be careful of ur nuts dude, Last time I tried such stunts, I got chased by an apprx 200lbs Bull mastiff

I was threatened with injury and death yesterday when I was taking pictures of a commercial building - from a sidewalk! It was probably the most intense moment of my life - the guy was on PCP or was 'roid raging or something. Every muscle in his body was tensed while he screamed at me for 20 minutes, a millimeter away from my face (I simply couldn't let myself back down, out of sheer stupidity because I didn't want to be told what to do by a complete stranger with no authority over me).

I waited around for a cop car to drive by, but nothing. I might go back there today to see what happens, but I'll leave my camera at home this time. I can't believe how I was treated.... remember, this was a commercial building, which houses a chiropractor's office and a vocational training school. For all this guy knew, I could have been a client.

I've been kicked out of many places for taking photos before (that happens when your two ex-girlfriends of 7 years are pro photographers) but this was crazy. It's made me think twice.

There's a lawyer from Oregon who's taken the time to collect the applicable US laws regarding photography in public and post them in a handy pamphlet, perfect for printing and waving in the face of abusive cops and security guards. You can find it here: The Photographer's Right

Holz.box's story reminded me of going to look at a Frank Lloyd Wright house in California. I stealthily drove up the long driveway, snapped a few pictures, then started backing up when I saw a very tall man come out of the house.

He waved and rushed at the car, so I had to stop. As it turns out, it was the very proud original owner, and invited me in to look at the house. He had just gotten a beautiful set of Nakashima furniture for the dining room. I'll never forget it. Strange and surreal.

I find the best solution is to turn around taking random pictures of everything else...throws them off guard. They tend to think you are harmless at that point

my semi illegal entries [i think posted before somewhere else]:

gsw in berlin [just walk in, don't ask questions and get into the elevator- got to go up to the roof]

mvrdv's silodam in amsterdam- was finishing construction, some units already inhabited. again, just walk in - i don't remember if i just followed some construction guy. also got up to the roof, and then went down one of the stairs into one of the patios of one of the still deserted units. doors were locked.

giuseppe terragni housing in milano- waited until concierge turned around [after telling me not to go in] and went somewhere else. walked in, upstairs, knocked on random apartment to see if i could find simpathetic, arch-student friendly person. found terrorized maid. concierge found me out. escorted me out, then proceeded to hit on me. italians.

herzog & de meuron housing in basel: asked random guy in the street for address, turned out he lived in one of the units. he invited me in, crossed fingers and followed. was really nice, his wife was cooking, they answered questions and let me take pics of his apartment. didn't push it and did not stay for dinner [wasn't asked either]

h&dm's plywood house in basel: just took pics from afar. sort of hard to reach.

my strategy: play the girl card. i look harmless, and foreign [i could be anything, i'm half chinese half latin american]. be nice, ask politely. if you can't get in, you can't get in [with the exception of the italian concierge, who was just nasty and inspired me to trespass].

thanks for that link, 765, looks very useful!

i worked for a guy who was unknowingly taking pics of tony the big tuna accardo's house, which i think was in kenilworth, north of chicago...

aml, it's funny you mentioned basel, the houses i was invited to were all michael alder and the zumthor projects in the basel suburbs. if you thought the plywood house was hard to reach, the alder houses were even harder. when were you there?

i sometimes say i am doing location scouting for a movie, if i am asked. in los angeles most people are friendly to the movie industry thinking that they might make pretty easy money if their building is used for a movie. people are also very accepting if you tell them you are an architect or an architecture student.
if it gets really hairy, drop the photo project or be the one who calls the cops.
always be aware where the property lines are though...

Today I took a picture of this house. We approached it carefully, snapping away, getting closer and closer. We were almost in the small courtyard when we noticed a letter-sized warning in the window stating that the hose was under video surveillance and trespassing would result in armed response. We left. Not because we believed it (well, sort of), but because we respected the sentiment.

I should add that it did not appear to be in use as we stayed across from it and noticed no cars all weekend (it's a retreat).

slantsix, i got yelled at recently by a security guard in boston--and i wasn't even taking pics of his building! not only that, but i was standing squarely on the public sidewalk at the time, so i was in no mood to be patient at all with his totally false claim that i "wasn't allowed to" and he was gonna call the cops. i told him to go right ahead, and then turned right back around and took more pictures only inches from him. i knew he couldn't attempt to take my camera or touch me because i could get him for assault. it's ridiculous... how many thousands of tourists take pictures of buildings in downtown boston every year? such a lie. of course no cop came. normally my m.o. is to be super sweet and friendly and little-girlish--playing the sexist card can come in handy, i hate to admit--but this time i wanted none of my time wasted.

i was ordered by a soviet guard to stop taking pictures of a building just outside dresden that was being used as a soviet camp (1990). too bad, because it's still one of my all-time favorite buildings. just for spite i snapped another shot as i jumped on the streetcar to leave town.

holz, way back when in the summer of 2002.

not a trespassing story, but my last day in paris i knew i was in the neighborhood of the maison de verre but did not have the exact address. i paused for a minute to 'resign myself' to not seeing it. i looked to my right, exactly where i was standing. there it was! if i hadn't stopped, i would have missed it, since it's inside a courtyard. was not able to go inside the house, but did get some shots from the courtyard.