Smart Phones = Good ..... Big Cameras = Evil

[BruceSD]

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I am an avid flower photographer.  This time of year there are no outdoor flowers in bloom in northern Wisconsin USA.  So, I contacted the local manager of a "Michaels" store to get her permission to photograph their artificial flowers inside of the store.

I was intending to use a handheld Nikon 16mp Df camera and a small macro lens for the photos.  My other camera is a 16mp smartphone.

The manager told me it was OK if I used my smartphone to take the photos, but I could not use my Nikon camera.

I asked her why she'd allow photos with a 16mp smartphone but not with a 16mp camera.  She was dumbfounded, like a deer in the headlights, and unable to answer my question.

Have you also found that at the same venue that it's perfectly acceptable to shoot with your smartphone, but once you pull out your big/black/evil Nikon camera you get a bunch of crap"?  Why are so many non-photographers out there so fearful of cameras and accepting of smartphones?  Is this an unfair double standard?

[Anthony]

Too many members of the human species are irrational.

[BruceSD]

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Also, I'd argue that using a smartphone at arms length actually takes more aisle space than using a DSLR focusing through the viewfinder.

[David H. Hartman]

Is this an unfair double standard?

Life is full of these. The smart phone is ubiquist and too much trouble for the store manager to control.

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I'd like to photograph children but do not dare. A photographer at a park or playground is considered dangerous and will frequently attract law enforcement. Why? Child traffickers create catalogs of children to supply to sex offenders. The criminal selects the child they want from the catalog and a team of four go out to kidnap the child. The sad reality is there are dangerous and evil people in this world and they commit unspeakable crimes. Show up to a park or playground with a big black camera and a macro lens to photograph flowers and you may attract law enforcement. A high quality cell phone can be used for dangerous and illegal purposes but they may be ignored. It's a matter of perception.

Photographers around certain installations with a big black camera may be suspected of be a scout for terrorists and saboteurs. After 911 photographers were investigated for photographing trains, a common hobby. Again a matter of perception.

Dave.

[Bill De Jager]

I showed up at an aircraft museum with an F3HP and tripod during the film-digital transition period and before smartphones.  At the admission point I asked about photography.  The person there stated that I'm "obviously a professional photographer".  Sigh...

It turned out that I could photograph the planes but not the photos on the walls which of course were copyrighted by their photographers.  There were some very nice medium-format photos taken in the air.