Advanced SearchPosted Wed May 14, 2008 2:26PM
A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine and I drove down to the Port of Los Angeles on a photo mission. It was pretty laid-back, and all-around a fun time.
At one point in the day, I noticed a security guard looking into the windows of my parked car while I was out shooting. I walked back, and politely introduced myself. He informed me that I was parked on private property (a big empty dirt lot, but whatever), and so I offered to move my car. When he asked what I was doing in the port complex, I replied that I was taking photos. I declined to elaborate. He informed me that he didn't care what I was taking photos of, but that I couldn't take photos of the Valero plant. I had my rights card on me, but I was planning on leaving the area anyway and didn't want to start an altercation, so I politely said "okay" and went on my way.
So, we drove around for a few more hours, shot in some junkyards, train yards, truck yards, all the fun industrial places. Around sunset, we decided to return to the oil refinery area to shoot the cooling towers silhouetted by the sun. We parked in a different place and I tried to frame a good shot. Most of my shots were encumbered by powerlines or high fences, so I decided to try to find another location. Just as we were leaving, I noticed a pickup truck heading towards us. As I drove past him, I noticed him make a U-turn in my rear-view mirror. After a couple of turns, it became apparent that he was following us. I drove completely legally, even used my turn signals, but after I got on the freeway and he followed us there, I began to get annoyed. I got off, pulled into a parking lot to wait for him to pull over, but he kept going. I don't know if he wasn't anticipating my turn or if he legally couldn't go on somebody else's "private property" or whatever, but after a minute I took the opportunity to head off in the other direction. We did a bit more shooting, but after that point we'd lost most of the amazing light and just went home to download our photos.
So, fast forward to this morning. I just had my morning coffee, so I'm in the can, when I hear this really intimidatingly loud knock on my screen door. I live near the beach, so my front door is perpetually open, and when people knock on the screen door it makes this really scary rattling sound, so usually when somebody knocks on it I immediately assume they're angry bill collectors or repo men, even though there is no reason either should be coming to my door, and it's always my upstairs neighbor asking me to turn my music down. Anyway, so my roommate answers it, tells them to wait, and then whispers to me through the bathroom door that there are "two men with badges here to see me". This really set the tone.
So, I go to talk to them. The first one informs me he needs to ask me some questions about what I was doing in the port complex two weeks ago. The other one demands to see my driver's license. I politely decline, and he informs me that he already has all the information on it (I look, and sure enough, there is a photo of me on his clipboard along with god knows what else). He makes a crack about "wow, you're younger than you look in this photo" when he comments on my birthdate (gee, thanks). I decide to give him my ID.
We exchange cards. I give him my business card that says "Photographer" as well as my iStock card (for legitimacy), and he gives me his card that says "Detective, FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force". Yikes.
From that point on, the conversation was much more polite and much less confrontational. They inform me that a security guard had asked me to leave, and that when I came back later that day, decided I was suspicious and filed a report. They have to follow up on all the reports. That's why they're at my door.
So I inform them that I was under the impression that everything I was doing was legal. Security guards can't chase you off of public streets, and that I'm free to shoot whatever I want in public view. I inform them that my rationalization was that anything you can see from a public street isn't private (if they're trying to protect some secret, they shouldn't put it there), and if I really wanted to canvas the place, Google Maps' satellite view is a much better place to start. They confirm that yes, what I was doing was completely legal, but they're just doing their jobs, that it doesn't make sense, and that the "heightened security alert"... "will change soon". They informed me that most of their job lately has been following up with photographers who take photos in the port complex. They also informed me that they try their best to inform private security guards how to deal with confrontations with photographers, and that most of the guards have a bit of a skewed view on what's legal (oh my god this is true), and they're trying to correct that. They have had to correct guards who have insisted that photos be erased, or worse, have confiscated equipment in the name of homeland security. This doesn't help anybody, and makes their jobs harder.
So, after what turned into a polite conversation, they determined that I was harmless and went their way. In the future, I'm told I can email the Port of Los Angeles police to obtain a permit. Permits are free, and just let the police know that I'll be photographing in the area, so if a nervous security guard calls them to make a report, they can call and confirm that we're harmless instead of chasing me onto the freeway.
There are more photos from my day on flickr here. Most of these aren't iStock-worthy for various reasons, so they won't appear here.
Has anybody else had a confrontation like this? I've definitely had other confrontations with private security, but this is the first time FBI antiterrorism agents have come to my door.
