Bathed in the light of the late-afternoon sun, the Bronx County Courthouse was beautifully rendered on the hood and windshield of this vehicle conveniently parked in a no-parking zone located right at the midpoint of the building's western facade.
As I began to take this photo, a police officer (the one pictured) emerged from the courthouse to ask me what I was doing. I explained to her that the reflection of the building looked "really cool". Drawing a line in the sand, she decided to exert her authority by telling me that I would not be allowed to take pictures of this car, because "it has an 'Official' license plate."
I told her that I'm well within my rights to photograph cars and buildings from the vantage point of a public street. Seeking a compromise that would shut me up without having to show "weakness" by admitting she was wrong, she told me that I could take as many pictures as I wanted of the building, the other cars parked nearby, and the building's reflection on those other cars, but that I couldn't take any photos of this one vehicle, not even a close-up shot of the hood with no identifying information visible.
Arguing with her was about as fruitful as trying to have a reasoned discussion with a grumpy four-year-old. I eventually realized that I had made my point as best I could, and so I stepped a few feet to the right, where another dark-colored car was parked...
Day 335
Illicit reflection
November 29th, 2012
Good for you for standing up for your rights. Petty bureaucrats are far too prevalent in today’s America. And you got a great picture in any event.
She just wanted to push her so-called authority to the limits. Shame on her and the corrupt person who abused the parking privilege. GOOD FOR YOU FOR KNOWING AND VERBALIZING YOUR RIGHTS.
Reminds me of a scene in “This is Spinal Tap” :
[discussing Nigel’s Guitar collection]
Nigel Tufnel: Look… still has the old tag on, never even played it.
Marty DiBergi: [points his finger] You’ve never played…?
Nigel Tufnel: Don’t touch it!
Marty DiBergi: We’ll I wasn’t going to touch it, I was just pointing at it.
Nigel Tufnel: Well… don’t point! It can’t be played.
Marty DiBergi: Don’t point, okay. Can I look at it?
Nigel Tufnel: No. no. That’s it, you’ve seen enough of that one.
So the credo goes: We can’t let the terroists win. I think the paranoia that exists in our country (this being an example) is an example that, well, maybe the terroists did win.