Some people, obviously given too much power with too little minds, start to act pompously and become full of air. Hot air. Once such person was the Photo Police.
There I was, enjoying my lunch break by engaging in a hobby - photography. The fall colours at UofT are brilliant, and I needed some wallpapers for my desktop.
"Excuse me, you are not allowed to take pictures."
I turned. It was a tiny little lady in the official UofT parking police uniform.
"You will need a license to take pictures here. I will have to ask you to stop."
I looked at her as if she was talking in Greek.
"No pictures. Shut off your camera."
Now I took a step towards her. When dealing with pompous figures of authority I have found it pays to be polite. Very polite. You cannot get angry or they can cause hassles.
But if you know your rights and you know you are in the right, you can be firm. Polite, but firm. And having dealt with web developers here I knew perfectly well I wasn't committing a federal crime. And it pays to use big words - a trick I learnt from The Three Investigators' Jupiter Jones.
"I am taking pictures of a public property from my personal camera for my personal usage. I am neither engaging in a monetarily beneficial action nor taking any matrimonial photographs. There are no actual physical manifestation of any person in these pictures except myself. I don't see how you can ask me to stop engaging in what is purely a tourist activity."
She looked at me as if I was from Mars.
Then she impatiently waved her hand and said, "Ok, but wrap it up quickly." Then she left.
They should really give these Photo Police something useful to do.
Front Lawn At ARC
Rez Center
Knox College
Knox College Residence Outer Wall
Colors of St. George
Lovely yellow at Sanford Fleming
University College
Tags: Fall UofT
3 comments:
Wonderful pictures. Taking pictures here in the Metro DC area can cause issues as well, even to a white guy like me.
Lovely pics of a familiar place. You forgot Con Hall. ;-)
Great pics!!
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