Mad Man Flynn

Mad Man Flynn

UPDATE

Okay I got a few questions for you guys...just for reference I live in South Carolina, USA.... What a day I've had...was out taking photos of scenic landscapes and livestock today....stopped and took some photos along side the road...and the story begins.... Up the hill there was a house...i could see a man walking down his driveway and finally made his way toward me...he asked what I was doing...I told him just taking some scenic photos...he said for what?...i told him it was a hobby and he just responded "I know how hobbies are"...so I'm nice...I tell him where I'm from...my first name...introduce myself....he was nice for a few and then he suddenly changes....he said "why didn't you come to my house and ask me if you could take pictures?"...i told him I didn't know this was his land...his house was up the road and across the street from where I was at....keep in mind that we are standing in the road having this conversation...well he flips out and starts yelling at me....he then gets up in my face...which brings out my super fun side....i don't back down so he threatens to call the cops....i tell him to call the cops because I'm not doing anything wrong....we spat for a few and I end up leaving....(that's the PG version) My question is simple...do I have the right to be on public property taking pictures of his land/livestock??? I was not trespassing...but I wasn't sure about the photo part....but isn't this how everyone takes a picture of a landscape?? ...when he started yelling I took this shot of him freehanded...... Did I do something wrong??? UPDATE

After getting tons of expertise I wasn't doing anything wrong...perfectly legal....I just hope I don't get shot next time.... UPDATE

Here's some info from Bert P. Krages II on Photography Rights UPDATE

I recently received a noteworthy on Photo Friday with this image. I figured I would do an update. Thanks for the feedback. I do want to add that i actually went back and visited him again a few days after this incident happened. You can read about that here.
Camera: Canon EOS 20D (Canon)
Focal Length: 21 mm
Exposure: 1/160 sec
Aperture: f 4
ISO: 100














  • I saw your posting on the photoblogs group and I had to see the pictures of the angry man. It's a pretty good shot, especially considering the guy was coming at you.

    And he was wrong. If you are on public property you can take a picture of his house, land, whatever.
    Tommy @ 2006-02-13 19:09:36
  • yeah i took it free handed...he didn't even know i was snapping away at him...
    Ash @ 2006-02-13 19:18:59
  • That's great, especially to go along with your story. :-)
    Otto K @ 2006-02-13 19:20:34
  • I can't wait to hear the story behind this one :)
    David Kapp @ 2006-02-13 19:22:29
  • You are a brave man! And he is a crazy man! What a story you have!
    Bob @ 2006-02-13 19:25:17
  • Absolutely, a brave man - Great shot to go along with everything that happened! :)
    Ian @ 2006-02-13 19:40:17
  • Indeed, perfect shot to go along with the story. Go on ya.
    ballpeen @ 2006-02-13 20:37:46
  • I'd say you were in the right here. Taking pictures from the road isn't illegal. I could see him getting angry if you were at the road trying to take pictures inside his house, but you weren't. I guess you found a crazy old man on a bad day :)
    David Kapp @ 2006-02-13 21:53:42
  • I don't think that what happened to you is so unusual. I have had it happen twice: once while taking pictures from the road of some of our older historic homes and another time at anitques market. I don't engage them in what will surely turn out to be a lost cause...I just walk away.
    I can't remember which blog it was but two of our local photographers had the air let our out off all four tires because they were taking photos of a man on a treactor.
    john @ 2006-02-14 07:51:49
  • that is all-time...the sotry and the photo.
    Great!
    Nick @ 2006-02-14 11:03:35
  • LOL, This is a wonderful shot! I, too, read your story on the photoblogs group and was fascinated with how it ended. I've always wondered what I'd do if I was stopped for taking a photo, and it was good to see your situation and get all those links! Nice job in a tense situation. Keep up the good work!
    Buffy @ 2006-02-14 11:51:07
  • This is just awesome... and the story is great. You gave me a really great chuckle here. :)
    dylan neild @ 2006-02-14 20:11:59
  • Jeez what a story! I'm sorry you had to go through that. I've driven around taking pictures exactly as you described, and haven't run into anything like that, although I've been asked what I'm doing before.

    Did you put in fake DOF? It does make the yelling guy stand out.
    Michael Czeiszperger @ 2006-02-15 15:18:14
  • I probably shouldn't love this whole thing on so many levels as much as I do but I can't help it. Nicely done.
    jkirlin @ 2006-02-15 23:11:11
  • I'm no expert on american rights, but taking shots while standing on public property seems absolutely legal to me, but posting a picture of him is a completely different story ...

    Nevertheless: great shot (taking the story alive ;)
    Tom @ 2006-02-16 03:58:08
  • Michael: yeah, it's a little fake DOF....i never tried it before but it seemed to really bring out the picture effectively....i then sharpened the guy a little to bring him out even more....


    Ash @ 2006-02-16 13:01:12
  • the disclaimer that you live in SC makes it much funnier trying to imagine the scene with southern accents and country attitude. (I'm a transplant to Tennessee).
    blake @ 2006-02-17 16:05:00
  • gabe told me about this...hilarious! again, i love the shot with the story...greeat comb.
    what were you thinking..."hey, this angry beast is charging at me...let me snap a few shots and maybe, just maybe, he'll be a little more aggressive?" haha.

