Rules and guidelines for shooting at certain places

[SnappingShark]

So I want to take my semi-new 70-200 to the airport and shoot some planes!

I've never done this before, and given I am not a citizen in the U S of A, I wanted to cover my ass!

So I emailed the airport. My email got bounced around and finally landed in the right spot.

I've been asked what I'll be doing with the photographs once I'm done. I said nothing, they're just for me to enjoy the lens with and get practice.

Nothing else has been discussed besides this - for example they haven't told me where I can or cannot shoot from, so I am expecting to be shooting from just beyond the fence. Which is still airport property.

Boring story, but leads me to my question, which is:
What have been the STRICTEST rules you have ever been given in terms of shooting?

 

[Gavjenks]

Well clearly the strictest rules simply = "No you can't shoot from our property at all."

Not sure I understand the question.

 

[Nevermore1]

I doubt you will be allowed to shoot from any part of the airport property. I would look for an office building or park that is in the flight path and take your photos from there. I don't know which airport you are near so I can't say for sure if this idea would work or not. In the DC area the two major airports either have a public park or other easy place to get photos from (for instance my office building is along the flight path for one of the runways). I'd check out the area.

If you are looking to get shots of the planes on the ground I think you may be out of luck unless you know someone who has clearance and can get you access (like a pilot or driver for FedEx/UPS).

 

[SnappingShark]

Well clearly the strictest rules simply = "No you can't shoot from our property at all."

Not sure I understand the question.

OK smartass - what have been the strictest GUIDELINES.

For example - yes, feel free to shoot, but be sure not to get X in a shot, or you must blur out any other brand name....

 

[DSRay]

The absolute best rule is that it is better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission.

Last weekend I went into a hospital to photograph the huge reception area fully expecting to be booted out but when a security guard finally showed up he was all interested and very helpful. The next stop was an office building where I was immediately harassed by a security guard for parking in a guest spot in an empty parking area at 2:00 on Sunday afternoon. Go figure.

 

[Braineack]

shoot whatever the hell you want from a public space.

 

[Gavjenks]

If you are looking to get shots of the planes on the ground I think you may be out of luck unless you know someone who has clearance and can get you access (like a pilot or driver for FedEx/UPS).

Many airports have ground level gates, with windows, that allow you to photograph planes from a perspective other than the casual 2nd story situation.

For people without special ground clearance, simply looking up a map of an airport and the locations of those gates in comparison to areas of interest like the landing strip, and then going to the airport many hours earlier than normal for a booked flight might deliver sufficient results, honestly.

Also, airports near waterways and coasts tend to have landing strips very very close to public property, like beaches. Some brief googling and street viewing, etc. could locate ones where you might be able to get within 50-100 yards of the most active tarmac areas, and with vantage points sufficient to look over fences. There's one famous one where you can even get within like 25 yards of the tarmac, the planes go directly overhead, and the jetwash is so close that some people like to hold onto the chainlink fence on the beach and feel the force of it try to throw them off. I don't think that's in the United States though.

Sometimes airports also go over or underneath public roadways. I believe O'Hare for instance has part of it's taxiways going directly over an interstate. Don't know if there's a sidewalk or other walkable area near it, but if so, you could get within like 20 feet of any number of planes, albeit from a somewhat odd below perspective.

 

[SCraig]

Ask them if they have an aircraft viewing area. We do here and it has an excellent unobstructed view of one of the main runways. It isn't in a place that would put a viewer in any danger and it is a really nice place to watch the airplanes come and go. The only downside is that it is also far enough away that in summer the heat waves ruin photographs.

 

[NjStacker22]

I was at a nascar race in Dover, DE. I was tailgating in a big open field when all of the sudden a Blackhawk came down and landed right in the back of the field. So here I am thinking this is awesome and I grab my camera and start shooting (I was a good distance away shooting w/ my 55-250) when all of the sudden I see 3-4 soldiers get out and start waiving me down. Scared ****less I walk over and what do they do? Offer me a shoot of the BlackHawk.... BUT major restrictions. They would not let me shoot the cockpit for obvious reasons and wouldn't let me shoot it from certain angles, etc. I talked with all of them for about 20 minutes while I sat inside. Awesome experience.

 

[KmH]

They would not let me shoot the cockpit for obvious reasons and wouldn't let me shoot it from certain angles, etc.

I wonder why?

Insturment panel of a Blackhawk helicopter - Bing Images
Cockpit of a Blackhawk helicopter - Bing Images

 

[NjStacker22]

They would not let me shoot the cockpit for obvious reasons and wouldn't let me shoot it from certain angles, etc.

I wonder why?

Insturment panel of a Blackhawk helicopter - Bing Images
Cockpit of a Blackhawk helicopter - Bing Images

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. Now that's interesting :/

 

[unpopular]

shoot whatever the hell you want from a public space.

Exactly. But don't confuse a police officer or security guard asking questions for harassment. The police can question you even if you aren't breaking the law - just like anyone else can.

 

[Gavjenks]

They would not let me shoot the cockpit for obvious reasons and wouldn't let me shoot it from certain angles, etc.

I wonder why?

Insturment panel of a Blackhawk helicopter - Bing Images
Cockpit of a Blackhawk helicopter - Bing Images

A guess: The specific settings or readouts of the instruments at a specific time while in actual operation might give insights into their mission that could not be gleaned from a government-approved meaningless or random or long-since-passed or default storage selection of settings?

 

[minicoop1985]

shoot whatever the hell you want from a public space.

Exactly. But don't confuse a police officer or security guard asking questions for harassment. The police can question you even if you aren't breaking the law - just like anyone else can.

You have the right not to answer their questions, but it really doesn't help. Get the wrong cop, and suddenly you're very, very suspicious to him if you don't answer. If you're just taking photos, they'll generally be understanding. If you really do have the wrong cop, well, not much I can really recommend here.

 

[unpopular]

Don't "not answer" arbitrarily. People get it into their heads that they have to assert their rights this way. If some non-cop person asks what you're talking a photo of, you'd answer them. Obviously, if some non-cop person asks to go through your bag or insist on letting them look at the photos, you'd tell them no. Same goes for the police.

There's just no sense in making private that which isn't just because a cop is asking.