They are always watching you.
I had several visits on this shoot: the first one from the property owner where I had parked my vehicle in the drive of an abandoned house. He was sweet as could be and said he saw my car and thought I might have broken down. After receiving his blessing for being there, it wasn't a couple minutes later, a guy in a tow truck and another man in a pickup pull up next to my car. As it turns out, the tow truck guy was the neighbor on the other side of this property and was not quite as sweet as the owner (evidently, the other guy was his backup in case I was more than he could handle). By the time I took this shot, it was completely dark (to the human eye), and I had a hard time convincing him that there was anything of value to photograph here. He seemed to think I could be a part of a string of burglaries that had been taking place in the area recently. I didn't think my Camry Hybrid or myself presented with such a malicious vibe, but I'm pretty intimidating when paired with my long black jacket and tripod. Sometimes I forget that (totally joking, btw). Anyways, even after telling him I had the blessing of the owner, it still took some persuading before his demeanor softened a bit and he begrudgingly gave me the green light to continue. I left in about five or ten minutes, however, seeing the obvious unease I had instilled in these two men. It is their home, after all. I can respect that and understand his trepidation to a degree (and I know how to pick my battles - this wasn't one of them). This, and the fact that that same gentleman was parked in his driveway with his lights on in his car after our conversation, watching me the entire time. Something about that can be a bit unnerving, but he probably knew that. I found the two, completely opposite responses of these two men (the owner and the latter) very interesting. I guess it's my background in Psychology that makes me contemplate these things. The first man's instinct was along the lines of, "what can I do to help this unknown person that is possibly in need," versus the second gentleman's, "what threat could this person pose to me or my land," reaction. And while I do understand the my last visitors concern, I hope that I tend to lean toward the assumptions of the property owner. It seems more optimistic overall and a much more positive way to look at life in general. After all, it is the people who's first reaction is to serve others (and assume "goodness" before "badness" of the human condition) that are generally the ones that are most satisfied with their life as a whole.
This was the last shot I took right after that conversation (unedited). It was right around the end of nautical dusk (around 45 min. to an hour after sunset), in between Gainesville and Sanger, Texas immediately west of Interstate 35. Natural light and light from the streetlamp behind me. I like the way the residual dusk and streetlights played into the photo, although I don't think it's my very favorite one in the whole set (but it had the most interesting story to go with it). I offered to show a few shots to the guy that seemed so unsettled, thinking it might allay his fears about my intentions, but he declined my offer.
They are always watching you.
I had several visits on this shoot: the first one from the property owner where I had parked my vehicle in the drive of an abandoned house. He was sweet as could be and said he saw my car and thought I might have broken down. After receiving his blessing for being there, it wasn't a couple minutes later, a guy in a tow truck and another man in a pickup pull up next to my car. As it turns out, the tow truck guy was the neighbor on the other side of this property and was not quite as sweet as the owner (evidently, the other guy was his backup in case I was more than he could handle). By the time I took this shot, it was completely dark (to the human eye), and I had a hard time convincing him that there was anything of value to photograph here. He seemed to think I could be a part of a string of burglaries that had been taking place in the area recently. I didn't think my Camry Hybrid or myself presented with such a malicious vibe, but I'm pretty intimidating when paired with my long black jacket and tripod. Sometimes I forget that (totally joking, btw). Anyways, even after telling him I had the blessing of the owner, it still took some persuading before his demeanor softened a bit and he begrudgingly gave me the green light to continue. I left in about five or ten minutes, however, seeing the obvious unease I had instilled in these two men. It is their home, after all. I can respect that and understand his trepidation to a degree (and I know how to pick my battles - this wasn't one of them). This, and the fact that that same gentleman was parked in his driveway with his lights on in his car after our conversation, watching me the entire time. Something about that can be a bit unnerving, but he probably knew that. I found the two, completely opposite responses of these two men (the owner and the latter) very interesting. I guess it's my background in Psychology that makes me contemplate these things. The first man's instinct was along the lines of, "what can I do to help this unknown person that is possibly in need," versus the second gentleman's, "what threat could this person pose to me or my land," reaction. And while I do understand the my last visitors concern, I hope that I tend to lean toward the assumptions of the property owner. It seems more optimistic overall and a much more positive way to look at life in general. After all, it is the people who's first reaction is to serve others (and assume "goodness" before "badness" of the human condition) that are generally the ones that are most satisfied with their life as a whole.
This was the last shot I took right after that conversation (unedited). It was right around the end of nautical dusk (around 45 min. to an hour after sunset), in between Gainesville and Sanger, Texas immediately west of Interstate 35. Natural light and light from the streetlamp behind me. I like the way the residual dusk and streetlights played into the photo, although I don't think it's my very favorite one in the whole set (but it had the most interesting story to go with it). I offered to show a few shots to the guy that seemed so unsettled, thinking it might allay his fears about my intentions, but he declined my offer.