Shutter Sisters - Journal - No Trespassing

Saturday

Mar262011

No Trespassing

Saturday, March 26, 2011 by

I often find myself driving along, breaking my neck to check out some beautifully rustic piece of land, only to find a barbed wire fence and "No Trespassing" sign. Why do the most intriguing spots to photograph belong to someone else? There are times when I will risk the possibility of getting caught to get a good shot, but most of the time I'm too chicken. Of course, having a partner in crime seems to help calm my fears a bit, but that's not always convenient. And I am always on the lookout for beautiful locations to use for my portrait business, but tend to stick with public land in order to avoid the session getting cut short by an angry farmer or land owner.

So how do you find your favorite photo locations? Do you tend to stay with public spaces or are you brave enough to break the law for that perfect shot?

37 Comments

Reader Comments (37)

My boyfriend is a cop, a detective actually so he's in plain clothes. This isn't to say he goes to properties I want to photography with a badge and a gun, although that would be funny, well maybe not. Anyway, he's really good with people and he's gotten us onto properties and made friends with people just so that I can get a shot. I love him for always being my hero.

I love fences and he knows this, so he'll pull over and put on the charm as I snap away: http://www.kimberlygauthier.com/photography/lazy-sunday-photography-fences/936/

March 26, 2011 |

Through the Lens of Kimberly Gauthier

I always have my eye out for a new location. And I almost always have my camera. Last summer I asked to use a vintage bus that had a for sale sign on the window. The people who were selling it were totally cool about it. I always try to get permission. I definitely don't want to get shot. Had to hike a ways for this one because they had closed the area off to vehicles.

http://avanvlietphotography.blogspot.com/2011/03/james-orr-musician-magician.html

http://avanvlietphotography.blogspot.com/2011/03/james-orr-part-deux.html

March 26, 2011 |

Audra Van Vliet

I never cross a line as to what is not allowed, but I do wander off the main road...

March 26, 2011 |

Chantal

I hate these No trespassing signs.
And I sometimes ignore them, and I try to make friends with people who own interesting places.

My origin is Sweden and over there we have something called "Every-mans-right". It gives everyone the right to access common grounds and walk and camp on any land, with the exception of private gardens and land under cultivation. It also gives the right to pick wildflowers, mushrooms and berries provided one knows they are not legally protected, as well as the right to swim in any lake and put a boat on any water.

I am just in US temporarily (or at least that's my plan) it annoy me that I cant walk wherever I want in nature. There is so many beautiful possible photo locations around where I live in California and most of the time I cant access them.

But sometimes I just drive around looking for places that I actually can access and they are hard to find but they are out there.

March 26, 2011 |

Linda

Oh..I'm always wandering into places I shouldn't be. I've even been known to trespass into people's yards..desperate to capture the perfect shot:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/home/2011/3/23/beauty.html
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/home/2011/3/21/expecting-nothing.html

March 26, 2011 |

Marcie

I'm with Marcie about wandering in places I shouldn't be and I'd rather ask forgiveness than permission.

Living in the UK now where walkers have major rights makes it easier to get the photograph I want versus when I was in the US and had to worry about getting shot, as Audra said in her comment above.

Having a husband who isn't bothered by a shuttered window or closed door in an abandoned building makes me a bit braver too, like it did in this photograph inside a wreck of a church on the Isle of Skye in Scotland.

http://giftsofthejourney.wordpress.com/2009/04/05/resurrection-sunday-ghosts/

March 26, 2011 |

giftsofthejourney (Elizabeth Harper)

http://fingerontheshutter.com/

Having a husband who is the epitome of law abiding makes it difficult to give into my "outlaw" nature, so most of my shots (at least when we are together) are in the public domain. I do tend to wander off the beaten path when I'm alone. This shot is at a public park in Queens, NY.

March 26, 2011 |

Jill F

Where I live, it's rare to see No Trespassing signs, I have pretty much been free to wander onto property that "appears" to belong to no one ;-) I will take a risk when my camera won't have it any other way...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/darkangel71/5299976150/in/set-72157624807783520/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/darkangel71/5299376491/in/set-72157624807783520/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/darkangel71/5498041212/in/set-72157625042018751/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/darkangel71/5518576934/in/set-72157625042018751/

March 26, 2011 |

Kiersten

I have so many different places that I have seen that I would love to stop and take pictures of. There is an abandoned hotel that we pass on the highway covered in graffiti that I am dying to stop at, but my fear of getting in trouble tends to rule me. I need to ask my husband to help me out. Those types of rules never really ever hold him back, lol.

