Barcelona 3

Barcelona 3

Wherever I went on this trip I tried to take more candid photographs of people going about their daily activities.  I was a little nervous about it because one never knows the reaction of people if they see a stranger taking photos of them.  Being in a different country and not totally familiar with their customs made it even more problematic for me.  Years ago, this would never have entered my mind, but these days, people are more suspicious of photographers even though nearly every person carries a camera (phone) with them.

The following examples show that some people perceive photographers as suspicious.

I recently read a story of a photographer who was photographing children playing in a public park.  A person pulled his car over and grabbed his camera and said they were going to wait for the police who showed up minutes later.  The police looked at the photos on his camera and determined that the photos were innocent and let the photographer go. 

It has been more than 10 years since the police stopped me in my own yard and demanded to view the photos on my camera.  I had gone for a walk at sunset hoping to see a moose and it was nearly dark when the police car pulled into my driveway.  The officer asked me to get in the car and when I asked him what the problem was, he insisted I get in the back seat of his vehicle.  Before giving me any information he asked for my name, date of birth, address and wrote the info in his book.  I continued to ask what the problem was and he said that someone reported that a suspicious individual was taking photos on my street.  I admitted that I was taking photos but that i was a photographer and had been taking photos here for more than 20 years.  I showed him the images on my digital camera and he was satisfied that I was legitimate and let me go without charges.  I was surprised he used the term "charges" for taking photos during a sunset.  I assumed that someone with a cell phone had seen me, thought it was odd for a guy to be taking photos so late in the evening, and called the police. 


This morning I've also uploaded more images of antiques at the flea market I visited in Barcelona.

Feel free to share today's photos with family and friends.

Photos of the Day are for sale as:

• Stock Photographs
• Photographic Prints and Enlargements
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