    Noelle @ 2006-07-04 12:41:21
  • This photo is fantastic! I don't see a problem with photographing land, if you aren't trespassing. I personally would feel invaded if someone was shooting my actual home, but I suppose that's why the celebrities get so mad at the photographers too! I love love love this shot.
    faustina @ 2006-07-18 07:50:33
  • Nice capture for a 'freehand'....interesting story. Maybe he's wanted for something illegal?
    Ed Little, Jr. @ 2006-07-19 23:41:35
  • well, i see many persons are support you.

    this is the first that i see a foreign picture forum, the feeling is wonderful.
    sealand @ 2006-10-06 00:42:09
  • Congrats on the Photo Friday noteworthy!

    Great shot. Not just because it's a great shot in its own right, but because you had the courage to shoot it under those circumstances--not to mention the skill to nail the shot from the hip.

    I too have been harrassed several times taking pictures. I'll never understand what motivates people to be so nasty. I'm totally OK with someone inquiring as to my intentions, but there's just no reason for things to get nasty ... particularly when you are operating *completely* within the law if you are shooting while standing on public property.

    I had one run-in where a guy pulled over in his SUV while I was taking pictures of a particularly colorful school in Washington, D.C. He gave me the whole, "Can I help you?" bit, when in fact he was asserting that I didn't belong there and it was his right to run me away. Like you, I was very friendly, explained what I was doing, told him I was an art photographer. To no avail. He told me to leave or he'd call the cops. I told him I was doing nothing wrong and had no intention of going anywhere. He drove off, presumably to call the cops, and though I was almost done shooting anyway, I was irritated enough that I decided to see if the cops would show. They didn't.

    For the record, here's a very useful informational sheet written by an Oregon lawyer. You might want to print it out and show it to anyone who is determined to go "legal" on you without actually actually knowing the law. Of course, with the wrong type of person, this sheet might just exacerbate the situation. But it's a useful thing to have in your camera bag.

    http://www.krages.com/ThePhotographersRight.pdf#search=%22oregon%20photographer's%20rights%20lawyer%22
    Scott @ 2006-10-10 04:19:28
  • Whoops. I see you've already posted a link to the Krages document. My bad!
    Scott @ 2006-10-10 04:20:34
  • Well it's been said being 'Dead Right' ain't really all that satisfying if you's the one dead :-)
    cdcootie @ 2006-10-10 17:39:33
  • I think its awesome that he's pissed because you're taking pictures of his cows and not only do you get an excellent picture of him yelling at you but you post the photo on a highly visited site, get a noteworthy mention and now the world knows what a grumpy old man he is. I believe that is called ironic, and not the Alanis Morrissette kind of way.
    Marti @ 2006-10-10 18:25:55
  • Great story... it was all worth it... maybe he new about the 'anger' challenge! Lovely capture.. print it and send him the website where he can go see it online!! Thanks, congrats on the noteworthy.
    John - Melbourne @ 2006-10-10 22:08:10
  • Congrats on the noteworthy.
    Jeff Ambrose @ 2006-10-11 00:35:39
  • It is one thing to stand on your rights while taking photographs in a city. It is another thing entirely to do so in rural areas where you can be unobtrusively shot and buried somewhere your body would never be found. Dude might have had a meth lab he was nervous about... you never know. Ask yourself how much buckshot you're willing to absorb for a picture of a cow, and govern yourself accordingly.
    kylejones @ 2006-10-11 15:39:44
  • What a story!! Excellent image and processing! Congratulations on the Noteworthy!
    karan @ 2006-10-11 16:38:11
  • I do a lot of shooting of people in public places without their permission, so I've had to deal with this a few times. It's legal in my state (Oregon) to do anything you want with a camera in a public place. Where it gets a little sticky is when you go to sell the photo and don't have the "model's" permission. I had one of those reality checks recently when a woman came into my opening in a local gallery and recognized herself in one of my photos...after a lenghty, diplomatic discussion she was okay with it, and since we've become friends.
    jseligman @ 2006-10-12 14:12:14
  • Great shot!! I agree with the previous commentor about imagining this with the SC accent!!

    As for the legal question, generally, if you are on public property (i.e. a public road is public property) and you can see it from where you are standing, then you can legally photograph it.

    Yes, there are limits (like if you used a 600mm lens to photograph this guy while he was INSIDE his house for example), but in general, if you can see it from a public place, then you can photograph it from that public place.

    Most police/security guards know this and won;t harass you...although some might think it's fun to take you in for a few hours of "questioning" if you are a wise a** to them. Then, there's always the question of how "them rural folk" might handle it ;) Maybe better to take along a friend in those cases.
    Jarrett @ 2006-10-13 00:57:00
  • I love this photo, congrats on the PhotoFriday Noteworthy, it deserves it.
    faustina @ 2006-10-13 07:24:02
  • Nice photos.

    Sometimes you just run into jerks. I don't particularly think it has anything to do with his being 'rural' or that it was S. Carolina. It could've happened anywhere.

    Funny story to relate, I was on an Army base in Alaska, about a year after 9/11. I was designing a utility line extension and overbuild of an existing line. So I was photographing every pole along a 1.25 mile stretch.
    The MP's drove up and politely asked what I was doing. I explained. They asked if I had any I.D. I produced my driveer's license and they took it to run a check on it. I was left there with a guard. He was a nice kid and we were talking about things, in general. He mentioned that there had been numerous phone calls to the MP's about me. We both had a good laugh. THey brought me back my license and told me to have a nice day. Not everyone's an idiot like this guy.
    Tim P @ 2006-10-16 09:43:04
  • The ATeam would have called this "The Jazz"
    Ryan @ 2006-11-24 17:25:39