These pictures are the closest I have ever gotten. It was an old storage barn at an apple orchard. It helped that there were a bunch of other people there with me taking pictures too.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bearsefamily/5560505739/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bearsefamily/5030927475/in/photostream/

March 26, 2011 |

Morgen

I always ask. I'd hate for someone to waltz into my back yard and start snapping away without asking first, so imagine others would feel the same. I also love my long lens - for the "from the highway" barn shots!

March 26, 2011 |

Lee

I got called on the carpet for this one. I had stepped maybe two feet off the road onto a lawn to take a picture of this cherry tree in bloom in the next yard. The owner wanted to know what I was doing. Um... I have a camera in my hands and it's pointed at the blooms next door. What do you think?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34977978@N05/4556539902/in/set-72157623744516902/

March 26, 2011 |

Sandee

I won't break the law for a photo. My Dad worked in corrections so I don't want to end up arrested. If I really want to take a photo when I know I shouldn't, I ask permission. It also prevents lawsuits later, especially if you decide to use the location in commercial work. I'm never without my camera and I should have a sticker on my car that says: "stops for photo ops". I, too, like to take the backroads in search of new photo opportunities. My husband says our trips are at about 17 mph.

March 26, 2011 |

gretchen

A friend & I have started a photoproject of abandoned buildings in our city. We have been overcome by community development projects and have entire neighborhoods grounded in order to make way for townhouse complexes and the like. It's really quite sad.

So we have decided (admittedly, it was her idea!) to start photographing these homes that are getting buldozed - kind of like documenting the unique "properties" of each home that will soon cease to exist. This means there's TONS of photo sites around but we're always wary of vagrants and unstable flooring. It's been a great adventure and at the end of it all, we will put together an exhibit.

There is a website she put together for this venture: http://westofhope.blogspot.com/
Sometimes we find the most unusual things left behind!
I also have a collection here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/little_macrina/sets/72157625817827465/

Personally, I have an obsession with barns and it's really fitting that our city borders farm country - with the mountains and our tempermental weather, there is always a neat shot waiting just around the corner!

March 26, 2011 |

Lil'M

I recently wrote a post about being approached by security at the local mall for taking a photo of a trash can at the entrance:

http://www.gottgraphicsdesign.com/2011/03/11/security-alarm/

I was also told to "cease and desist" when taking photos of books on the shelf at my local library.

I'm pretty much a chicken when it comes to taking photos where I think I shouldn't. But I do find it very frustrating as the most interesting places seem to be on other people's property.

March 26, 2011 |

Brenda

One other thing I should have said in my previous comment is that I have learned to shoot from the hip. Put your camera around your neck and a remote switch in your pocket. Then you can walk around malls, stores, libraries, wherever and take photos w/o anyone knowing. It's also good practice for learning how to take photos without relying on a viewfinder.

March 26, 2011 |

gretchen

I was able to take this from the street...

http://www.capedreamn.com/2011/02/green-door.html

March 26, 2011 |

deb lougee

On our way up to visit my in-laws this Christmas we were eager to find a different border crossing to Montreal because sometimes it's a REALLY long wait. And with three small kiddies under 5 I couldn't imagine a long border wait after we'd already been in the car for 8 hours. So we used our car's navigation and a map. We happened upon an abandoned station. There were old cars locked up in the garage, the building was in bad shape and it looked like no one had been there in years. I couldn't help but ask my husband to pull over and wait while I snapped some pics.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rubinfamily/5367006431/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rubinfamily/5366989519/

March 26, 2011 |

Kara

I TRESPASS ALL THE TIME....AND ONLY ONCE HAVE I GOTTEN CAUGHT BY THE POLICE :)

here's the story.......

http://moredoors.blogspot.com/2010/09/can-i-see-some-identification-please.html

March 26, 2011 |

beth

i live in Canberra, Australia. Nicknamed the 'Bush Capital' to driving the kids to school, i see some cool locations. Fortunately we live on the doorstep of the Namadgi National Park too, where there are lots of old, rustic huts and farms.

