Things I Learned at the Cemetery
Today I went to Forest Hills, as promised. As soon as I parked and got out of the car, I noticed a large group of folks on a walking tour. Which is awesome in a yay-Forest-Hills-fundraising sort of way, but annoying in the now-I-have-to-avoid-the-big-group aspect.
The tour was behind me at one point, so I ducked under one of the enormous trees near the pond - in an area that also has an art installation that doubles as chairs - with the idea of letting them pass and seeing which way they were going so I could head in the opposite direction.
Yeah, they weren't passing. They were coming right to where I was.
An awkward woman bearing the always-slightly-nervous/awkward disposition I've come to recognize in a whole lot of arts admin people and librarians/archivists (I say this having been in a LIS program for a year and a half) was walking over to me.
"Hi," she said, nervously. "Are you taking pictures?"
For the record, I was standing there with my D40 on top of my new giant tripod, with my big camera bag hanging off me.
"Yes," I said brightly, though I really wanted to say No, what pictures, I don't know what you're talking about.
"Do you have permission?"
Uh. No. I didn't know I needed permission, as I am not a professional photographer.
"No."
"I'm the curator here," at the point I interrupted her saying, OH WOW NEAT, I SERIOUSLY LOVE WHAT YOU'VE DONE WITH THE PLACE which, in retrospect, was probably bad timing, "You're supposed to get permission from the office prior to taking any pictures. They have a form."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know that. I've been coming here for years and thought it was only commercial photography that required permission."
"Oh, are these pictures just for your own use?"
"Yes." How swell would it be, I think momentarily, to make a living at photographing cemeteries?
"Oh, your setup looks very professional." Yes, quake with fear in the presence of my forty-dollar tripod! She went on to say that the fact that no one had ever said anything to me before spoke badly of their security (to their credit, the security dudes are in fact really good at leaving "DO NOT PARK ON THE GRASS" notes on my car if I park with a tire touching a single blade of grass).
"The tripod is actually new."
"Oh, well, in future it'd be nice if you came by on weekday and just got a permission form."
But I thought I didn't need one for non-commercial photography? Did she think I was lying? WHATEVER, nervous territorial curator-lady. "Yeah, sure."
Keep in mind that this WHOLE CONVERSATION took place in front of a tour of like twenty people. I beat it out of there and made tracks to a distant corner of the cemetery before I relaxed again.
So this is my lesson: apparently carrying a tripod makes you look like a professional photographer. The people who see you don't know about your extreme photographic inferiority complex, nor will they notice you haphazardly fumbling with tripod adjustments, swearing under your breath, and juggling lenses like a total noob. They see TRIPOD = PRO. Good to remember.
The irony is that the tripod was way more trouble than it was worth anyway, and was no better at getting the door pictures level than I am tripod-free.
So here's some pictures. Doors first; others later.
The tour was behind me at one point, so I ducked under one of the enormous trees near the pond - in an area that also has an art installation that doubles as chairs - with the idea of letting them pass and seeing which way they were going so I could head in the opposite direction.
Yeah, they weren't passing. They were coming right to where I was.
An awkward woman bearing the always-slightly-nervous/awkward disposition I've come to recognize in a whole lot of arts admin people and librarians/archivists (I say this having been in a LIS program for a year and a half) was walking over to me.
"Hi," she said, nervously. "Are you taking pictures?"
For the record, I was standing there with my D40 on top of my new giant tripod, with my big camera bag hanging off me.
"Yes," I said brightly, though I really wanted to say No, what pictures, I don't know what you're talking about.
"Do you have permission?"
Uh. No. I didn't know I needed permission, as I am not a professional photographer.
"No."
"I'm the curator here," at the point I interrupted her saying, OH WOW NEAT, I SERIOUSLY LOVE WHAT YOU'VE DONE WITH THE PLACE which, in retrospect, was probably bad timing, "You're supposed to get permission from the office prior to taking any pictures. They have a form."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know that. I've been coming here for years and thought it was only commercial photography that required permission."
"Oh, are these pictures just for your own use?"
"Yes." How swell would it be, I think momentarily, to make a living at photographing cemeteries?
"Oh, your setup looks very professional." Yes, quake with fear in the presence of my forty-dollar tripod! She went on to say that the fact that no one had ever said anything to me before spoke badly of their security (to their credit, the security dudes are in fact really good at leaving "DO NOT PARK ON THE GRASS" notes on my car if I park with a tire touching a single blade of grass).
"The tripod is actually new."
"Oh, well, in future it'd be nice if you came by on weekday and just got a permission form."
But I thought I didn't need one for non-commercial photography? Did she think I was lying? WHATEVER, nervous territorial curator-lady. "Yeah, sure."
Keep in mind that this WHOLE CONVERSATION took place in front of a tour of like twenty people. I beat it out of there and made tracks to a distant corner of the cemetery before I relaxed again.
So this is my lesson: apparently carrying a tripod makes you look like a professional photographer. The people who see you don't know about your extreme photographic inferiority complex, nor will they notice you haphazardly fumbling with tripod adjustments, swearing under your breath, and juggling lenses like a total noob. They see TRIPOD = PRO. Good to remember.
The irony is that the tripod was way more trouble than it was worth anyway, and was no better at getting the door pictures level than I am tripod-free.
So here's some pictures. Doors first; others later.