I hope this doesn't delay my passport application...
(Edited on 2008-05-14 14:31:34 by halbergman)
At one point in the day, I noticed a security guard looking into the windows of my parked car while I was out shooting. I walked back, and politely introduced myself. He informed me that I was parked on private property (a big empty dirt lot, but whatever), and so I offered to move my car. When he asked what I was doing in the port complex, I replied that I was taking photos. I declined to elaborate. He informed me that he didn't care what I was taking photos of, but that I couldn't take photos of the Valero plant. I had my rights card on me, but I was planning on leaving the area anyway and didn't want to start an altercation, so I politely said "okay" and went on my way.
So, we drove around for a few more hours, shot in some junkyards, train yards, truck yards, all the fun industrial places. Around sunset, we decided to return to the oil refinery area to shoot the cooling towers silhouetted by the sun. We parked in a different place and I tried to frame a good shot. Most of my shots were encumbered by powerlines or high fences, so I decided to try to find another location. Just as we were leaving, I noticed a pickup truck heading towards us. As I drove past him, I noticed him make a U-turn in my rear-view mirror. After a couple of turns, it became apparent that he was following us. I drove completely legally, even used my turn signals, but after I got on the freeway and he followed us there, I began to get annoyed. I got off, pulled into a parking lot to wait for him to pull over, but he kept going. I don't know if he wasn't anticipating my turn or if he legally couldn't go on somebody else's "private property" or whatever, but after a minute I took the opportunity to head off in the other direction. We did a bit more shooting, but after that point we'd lost most of the amazing light and just went home to download our photos.
So, fast forward to this morning. I just had my morning coffee, so I'm in the can, when I hear this really intimidatingly loud knock on my screen door. I live near the beach, so my front door is perpetually open, and when people knock on the screen door it makes this really scary rattling sound, so usually when somebody knocks on it I immediately assume they're angry bill collectors or repo men, even though there is no reason either should be coming to my door, and it's always my upstairs neighbor asking me to turn my music down. Anyway, so my roommate answers it, tells them to wait, and then whispers to me through the bathroom door that there are "two men with badges here to see me". This really set the tone.
So, I go to talk to them. The first one informs me he needs to ask me some questions about what I was doing in the port complex two weeks ago. The other one demands to see my driver's license. I politely decline, and he informs me that he already has all the information on it (I look, and sure enough, there is a photo of me on his clipboard along with god knows what else). He makes a crack about "wow, you're younger than you look in this photo" when he comments on my birthdate (gee, thanks). I decide to give him my ID.
We exchange cards. I give him my business card that says "Photographer" as well as my iStock card (for legitimacy), and he gives me his card that says "Detective, FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force". Yikes.
From that point on, the conversation was much more polite and much less confrontational. They inform me that a security guard had asked me to leave, and that when I came back later that day, decided I was suspicious and filed a report. They have to follow up on all the reports. That's why they're at my door.
So I inform them that I was under the impression that everything I was doing was legal. Security guards can't chase you off of public streets, and that I'm free to shoot whatever I want in public view. I inform them that my rationalization was that anything you can see from a public street isn't private (if they're trying to protect some secret, they shouldn't put it there), and if I really wanted to canvas the place, Google Maps' satellite view is a much better place to start. They confirm that yes, what I was doing was completely legal, but they're just doing their jobs, that it doesn't make sense, and that the "heightened security alert"... "will change soon". They informed me that most of their job lately has been following up with photographers who take photos in the port complex. They also informed me that they try their best to inform private security guards how to deal with confrontations with photographers, and that most of the guards have a bit of a skewed view on what's legal (oh my god this is true), and they're trying to correct that. They have had to correct guards who have insisted that photos be erased, or worse, have confiscated equipment in the name of homeland security. This doesn't help anybody, and makes their jobs harder.
So, after what turned into a polite conversation, they determined that I was harmless and went their way. In the future, I'm told I can email the Port of Los Angeles police to obtain a permit. Permits are free, and just let the police know that I'll be photographing in the area, so if a nervous security guard calls them to make a report, they can call and confirm that we're harmless instead of chasing me onto the freeway.
There are more photos from my day on flickr here. Most of these aren't iStock-worthy for various reasons, so they won't appear here.
Has anybody else had a confrontation like this? I've definitely had other confrontations with private security, but this is the first time FBI antiterrorism agents have come to my door.
I hope this doesn't delay my passport application...
(Edited on 2008-05-14 14:31:34 by halbergman)
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