A fortnight ago i went for a bushwalk, 3 hours round trip but found this.... not exactly going to take a 'client' there, but still - amazing.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34891711@N05/sets/72157626305388708/

March 26, 2011 |

Kate SHore

I live in a beautiful place, and it is fairly rural, and for the most part, there are enough places to shoot without having to violate no trespassing signs. Many no trespassing signs up around here are up to warn against hunting -- if the signs are up, and someone gets shot by a hunter, they aren't liable -- so I generally avoid them.

March 26, 2011 |

Deirdre

I am always looking for amazing places like this to shoot but being in San Diego has its disadvantages. Not a whole lot of abandoned farms aroung here.

March 26, 2011 |

Rachel

I'd rather NOT break the law but I do at times - sometimes inadvertantly. I got stopped by security at a wedding photo shoot once but turns out they just wanted me to pay to use it. :-) I did so and continued the shoot. I'm also pretty darn sure I technically shouldn't have been at this spot but we tried to be quick:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/betsyblue/5328489531/in/set-72157625083115251/

March 26, 2011 |

ccap

on my own i would be way too chicken but when my daughter was in high-school she was fascinated by abandoned locations. we paid close attention to the signs but if they weren't very visible we took risk. we entered an abandoned church once and soon found out it was a meeting ground of followers from the Blair Witch project - extremely scary; we've heard sounds in abandoned homes that made us jump out of our skin and run like mad; we've seen dead animals and moss growing on the floors like plush carpet; places that i'm sure we should have been wearing face masks to protect from who knows what.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnsun/5564028759/
I much prefer the times we cross the line just in search of the perfect flower-laced field. For my daughter's many photo projects in high-school we searched out locations and looked crazy doing it many times. but the results were worth it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnsun/5563985533/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnsun/5562225386/in/set-72157626238295203/

March 27, 2011 |

spread your wings

With my husband as the getaway driver, we stopped along the road to get some shots of the bluebonnets that are growing like mad in Texas right now. http://www.flickr.com/photos/anngeedee/5566186794/ I hopped back in the car just in time- as soon as we pulled back on the road, we saw a policeman in the rearview mirror come over the hill behind us. Whew!

March 27, 2011 |

anngeedee

I'm struggling with the question of trespassing right now. I've contacted the people that own the land according to tax rolls. However, they actually said they don't own the land. Struggling to find out who owns it. Debating on telephoto lens. But it's not just the 'no trespassing' sign....it's the dang chain link fence.

March 29, 2011 |

Kristen

I've found myself saying quite a bit lately, "Well, there isn't a sign that says we CAN'T!" Which means I TRY to respect signage, but also I sometimes find myself in places I'm unsure about but want to take pictures in or of. :)

March 29, 2011 |

Angela Giles Klocke

In Swedish media right now there is a big articles about a sex dungeon found by a photographer. The photographer was just out to take some good pics at this old abandoned cottage where no one lived for over 20 years. He or someone with him opened a lid down to an basement and found this place. I am not going to give you any details but there is now a police investigation going on since it seems that people have been captured here against their will.

So you will never know before what you might actually find while trespassing. This was just a guy like most of us just trying to make good photography.

March 29, 2011 |

Linda

I LOVE this post!

My Beloved and {sometimes our friends} always go out and explore abandoned houses/mines/caves/any place we can find!

Here's some from my main flickr account;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninarevenant/5572056615/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninarevenant/sets/72157625186924732/

Here's one other from my second flickr account;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/unquestionably1/5570245576/

March 30, 2011 |

NinaRevenant

I *try* not to trespass but sometimes, when I'm feeling brave, I quickly do in order to get a shot. I think we all know when the light is just right and if that happens in a place that I feel like I must photograph, I just go for it. Lately I've been using my iPhone to document places that I want to go back to for photographs. I'm often driving when this happens so I quickly pull over, snap a quick photograph and even photograph the name of the street.

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http://www.soozone.com I often find myself driving along, breaking my neck to check out some beautifully rustic piece of land, only to find a barbed wire fence and "No Trespassing" sign. Why do the most intriguing spots to photograph belong to someone else? There are times when I will risk the possibility of getting caught to get a good shot, but most of the time I'm too chicken. Of course, having a partner in crime seems to help calm my fears a bit, but that's not always convenient. And I am always on the lookout for beautiful locations to use for my portrait business, but tend to stick with public land in order to avoid the session getting cut short by an angry farmer or land owner.

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