Fisherman's Paradise

in which the photographer gets accosted . . .

It was a beautiful sunny day on Saturday, and my husband and I went out for lunch and then took a stroll along Fisherman's Paradise near Bellefonte.

The fish and boat commission maintains a trout hatchery there. The creek is legendary for its fishing.

The buildings at Fisherman's Paradise sometimes host training events, and we came back from our hike to find a group of men practicing with rescue equipment near the parking lot.

My husband and I stopped on the bridge, and I took a few photos of Spring Creek and of the bridge itself. As I stood there, I heard a small, ruddy-faced man say, "Hey, she's got a camera!" He pointed to me. And then he asked his buddy in a sarcastic tone of voice, "What could there possibly BE to take pictures of!?"

As I stayed to snap a few more pictures, my husband turned and headed back to our car. As I left the bridge, the small, ruddy-faced man approached me aggressively. He got right up in my face: "WHAT could there possibly be here to take PICTURES of!?" And in an even nastier tone of voice, "Really, I WANT to be ENLIGHTENED!!"

I simply tucked my camera in my bag and then smiled sweetly at the man, as I gestured at the bridge. "The bridge has nice lines, especially in black and white. Isn't it lovely here?" And I pointed at the creek in the afternoon sun. Smiled again. Quietly left, as he stood there looking puzzled. Deflated.

This is not, by the way, the first time I've been accosted for taking pictures. I often take pictures on campus, and one beautiful day this past summer, I arrived at a meeting on campus, smiling, with my camera in my hands. The grim-faced woman sitting beside me asked me in a confrontational tone of voice, "You always have that camera. WHAT could you POSSIBLY be taking pictures of?"

And I replied with a big smile, "Oh, a little of this, a little of that. Oh . . . just about everything!"

She looked at me as though I were from the moon.

I think cameras bring out the worst in some people. There are the just plain paranoid, of course, who seem to fear cameras. And those who object on moral principles or fear it will capture their souls (which is very few, I suspect).

But I think more often, the question they are asking is this: "What are you seeing that is wonderful that I am missing?" Their hostility seems to be derived from a kind of certainty that there IS nothing wonderful to see.

And so the photographer must be playing some kind of cruel joke, pretending to see cooler things than everybody else; or maybe in some fit of actual delusions is seeing something better or other than what is really there.

As we got in the car and left, my husband asked, "Did you hear those guys asking about you taking pictures? Did they say anything to you?" He is very protective of me; gets very angry when he feels anyone is threatening me. So I replied dismissively, "Oh no. I just took a few pictures and walked away. No big deal."

His reply: "Well, maybe you missed it, but that little guy had a nasty tone of voice. I think he was a little paranoid about the whole camera thing."

"Nah," I said. "I did hear him say something about a camera. Maybe he was hoping for coverage by some big-time photographer. But his little event certainly wasn't important enough for that!" And then I laughed and changed the topic.

So, fellow photographers, have you ever been accosted while taking pictures? And if so, can you share a few of your favorite pithy responses? I think I may need to tuck a few away in my bag for the next time . . .