1) Because I’m not you, and I don’t bend over for anyone just because they are in a position of authority.
2) I have the right to do so.
3) I wasn’t being asked “not to take pictures”, I was TOLD that I couldn’t, and chose to show these parties otherwise. I challenge anyone to order me to delete footage off my camera, which I won’t, because I want to use it in court when I have to defend myself.

This isn’t a police state, and it’s not 1970’s chain gang Alabama or Mississippi. “Just ‘cuz da boss” tell you to do something, Jeff do you always do it? Do you always take someone’s word for gospel, or worse yet, that an authority actually knows the laws which they are bound to enforce? Or are you that gullible to believe that what they’re feeding you is truth? I don’t. I educate myself. I’m allowed to take photos of anything except military establishments, and I try to stray away from nuclear facilities.

Newsflash – Until you grow some & “start acting them (your ideas) out”, so long as they’re legal, you’re always going to be a sheep. People like you are the reason we lose rights in this country, because you ask “How high?” when someone says “JUMP boy!” rather than (figuratively) sticking your foot up his ass.

If you had read the entire post, you would see that local and state law dictates this particular property is open to the public to enjoy, be that reading a book, having a smoke, drinking a coffee, and even…gasp…taking a photograph.

As you can tell from the other commentators, this type of wrongful denial of our rights happens very often, and all over the country. I am proud to stick up for not only my own personal rights, but the rights of fellow photographers.

I hope that helps clear up your misunderstanding of a free society governed by law and not the whimsy of a few individuals.

thank you for pointing this out to me.

There are two things I don’t tolerate in this country, as we approach “police state” status more & more with every passing year:

1) Don’t ignore me or lie to me, if you expect me to play ball. You may be a paranoid target, but that doesn’t give you the right to disregard my rights. That is, these companies should educate themselves & learn that “Homeland Security” doesn’t deny me the right to photograph their property from outside the perimeter.

2) Don’t tell me that I’m “not allowed” or give some bullshit “Homeland Security” excuse as a reason for denying me the right to photograph your property from OUTSIDE your propery, or as was the case in my scenario above, PUBLIC property.

Homeland Security is meant for the creatons who run away when approached for taking photos, or those who are sneaking around places where they should not be. I was parked on private property (with permission), taking photos from a public road of a train crossing the same public road. If you have a problem with that, you have serious authority problems. I’m not a sheep that buys into the “run scared” mentality that our nation has become.

Homeland Security is a farce, and quite frankly, hasn’t changed ANY rules about photography.

At Channahon, Illinois in June 2006 I was hassled by workers at a (then) Ineos Styrenics chemical plant along the Des Plaines River. This is a former BASF facility, which produces plastic pellets from inbound chemicals such as Styrene Monomer Inhibited (a known volatile substance).

After photographing an adjacent customer who had their own locomotive, I had briefly checked in with the security at Ineos with the sole inquiry being if they had their own locomotive. The lady came out, and gave me the cold shoulder, and said “she wasn’t aware of anyone in the plant who could help me”. I drove off, with other scheduled stops on my agenda.

On my way south via I-55, heading back to my hotel near Kankakee, I spotted a yellow locomotive switching railcars at the plant above. I detoured down to the next exit & backtracked to the chemical plant, catching the locomotive in question CROSSING A PUBLIC STREET along the south side of Ineos’ plant. After attaining permission, I parked in the nearby company’s yard and waited for this engine to make a few moves across the road so I could get some photos. I took many photos, as this locomotive was undocumented by friends who record such information.

After a few passes, a fellow walked down to the fence line. He & the engineer had a brief conversation & fingers were being pointed in my direction. After driving around to the other side of the PUBLIC ROAD CROSSING and photographing some different angles, the engineer stopped in the middle of the road crossing to chastize me about “photographing the chemical plant’s locomotive” and that “the police are on the way”. I gave him a piece of my mind, and when he shoved clear of the PUBLIC ROAD CROSSING, the first Sheriff had already arrived. I pulled over into the lot that I’d been shooting from before, and the Sheriff turned around. We exchanged information, he was rather quiet about the whole mess.

A more senior officer arrived at the scene, this being the officer who took the call from dispatch. He was somewhat pissed, telling me that, “If I wanted to shoot photographs of trains, there are plenty OTHERS around”. I told him I understand that, but I was interested in this particular one, and that I’d made an effort to discuss with the company earlier if they had a locomotive. I think he was more pissed about the fact he had to come out because of such a bogus call.

The fireworks started when the same plant employee who radioed the engineer came down & started yelling at me, stating that “I’m not allowed to shoot pictures of their chemical plant OR their locomotive!”. I told him, as long as that engine is being shot FROM public property, you can go to hell buddy. Now get the f**k outta my face!”. The elder cop got shitty with me, threatening disorderly conduct on my part. Cooler heads prevailed, and we all left without penalty. I told the cop that I was more than willing to wait for them, because I’m aware of my rights & I’m doing nothing unlawful.

I’ve had similar instances at other locations since, but this was probably the worst of them in the 13 years I’ve been shooting. I’ve also heard of such people being detained by police for shooting chemical / petro facilities from public sidewalks or street sides with the threat of “Homeland Security” being thrown in their face, and demands being made that they hand over the media in which they photographed the subject.

Also as a contract Security Officer wich most of us are, we are only to Observe and Report, but due to ignorance or disregard on the clients side and due to the fact that the Contract Security is very competitive, they make Officers do stuff they are neither suppossed to or qualified to
do. You dealt with this jerks for a few minutes, imagine dealing with their savage attitudes for eight hours.

Also the Plaza in 555 and 101 California are private property but are also public access, so if they want to effectively enforce that no picture taking rule they need to make it a restricted access area. But don’t tell them that because they will want to kick your ass again!

I’ve worked with a lot of cops and there has only been one that was a dick.

In college, I always had a run-in with a certain cop while on the scenes of accidents or fires. Then he went to far. Then I earned a spot as a photographer at the Bowling Green Daily News, while still in college.

During a fire that destroyed an historic church, he told me “Stay in this one spot and if you move, I’ll take you in.”

My Chief Photographer, Joe Imel, showed up after that, I told him what was going on. He said he would talk with the cop. After a few minutes, Joe came back and said: I don’t know what you did to piss him off, but he’s standing his ground.

I looked around and saw about a dozen other photographers shooting and said to hell with it. I left the spot and started shooting. The cop saw me and just sneered.

I filed a complaint with the Chief of Police after I went to the office and processed my film and scanned my images.

Joe did ask me what the hell I was doing there. I said I had to skip class to shoot it. He just laughed.

Yeah, cops can be dicks, security guards are just assholes.

Happy shooting!

Just remind me how I hate authority.

As for the building, I’ve taken untold thousands of photos there myself with no warnings, threats or second glances. I’m usually in the company of my toddler, however, and she’s kind of mean so the guards probably just don’t want to mess with her.

Loving the new site, especially topics like these. Keep it up!

Its bad enough when hired thugs do this, check out what happens in the UK when you try to legally photograph a police officer…

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/21/kingsnorth-protester-arrests-video-complaint

please everyone head down to 555 and take loads of photos peacefully & legally, please please please…

they are stamping on your freedom in the name of freedom. don’t let them get away with it. but be peaceful and legal – lets see how much they try to bully when hundreds of cameras are pointed at them