Mecworks

UPDATES posted at bottom..

So, I’m really upset about something that happened last night.

I’m taking a couple photography classes through UVSC’s community education program which I have really enjoyed. Both classes are on lighting - one on natural light and the other on studio/artificial lighting. When I got home from work I wanted to do something fun and relaxing so I took my camera and my photography books out on the balcony to practice and a little. I was taking pictures of some of the plants I recently hung to attract more humming birds (which by the way, hasn’t worked from what I can tell).

I think I must have been out there for at least 45 minutes when I heard a loud knock at the door. To my surprise, there were two police officers standing there. One was a woman and the other, a male. Apparently one or more neighbors who had seen some flashes and possibly my camera (which was mounted on a tripod, pointed upwards toward the plants) thought I was taking pictures of kids in the condo pool and had called the police. I immediately realized how suspicious it all looked and feel very stupid for doing it in the first place.

The pool by the way, while across from my balcony, is separated by a sidewalk, a small green space and blocked from my view by a large pine tree (I doubt that these facts can be realized from the ground or the perspective from adjacent condos).

The view of the pool, or rather lack there of, from my balcony. (Click here to enlarge)

The officers questioned me a little and I explained that I was taking some photography classes and that I was just doing some testing with my camera and flash. I offered to show them my camera and the pictures I had taken. She saw the pictures and also immediately saw the books on photography sitting in the chair next to me which she commented on - “Oh yeah - there’s your books right there”. They realized that it was all just a mis-understanding. She then complimented me on my photos that I had shown them. I thought that was kind of strange because they are not great photos in my opinion, just some experiments with different positions of the flash, changes in aperture and shutter speed and flash settings, etc. I don’t really like any that I took. I think complimenting me was just a way for her to show that she wasn’t looking at me with any kind of suspicion anymore.

The two officers were only in my place for 5 minutes at the most. But the whole event has made me very uneasy and I’m feeling very depressed. One of my concerns is what the neighbors are thinking. The officers said they would talk to them and explain to them what was going on. Despite this, I am still totally worried what they might be thinking. Regardless of what the officers told them, people tend to have their own ideas, first impressions and suspicions. I’m worried that they may think the worse still. The rumor mill in a condo community is terrible - someone breathes wrong and everyone seems to know about it the next day.

Unfortunately in our society, labels or rumors of any type of deviant behavior are ones that tend to stick regardless of their truthfulness. I’m obviously a proponent of watching out for and protecting children in our society! Unfortunately, in cases like this. people are quick to judge, have a long memories and are quite untrusting and unforgiving when it comes to their mis-perceptions.

With all this happening and feeling very weird at the moment, I am stressed about something else - I have my first wedding to shoot tomorrow. It’s my boss’s daughter. There are two photographers - me and one of my co-workers. I hope we’ll get some good photos. I’m afraid I won’t be able to concentrate as well as I should.

So, has something like this happened to anyone else? Any advice? Any suggestions? Similar experiences? Post a comment.

By the way, here are some of the pictures I took. There were more but they are all multiples of the following with different exposures, lighting angles, etc. So, I’ll post one of each series:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UPDATE Thu Jun 28 23:08:34 MDT 2007:

Stopped by the police department tonight on my way home from a 20 mile bicycle ride this evening. The officers that came to my house last night weren’t in but I talked with the dispatcher. She was really nice and helpful. She read the report that was files and it stated the same as what I explained above - that I was testing my camera equipment, that I was taking pictures of the plants on my balcony and that the pool wasn’t even visible from the balcony. So, that wasn’t my real concern because the officers and I had discussed that very thing. What I wanted to talk to them about was if they had a chance to talk with the people who had reported it and how that conversation had gone. So, since they were not in tonight, the dispatcher asked if I could come back tomorrow.

I also was able to talk to my family a couple friends and to my instructor at UVSC about it. It was good to be able to talk to them. A couple had been in similar situations or had heard of things like this happening before.

UPDATE Fri Jun 29 07:56:52 MDT 2007:

Added picture of the view (or lack there of) to pool area from my balcony. I just thought it would be nice for you to see what a beautiful pine tree I have growing outside my window :)

UPDATE Sat Jun 30 07:36:18 MDT 2007:

Well, I stopped by the police station last night and talked with officer Johnson who was really nice. I asked her if she was able to talk with the neighbors at all and explain what was going on. She said that she had and that they were actually embarrassed that they had called in the first place. So, that’s where we are. Things seemed to be cleared up.