Larry Johnson
Let's Rodeo!
Scenes from the 2010 San Antonio Rodeo.
Read the whole story here - then go see the slide show!
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association sanctioned event was first class all the way -- they have won the top indoor rodeo prize for six years running. The cowboys and everyone competing was just fantastic.
I can't say the same for the ATT Center staff -- they really were not very nice about my son and I taking pictures in their arena, and ultimately first gave me the option of either leaving my camera in their office, or leaving the event in the middle, and then asking us both to erase our cards.
When first accosted, I protested that I did not want to cause any trouble and would put the camera away (a truthful statement -- this was the first I heard of this policy), but they would have none of that. Police were just a radio call away, they noted. Off we went to the office. Along the way, I got them to agree that the 50mm was OK, so after giving them the 70-200 mm to hold till after the show, I went back to my seat to watch the show and shoot the occasional shot with that.
They must have huddled and changed their minds though, as they came back a few minutes later with the police, and pulled me out of my seat again. Since the Nikon has detachable lenses, they said, they would need to confiscate the photos themselves. They also hauled my son along this time.
Things were not too pretty after that -- more police were called, not only on me, but my son who was shooting with my other camera.
Despite the ugliness and grief, you can see who prevailed ultimately, as these are some of the pics I took. Enjoy!
I finally said they'd have to take me in and get a court order to make that happen, as things seemed so very far over the line by then. It is hard to see why pictures taken with one camera are worth losing a fan for life and calling police on someone harming no one, when pics taken with other cameras were fine. After all -- the place was filled with thousands taking pics with other cameras! What makes those of us shooting Nikons criminals?
Clearly it is time for ATT to review their policies. In this case, their Gestapo actions were completely out of line. We were harming no one, and were in every way just like any other fan taking pics with their point and shoots -- and not one of them got any hassle at all. My family, on the other hand, had our own personal police force stand right behind us all evening until we finally left.
Since we got out with the pics in any case, it really seems like they shot themselves in the customer service foot in retrospect for no reason.
Once home, it seemed the only right thing to do now was to put the precious images out on the net for all.
So in the spirit of how things OUGHT to be, these pics are all Creative Commons (as is my entire photostream) -- please use them anywhere and often!
I really did enjoy the rodeo parts of the night...
Let's Rodeo!
Scenes from the 2010 San Antonio Rodeo.
Read the whole story here - then go see the slide show!
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association sanctioned event was first class all the way -- they have won the top indoor rodeo prize for six years running. The cowboys and everyone competing was just fantastic.
I can't say the same for the ATT Center staff -- they really were not very nice about my son and I taking pictures in their arena, and ultimately first gave me the option of either leaving my camera in their office, or leaving the event in the middle, and then asking us both to erase our cards.
When first accosted, I protested that I did not want to cause any trouble and would put the camera away (a truthful statement -- this was the first I heard of this policy), but they would have none of that. Police were just a radio call away, they noted. Off we went to the office. Along the way, I got them to agree that the 50mm was OK, so after giving them the 70-200 mm to hold till after the show, I went back to my seat to watch the show and shoot the occasional shot with that.
They must have huddled and changed their minds though, as they came back a few minutes later with the police, and pulled me out of my seat again. Since the Nikon has detachable lenses, they said, they would need to confiscate the photos themselves. They also hauled my son along this time.
Things were not too pretty after that -- more police were called, not only on me, but my son who was shooting with my other camera.
Despite the ugliness and grief, you can see who prevailed ultimately, as these are some of the pics I took. Enjoy!
I finally said they'd have to take me in and get a court order to make that happen, as things seemed so very far over the line by then. It is hard to see why pictures taken with one camera are worth losing a fan for life and calling police on someone harming no one, when pics taken with other cameras were fine. After all -- the place was filled with thousands taking pics with other cameras! What makes those of us shooting Nikons criminals?
Clearly it is time for ATT to review their policies. In this case, their Gestapo actions were completely out of line. We were harming no one, and were in every way just like any other fan taking pics with their point and shoots -- and not one of them got any hassle at all. My family, on the other hand, had our own personal police force stand right behind us all evening until we finally left.
Since we got out with the pics in any case, it really seems like they shot themselves in the customer service foot in retrospect for no reason.
Once home, it seemed the only right thing to do now was to put the precious images out on the net for all.
So in the spirit of how things OUGHT to be, these pics are all Creative Commons (as is my entire photostream) -- please use them anywhere and often!
I really did enjoy the rodeo parts of the night...