mostly out of true curiosity and a desire to chat. I've had nice little exchanges here and there, like a guy who invited me to visit a "community restaurant" down the block, where volunteers prepare and serve free meals to anyone who needs them.
There was also a funny (to me) one once in a forest. I was placing my tin can pinhole camera on a tree branch when this woman came out of nowhere and asked me what I was doing. I started saying that I was taking a picture and she just rolled her eyes and left, apparently thinking I was pulling her leg. The poor soul missed out on learning about the wonders of the pinhole universe. And then there was the guy who smiled ear to ear and told me he had once used a pinhole camera when he was little. He then asked me info about where to get the chemicals so that he could teach his kids about it.

 

[guangong]

You are right that legally I had no obligation, but once she called them, I DID have to stay, just to make sure they got my end of the story and not only her lie-filled version. Also, it was outside a local grocery store where I do almost all of my shopping and am known to several of the employees, and a manager with whom I have had several conversations was called out to deal with the situation. He hadn't spent 2 minutes thinking something like this might ever come up and seemed to take my lead when I explained to her that no, they can't take my camera nor my film, and since there were no signs forbidding photography (a legal requirement for kicking a photographer off a business property in CO) I couldn't be sited for trespassing unless I did not leave if they asked me to. It is rather ironic that when things like this happen it is often right under the watchful eye of the store's security cameras and people never take issue with them.

Edit to add: Sticking around is something else I learned from the audit videos. In this case it may not have been so important because I was a known local being confronted by a stranger - she didn't even know what store she was at - but they are almost always the out-of-towners being confronted by locals, and the police are vested in their community. They always stay until after the police leave, or until it looks like they never will come. It shows they aren't intimidated, affords more control over the situation, and does usually forces the police to straighten out the confronter's understanding of the law.

Look at the bright side…you aren’t her husband!

 

[Sirius Glass]

Over the years, many times I have been asked if "that is a Hasselblad?" and it was. One time when I I offroading in Moab Utah, a guy told me that his son's new digital camera could "beat the pans off my camera". I gave him a look and said "You must be so proud that your son can spend so much money." His face turned red and he did not respond.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

I was in Monument Valley and thought a shot of an oil painter's work compared to the actual landscape would make an interesting composition. When I got done, the artist looked at the LED and asked if I could send it to him so he could use it on his business cards. I edited it a little when I got home and emailed it to him. He never thanked me for it but it seems a lot of people here got similar responses. What's with people?

 

[pbromaghin]

Look at the bright side…you aren’t her husband!

I remember thinking the same thing...

 

[koraks]

He never thanked me for it but it seems a lot of people here got similar responses. What's with people?

I dunno; busy, sidetracked/absentminded, benevolent but nonchalant - something along those lines, I think.

To contrast these experiences, when we visited Rome some 8 years ago, we hit upon a fellow who was setting up a wooden box camera with a bucket to the side. I had just gotten into large format photography, so naturally, I was curious and struck up a chat with him. Of course, I also asked him to do a portrait of the both of us; after all, we were tourists and this was clearly how he made some money on the side. Turned out he was doing paper negatives, developing them inside the camera which doubled as a dark box. He would then mount the negative in front of the taking lens, photograph it again and thus invert it into a positive.

When all was said and done, I wanted to pay him, but he refused. He appreciated the genuine interest - I think I insisted and ended up paying him, but I can't quite recall. I do know we exchanged email addresses and emailed back and forth a few times in the following months. He shared some of his work, mostly portraiture. Beautiful work, too.

But this is of course the exception the countless times people (including me) promise (and intend!) to be in touch - and then, we never are.

 

[MTGseattle]

In Glasgow Scotland, I asked if I could photograph a trio of gentleman that were on their lunch break or something, listening to a soccer match and drinking in an alley. My "price" for the portait session was taking a few pulls off of the wine bottle with them.

Lately, it's not odd but more annoying that every time I get set up, I get inundated with people asking if I'm on instagram. I think the 8x10 causes the biggest stir, but it seems like if you set anything up on a tripod these days it means you are "serious" I guess.

 

[Paul Hillman]

I'll start, a car pulled up when I was walking down the sidewalk with medium format gear in a rough neighborhood. A young guy got out, appeared to be a pimp, mentioned being interested in having "photos taken of his girls", there was a scantily clad and dolled up young woman in the passenger seat. I told him I'm not a professional and just shot for fun.

Surely many people here have been out taking photos long enough to have odd stuff occur, what are your experiences?

I used to do wedding photography back in the film days. I got a call once from a man, sounded like to be in this 30's, who wanted photos taken of his mother in nude erotic poses, sounded more like Hustler style than Playboy. Sounded like trouble to me, and turned him down, I mean pimping your mother?

 

[Philippe-Georges]

Since I have my Silvestri, a lot of people are surprised that in Italy they ever made camera's and still do!

Some of them then doubt that it actually works without issues (even a few on this forum), which, do believe me, it does!

