Every photographer has a story when the camera “police” go a bit overboard with their enthusiasm to prevent the photographer from shooting. I have one of these stories that I have never posted about. We were on a tour in Bologna, Italy, and visited the beautiful church, Basilica di San Petronio. Upon entering the church, I asked whether or not photographs could be taken inside the church and while the admissions person did not speak English, she knew enough to point to a sign that plainly stated, “No Flash Photography”.
After entering, I started to take photos of the interior of the church along with everyone else. Of course, most of the people taking photos were using a flash but I decided not to. After about 20 minutes, I heard a lot of yelling and it took a moment to realize that it was a guard yelling at me. I tried to explain to the guard that I wasn’t using flash and that others were. No matter what I said, he didn’t understand what I was saying despite a lot of pointing. Finally, our tour guide came over and discovered that he wasn’t accusing me of shooting with a flash but rather was shooting with a “professional” looking camera. The camera in questions was a Nikon D200, which was far from a professional camera. Anyway, I was asked to leave the church.
Despite this little issue, before I left, I was able to get this window in the church that had some great sunlight shining through, illuminating its shadow on the wall.