What makes you think that they would have given me permission to take pictures of their equipment, when they went out of their way to tell me to leave public land to stop me from taking pictures? From what I read of the people who talked to me, they wouldn't have allowed me to even with permission. But I suppose that's just my opinion.
I never said they they were out of line by asking what I was doing there. That's fine by me. We were polite with eachother, and I didn't allow things to escalate. What does bother me, is that I was not allowed to take pictures from a public road.
Should we need permission to take pictures of trains, airplanes, bridges, airports and the like? These things are very commonly photographed items.
Why should I be treated like a terrorist when I'm just a hobbyist out to take a few pictures? The majority of railfan pictures are taken off of railroad property, and no permission is required, as it shouldn't have been in my case. I purposelly shot out in the open to dispel any worries that I might be doing something shady. I wanted to be seen. I wasn't hiding in a ditch on the side of the tracks, half obscured by leaves. I was standing next to my white car in the wide open.
No, I do not wish harm upon anybody, and I would not like to see a terrorist staking out a target on the rails. However, where do you draw the line on what one can photograph from public property? There were several houses facing this rail installation, and anyone living there could sit on their porches all day and watch the trains. However, I got told to leave the side of a public road because I happened to be holding a camera.
I guess this sort of thing just won't strike home until you are personally harassed for something like this. I know I didn't think much of the cases I'd heard of until it happened to me.
