harassed for taking photos in a residential area

[shaner123]

Today as i was taking some street photography i was harassed and stalked by a man from the neighborhood. I definably felt as if i was being treated like some sort of criminal.
Working on a photo study dealing with 'back alleys' I've been wandering the neighborhoods around Windsor Ontario, photographing alleys in residential and commercial spaces.

Walking down a residential sidewalk i passed a man and what i assumed was his daughter walking out of their house and into their car. I passed the people and a few houses down and continued taking photos of the alley across the street. I continued down the street taking photos of the alleys. After awhile i noticed the gold car the man had gotten into was behind me. Not thinking too much about it i proceeded down the ally taking photos. The gold car followed, than passed me in the alley and stopped at the end of the alley. This is where i got wondering why this guy was following me, still not thinking much of it i proceeded. As i got closer to the end of the alley the car seemed to drive away but when i got to the end i noticed the car parked on the street, then the man shouted at me "i'm calling the police" I wasn't sure what this guys problem was so i turned the other way and kept shooting the alleys down the street. For the next 10 or so minutes the car continued to follow me. After awhile i noticed the car was gone, so i started feeling better and kept shooting. When i got really nervous is when the car returned but this time the only the man was in the car. This is when i got concerned because i thought he may start some trouble. The man shouted out his window "I called the police, get out of here, your invading peoples privacy" At this point i had forgot where i had parked my car, so i kept ignoring the man and kept shooting until i found my car. I left the area so not to get into any conflict.

Today i felt very threatened and i really don't like the feeling of being stalked and harassed. It wasn't a huge deal but i've been thinking of reporting the incident to the police, i don't enjoy the feeling of not being able to go back to the area in fear that i will be harassed again or worse. What do you guys think??

[Photon Phil]

Keep on keeping on.

[seisky]

were you really trespassing? if they're just alleys, it seems like no big deal. I don't really know why anyone would have a problem with that.

[shaner123]

i never stepped foot on anyone's property. And not that it even matters but i wasnt even shooting any people or houses, just down the allys

[sandpiper]

Originally Posted by shaner123

Today i felt very threatened and i really don't like the feeling of being stalked and harassed. It wasn't a huge deal but i've been thinking of reporting the incident to the police, i don't enjoy the feeling of not being able to go back to the area in fear that i will be harassed again or worse. What do you guys think??

I can't see the police being particularly interested, if all he did was follow you and threaten to call the police. He clearly wasn't engaged in any illegal activity, rather he saw someone wandering around the back alleys where he lives and taking photographs for a purpose he was unaware of.

As a photographer, I can understand your motives. To Joe Public your actions would look very suspicious and with quite possible criminal intent. With that in mind, you can hardly blame him for watching what you were getting up to.

You have a right to shoot in public places, he has a right to keep an eye on someone he believes may be involved in dodgy activity around where he lives. Yes, he made you feel uncomfortable, but have you considered how uncomfortable you made HIM feel?? Even as a photographer, I would be unsure of the motives of anyone I saw pointing a camera at my house and watch what they were doing, wouldn't you?

Just because we have a legal right to shoot what we want in public places, doesn't mean that others won't feel threatened by it, and react accordingly.

[thebishopp]

I would of taken a picture of him. In any case you were there for quite some time, based on what you said, and it seems the police didn't think that it was a big deal if they never showed up LOL. Then again the guy was probably bluffing.

[shaner123]

Originally Posted by sandpiper

I can't see the police being particularly interested, if all he did was follow you and threaten to call the police. He clearly wasn't engaged in any illegal activity, rather he saw someone wandering around the back alleys where he lives and taking photographs for a purpose he was unaware of.

As a photographer, I can understand your motives. To Joe Public your actions would look very suspicious and with quite possible criminal intent. With that in mind, you can hardly blame him for watching what you were getting up to.

You have a right to shoot in public places, he has a right to keep an eye on someone he believes may be involved in dodgy activity around where he lives. Yes, he made you feel uncomfortable, but have you considered how uncomfortable you made HIM feel?? Even as a photographer, I would be unsure of the motives of anyone I saw pointing a camera at my house and watch what they were doing, wouldn't you?

Just because we have a legal right to shoot what we want in public places, doesn't mean that others won't feel threatened by it, and react accordingly.

i definably understand that he just looking out for the neighborhood but i don't think he has the right to follow me around for that long, if i follow someone around for 20 min taking photos could i not be charged for harassment?

[sandpiper]

Originally Posted by shaner123

i definably understand that he just looking out for the neighborhood but i don't think he has the right to follow me around for that long, if i follow someone around for 20 min taking photos could i not be charged for harassment?

Hard to say, it depends on a lot of factors. You didn't ask him to leave you alone (you say you just ignored him) so it would be hard to say he was harassing you. Any charge of harassment would depend on motivation and the reaction of the 'victim'.

Following someone you suspect may be about to commit a criminal act, particularly when they don't seem to be concerned with you doing it, is unlikely to get you charged with harassment. Similarly, following someone and taking their photo is equally unlikely to be a problem - IF THEY AREN'T OBJECTING. On the other hand, to continue to do so if they were screaming at you to leave them alone, may be cause for a charge of harassment or breach of the peace.

I am not saying you did anything wrong here, you were within the law to do as you did. I am just saying that I don't think, under the circumstances, the other guy was doing anything wrong either. Humans are highly territorial around their homes and will react to anybody acting (from their point of view) in a highly suspicious manner.

This is just one of those things that you have to get used to working in an urban environment. Non-photographers will not understand why you are taking shots in what, to them, isn't something that would make a good photograph.

[CreedThoughts]

The man was just trying to watch out for his community. Burglars typically scope out areas/houses before they rob them, by lurking around long enough to get a feel of people's schedule and when people will be not home. If I wasn't sure you were taking photos for art work I'd be suspicious of you too.

It would be interesting if some burglars actually disguised themselves as photographers in order to stick around without seeming suspicious.

[shaner123]

i know his intentions were good, all he had to do was come and ask me what was going on. i would have explained to him my project

but ya, i realize his intentions were good
he sure did manage to make me feel uncomfortable

[thebishopp]

Originally Posted by shaner123

i know his intentions were good, all he had to do was come and ask me what was going on. i would have explained to him my project

but ya, i realize his intentions were good
he sure did manage to make me feel uncomfortable

Hard to say what his "rights" were in your neck of the world. He probably had just as much right to follow you around as you had to walk around the neighborhood. I think he might of crossed into harassment once he began repeatedly shouting at you.

And he shouldn't of made you feel uncomfortable unless you are saying he gave you the impression he would physically assault you.

In any case the next time you may just go ahead and call the police yourself and say, "hey, I'm taking pictures of alleys for a photo project and there is this guy following me around in his car yelling at me".

[shaner123]

Originally Posted by sandpiper

Non-photographers will not understand why you are taking shots in what, to them, isn't something that would make a good photograph.

this is a good point, a few years ago i was taking photos of a tree on a back road.. from the road and some farmer told me to stop taking pictures of his land, but this guy just shouted at me and then left me alone, but ya i think he was wondering why anyone would take a photo of a tree..

the guy today probably had no idea why anyone would take a photo of an alley!

[dlr328]

post some pics of the alley ways...

[shaner123]

ts a study of time, looking down these alleys one feels as if they could go on forever. ive decided to make it a series. im not sure how im going to display them.

i have a problem though, ive gone at different times of the day but the nature of these alleys is that they seem to always have strong shadows. i might try to lighten them up in photoshop but i do want to keep a high contrast.

please c&c

[shaner123]

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