When shooting on the street (not street photography), people ask me when the roadworks will start as they think the Silvestri it is a Theodolite...

Once a man, riding a sports bicycle, suddenly stoped, returned and pointed me out that the bellows should be between the lens and the ground glass and not behind the GG; with the Silvestri it is usually attached on the GG to be able to focus via the loupe which is incorporated in the bellows, and focussing is done with the lens's helicoidal...

Others didn't know that film was still made!

 

[loccdor]

To contrast these experiences, when we visited Rome some 8 years ago, we hit upon a fellow who was setting up a wooden box camera with a bucket to the side. I had just gotten into large format photography, so naturally, I was curious and struck up a chat with him. Of course, I also asked him to do a portrait of the both of us; after all, we were tourists and this was clearly how he made some money on the side. Turned out he was doing paper negatives, developing them inside the camera which doubled as a dark box. He would then mount the negative in front of the taking lens, photograph it again and thus invert it into a positive.

In Athens we came upon a photographer who approached us wanting to take our picture. She had a camera that looked exactly like a wooden large format on the outside, but its innards were digital and it must have been connected to a wifi/bluetooth printer. I had my Pentax Spotmatic and we started chatting about both having old cameras, then she handed me an instant inkjet printout of our photo and I felt a little hoodwinked.

 

[VinceInMT]

I mentioned this before but I was up the street from my house shooting photos of cars going by to get motion and blur shots for a class assignment. I was stopped by the police who demanded to know what I was doing. I explained and he didn’t believe me and wanted to know what I was really doing and how I was doing it. I pointed at my 35mm Minolta on the tripod and said, that’s a film camera and I’m taking pictures for a class assignment at the university. OK, at the time I’m in my 60s and he’s not buying my story. From my notebook I pulled out the assignment sheet, he looked at it and shook his head, doubting that any of this was true. We had a very long impasse before he finally left.

 

[pbromaghin]

I had another weird one, but this time with another photographer. Again, I let my mouth run away with me.

The B17 Aluminum Overcast was showing at Centennial Airport outside Denver and I brought the Cambo Legend I owned at the time. At these appearances, they take paying customers for rides during the day, and while waiting for it to return another photographer with a pretty decent DSLR started telling me he used to shoot 4x5 but quit because it was too expensive and he got so many more shots with digital. This was back when the film/digital divide was still pretty wide and more than a bit contentious. He was such a smug smartass over his digital superiority that I couldn't resist and told him, "I don't think it's expensive." The plane returned and I got off a couple shots while it taxied up close to us, did a beautiful 180 degree pirouette to face back out to the runway and shut down its engines. He then asked how many shots I got and bragged that he got 30, as if it was a contest. I just said, "I only need one good one.", and he didn't talk to me anymore.

 

[jwd722]

Several years ago I was hiking on a rustic trail which happens to border a shooting range. I had my Bronica mounted on a tripod and slung over my shoulder as I explored. As I approached a clearing I noticed a State Park pickup truck in the middle of the field and could see the lens glare of a pair of binoculars watching me. My guess is that someone saw me with what they must have imagined was a 50. cal. Barrett slung over my shoulder. After a few minutes the truck left and I was vindicated to continue my "safe" shooting.

 

[tnp651]

Several years ago I was hiking on a rustic trail which happens to border a shooting range. I had my Bronica mounted on a tripod and slung over my shoulder as I explored. As I approached a clearing I noticed a State Park pickup truck in the middle of the field and could see the lens glare of a pair of binoculars watching me. My guess is that someone saw me with what they must have imagined was a 50. cal. Barrett slung over my shoulder. After a few minutes the truck left and I was vindicated to continue my "safe" shooting.

Once I was out shooting 4x5. I had a spot meter in a belt holster. Someone asked me if I was a security guard. I thought it was odd, then realized he thought I had a pistol on my hip.

 

[Chuck1]

I have a the leather holster for a pentax dsm, can't bring myself to use it.

 

[4season]

Inevitable "Is that a Leica?" inquiries that I sometimes get when I'm carrying anything but a Leica. On one occasion, I truthfully replied, "No, it's a Rolleiflex SL66", but got a blank look of incomprehension.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Once I was out shooting 4x5. I had a spot meter in a belt holster. Someone asked me if I was a security guard. I thought it was odd, then realized he thought I had a pistol on my hip.

I have had the same experience too with 4"x5", Hasselblad or 35mm camera and the Pentax Digital Light Meter in a leather or black cloth holster.

 

[JerseyDoug]

A few years ago at summer camp I was taking pictures at the lake with one of my Barnacks. A young man about my grandson's age saw me and said something like, "Cool camera. How many pixels?" Without thinking, I replied "one big one." He replied "Cool" and walked off.

 

[bernard_L]

At some scenic place, set up my Mamiya C220 on tripod. As we know, TLRs are good conversation starters. So, one of the sightseers, having seen me adjust the composition, asks if he/she (don't remember) can have a look at the ground glass; yes, sure; looks down into the v/f and exclaims:

"Oooh but it's in color ! "​