Harvard Square Hijinks

Sorry.

This past week I came down w/ some seasonal disease or whatever. I pretty much ALWAYS get something when the weather swings crazy from hot to cold & vice-versa. Gotta love livin' in the Northeast as well as being half dead & narced up on over-the-counter antihistamine while popping Vitamin C tablets likes its Halloween candy.

Going into photojournalism mode is always an adventure. I know I've said that before w/ my model shoots but on a scale of 1 to 10, my model shoots range usually range from 4.5 to 7. The more complications entailed, the higher it goes. Shooting news stuff ranges from anywhere from a 6.5 to 9, for the same reasons.

I just never know what kind of characters I'll encounter, what their reactions will be, how I'll deal w/ it, etc.

Which leads me into yet another entertaining antcedote regarding this image:



The image was taken this past summer during my stay in Boston. Its specifically at a park outside of Harvard Square.

The story behind this shot was that some old guy looking like a scraggier version of Robert E Lee was convinced I took a picture of him (I didn't). To appease him, I agreed to delete it & continued shooting. He caught on that I hadn't done so, so he asked to see me do it. I refused. He raised his voice while I continued shooting.

I pointed out that since all this was happening on public property & that I'm a taxpayer, I had as much of a right to take pictures as he does. If he doesn't like it, I encourage him to spend his time at his private dwelling.

He reminded me that he was in this neighborhood a lot & that if ever I was walking across the Harvard Campus at late at night, he wasn't going to get any help from him. W/o mentioning that I wasn't expecting to be at the Harvard campus late at night, I replied that I'd keep that in mind.

He raised his voice again insisting that I delete his phantom image. By this time, I shift my camera neck strap so its over my head & through one of my armpits because I'm thinking he's going to pull a "whoops" bump into me while slapping my camera to the ground. I continued shooting but in the end, it never came to that.

He soon left to go complain to a compatriot. I got what I was looking for, took that as my cue to go off on my own merry way.

So a refresher, while working taking pictures on the street,...

1. Knowing what one is allowed & not allowed to do will go a long way.
2. Though not applicable for this incident, acting/looking like you belong will illicit fewer questions.
3. Though not applicable for this incident, don't act like an asshole as your default position. Most people, like law enforcement, are just honestly curious as to what you're doing.
4. Hold your ground, if you think you'll go farther. Cut your losses, if you've met your personal threshold.
5. None of the above are absolute. Use your best judgement as it pertains to your situation.

I encourage you to opine, comment, whatever, so long as its civil.