Getting crazy looks?

How many of you get crazy looks from people when you are taking a picture of a plant,tree,etc. ? In the picture I posted on plantfiles for live oak, the guy in the pick-up at the bottom of the picture followed me around because he thought that I was taking a picture of him. I had to explain to him that I was taking a picture of the tree, not him. I would like to know if anybody else has had similar experiences.

Today. I jumped out to take pictures of trees that are now posted. I had to time the "shutter" to enact between passing vehicles, which slowed down or sped up because they knew they were crossing a line of Photographic sight, and didn't know why.

When I took pictures/acorns/leaves from a tree in a park, a fellow was standing outside of his front door to observe me.

It happens so often, I tend not to notice as much, but I've never been chased about! What did he say? Did he stroll up to you, or did you respond in explanation to the funny look across his face? Did you have to show him the picture as proof?

There was the gun-toting fellow today, but that didn't involve me taking pictures, it was more the fact that as a teen, I must be a threatening delinquent and novice criminal waiting to pounce on any old man to steal his NRA card.

Could you post a link to the PF Live oak if/when it is accepted?
K. James

http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/97434/

When I stop my pickup truck to ask the guy taking the tree pics what he's doing, I don't give him a crazy look. If it happens to me I just give the "evil eye", one eye-brow up, the other down and a bit of a squint. If the enquiries go further in a negative tone, I mumble & grunt. I usually get left alone to take the plant pics.

I get that ALL the time. When I'm down at Borough Hall taking pictures of the purple European beech there, the police will come out of the station underneath the tree and give me the evil eye. Once I even had to show them the pictures I'd taken to prove they were all about the trees.

http://www.coffeedrome.com/jtree2beech.html

I wonder if they know about my Web site. Hmm. Public property. I paid for that new building. I can take pictures if I want to. What's the big deal anyway?

Interesting discussion about pictures: I take a LOT of pictures, and not just of trees. There is a very large population of people here who are originally from Indonesia. Indonesian people LOVE to have their picture taken. Even when they inadvertently get into a picture, they will come up to me and thank me for honoring them! Americans NEVER do that. Americans cover their faces and make mean remarks, usually. I don't get that.

This guy just pulled up behind me and came up to my window and asked what I was taking a picture of. I did show him the picture and told him it was of the tree. Maybe he thought I was a P.I. or something. LOL

More than a couple "old timers" have come up to me as I was planting trees on Township property and asked what I was doing. I stated what I thought was the obvious. Their answer, I kid you not, was " why would you want to do that, we have plenty in the forest?".

From time to time I take photos of plants that my MIL might like to have to show them to her so she can make a selection. I go in greenhouses all the time and pull plants down onto the floor and click away. I usually don't buy anything. Then I'll come back the next week and buy what she was interested in. I've had a few employees tell me that they were wondering why I was taking pictures of plants without buying them but no one has ever been meen to me. My MIL doesn't get around too well and no sense having a walker or a wheel chair trashing their plants that they need to sell to make ends meet. Normally when they hear that, they'll comment something to the effect of, "Ohhhh, thank you". Wheel chairs do damage in narrow aisles of plants and walkers aren't that much better. One nursery here teases me but gives me a senior citizen discount on plants I buy for Mom for NOT bringing her in their greenhouses. She wiped out a few plants on an endcap once.

From time to time I photograph plants specifically to add to the PlantFiles. Every once in a while someone will ask me why I want a photo of this or that and I just smile and tell them to share with my garden geek buddies and that seems to stop the interrogation.

Other than that, people have asked me if I knew I was photographing a weed. I smile and reply with a simple yes. People seem to leave me alone. I must not look threatening or intimidating and I've never had to show anyone the photos I've taken to prove they were of plants.

Funnier thing that happened was when I was on the side of the road taking photos of a damsefly that kept moving. A family had stopped for whatever reason and they saw me and tried to help me by coralling the damselfly. You can't coral a damselfly no matter how many people try to surround it to herd it toward you. They fly off. Another Kodak moment lost but they were good people and we all had a good laugh.

What was the reason for felling that glorious ancient purple beech in your website, Joulz?

From what I gather, terminal stupidity! Ken

New homeowners wanted to have a very large BACKyard. Personally, I would have put my house on some other lot rather than take out that gorgeous tree!

I think Ken hit it on the head-

Here I am again, late as usual. I need to stay home more!

There is another angle to think about -- stealth! I often use a Canon Pro-One 8-MP that has a tilting monitor. You can set it to face up, to take ground-level shots without lying on your belly. You can set it to face down, to reach high and shoot over the tops of fences or other obstructions. But you also can set it to face sideways. By doing that, you are facing at a right angle from your subject -- the REAL candid camera!

Guy S.

Fancy.
I can imagine you with a picnic basket, a small hole drilled in the side with a lens peeking through. Pretending to check on your food, you lift a lid and give the monitor a looking over before you steal the shot...

Hey, whatever works! But usually I just do that to avoid the inconvenience and delay of trying to explain myself in a situation where I doubt the onlooker will have much interest in the subject of trees. In other cases, some great new friendships can be built over "camera curiosity." I've been invited into the homes of rock stars, politicians, professors, ranchers, hermits, monks, fanatical gardeners, and other very interesting people all because I asked permission to shoot something in their yards and maybe offered a little tree information that they could use.

Guy S.

"Camera curiosity"....here is an exclusive shot of a famous person's shower curtain.........Dave........

Where did you ever find a shower curtain like that? Great find!

If I bought that shower curtain, my family would kick me out of the house for good. I LOVE it!

Ha.......this is great! I was wondering if I was the only one getting weird looks and more! I've been asked if I was.......a real estate broker, PI, loan agent, surveyor, lawyer, appraiser.....and more. I haven't been chased yet, though! I just laugh and tell them I'm a landscape designer and take pics of good specimen plants to show my clients because they can't imagine what the plant/tree will really look like in their yard. You are all welcome to that one, but be prepared..... people will ask you for your business card and start telling you about their landscaping woes! LOL I've actually gotten jobs that way! (may I recommend taking pics in affluent neighborhoods?)

K