Shooting in unsafe environments...

[xfloggingkylex]

Taking photo's wouldn't be against the law.....but pulling you in to find out what your up to wouldn't be either.
I'd definantly go the alerting the Security people from the facilty route.
I've been questioned twice.....both times by security people.....not police. Once at a convention center and another time at a yard where they are building an off shore drilling rig. They justed wanted to know what I was doing....and went into detailed explanation of the composition of the shot..and why I wanted it....they kind of looked at me like "too much info"....and let me go on my way.

but it is against the law if you are taking photos of a military base or a nuclear facility, reguardless if you are on public property.

 

[memorex88]

I'd like to see a daytime pic of this bridge that's 300 feet over a river!

 

[Michael Humle]

Puy simply...when in doubt...ASK!

 

[Mr Avid]

heres a pretty good legal primer.

http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm

 

[Soocom1]

My two cents on this:
1: The Prohibition is against Nuclear Sites if the DoE says no. (From Krages's site:

There are some exceptions to the
general rule. A significant one is that
commanders of military installations
can prohibit photographs of specific
areas when they deem it necessary to
protect national security. The U.S.
Department of Energy can also prohibit
photography of designated
nuclear facilities although the publicly
visible areas of nuclear facilities are
usually not designated as such.
​

Permissible Subjects​

Despite misconceptions to the contrary,
the following subjects can
almost always be photographed lawfully
from public places:
accident and fire scenes
children
celebrities
bridges and other infrastructure
residential and commercial buildings
industrial facilities and public utilities
transportation facilities (​

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e.g., airports)
Superfund sites
criminal activities
law enforcement officers​

2: Remember that when you are talking about something that big, it will inevitably be photographed some how with out permission. The real trick is the sale of any said photographs. That is where the real problems start.
As it is mentioned above, the DoE has its own set of rules, but just prohibiting said photography of a facility from a distance, and that to which is seen is generally acceptable.
By the way: DO NOT LET THEM TRY THE PATRIOT ACT ARGUMENT ON YOU. Nothing in the patriot act prohibits you from photographing anything.
Full text of the patriot act:
http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html
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