Why do so many folks around this forum NEED to launch personal attack weh the disagree with an OP or others? Why can't some of y'all just state your argument, opinion or take on any particular matter, complaint, or question and just keep all the SNOT in your noses! After all, what good comes of theses nasty responses?

I don't lie to make generalized statements lie "people are stupid", however, What it comes to photography, for many laymen, non-photographers, there is a ton if ignorance of the craft and the related gear. I hear all this nonsense about long-white lenses cannot professionalism, big camera as somehow more invasive than little ones, the flash will cause blindness and even worse really dopey misconceptions.

Some folks think that simply photographing children playing in the park is tantamount to petafiella or child pornography! One seemingly otherwise normal and intelligent person asked me if I had an X-Ray camera that could see through clothing. I explained that if there was such a thing as a handheld X-Ray camera it wouldn't only see through clothing, it would photograh your bones! AND THERE'S NO SUCH THING! Someone else thought that my big lens can "see" through walls. This kind of silliness in the brains of people in authority goes beyond annoying and becomes dangerous.

Others think that the photographer's job description includes, besides various acts of voyeurism and invading privacy, is disrupting sacred ceremonies at weddings, damaging property with tripod legs, visiting museums and galleries to "fade" the paintings and damage the artifacts with flash, violate copyright laws, and make nuisances of themselves at a variety of public events.

As a professional photographer, even working on assignments that I have been hired for, having all the paperwork, passes, and credentials in hand and just going about my work, I sometimes run into folks who decide to overstep their authority and give me grief for any one or more of the above-misconceived reasons. iI can usually and diplomatically work my way around these issues.

When I am "off duty", I always ask permission to shoot or use flash at some locations. If I can't, I just forget about it and enjoy the occasion and go home. Sometimes, hobbyists DO become overzealous as if the were on an investigative photo-journalistic assignment and their job depends on their performance. It ain't worth the aggravation and the confrontation if it can't be settled calmly.

I just wish people around here would cool their jets and refrain form nasty personal attacks- it's kinda disgusting!

This is bizarre! How can anyone shoot with flash and not know if the flash is firing- even with the mirror blackout!

If the camera does not have a built-in pop-up flash, you have to put the speedlight on the hotshot and turn it on- you're gonna know it is there and activated!

When you release the shutter you're gonna hear the flash pop or at least see the ready light come on and off. You are gonna see the LCD panel at the back of the speedlight either lighted or active. Even when the mirror blacks out, you will detect some of the flash light in your peripheral vision.

There is sometes an indicator in the viewfinder to indicate that the flash is activated and ready.

If the OP had the ISO set at a high value, the flash woud have grossly overexposed his images or fired at such a low output (via TTL) that it woud be hardly noticeable.

You would have to be an owl, a bat, a cat, a sloth or some other kind of nocturnal animal to see an IR focus aid.
used flash since I was 8 year old- you know when it is working.

Hello, anybody home?

First, the waitress complained, then the waiter, and finally the manager! Good thing they did not call the police, the fire department and the paramedics. In NYC, the SWAT Team used to have a tank!

Nowadays smoking is prohibited in restaurants (I agree with that). Soon they will ban taking, laughing and eventually EATING because that may bring about belching (UGH!) and thereby disturb the othere patrons. I suppose some folks don't remember when families went to restaurants to celebrate special occasions a there might be some revelry, levity and even some picture taking.

An occasional flash should not disturb anyone but some shooters operate their cameras like machine guns and strobing flash can induce epileptic seizures in people who suffer from that ailment. How many pictures did you take- anyway? In a dimly lighted room, even a small flash can seem very bright, especially if the folks at the other table were on DRUGS and had dilated pupils. Vegans can drop drugs and drink booze as long as it is plant-based- I think? If they were on LSD they could see multi-colored flashes even if there was no photo gear in use. OR they might be some new medical/psychological issues like "Imagenaty Flash Syndrom (AKA Edgerton's Disease) or Photographer-Phobia, brought on by malnutrition from a strictly Vegan diet! Of course, all of the is MOOT because you did NOT have a flash!!!

Since this all happened in Williamsburg, it reminds me of an old "story": It was a rush hour on the BMT Broadway-Elevated- Jamaica Line. The cars were packed with passengers and there was hardly any standing room. An elderly Orthodox Jewish man was seated on the train with a large box on the seat next to him. At the Marcy Avenue Station, a burly construction worker boarded the train and politely asked the old gent if he could remove the box as he had worked hard all day, standing on his feet and urgently needed to rest. The old man was deeply involved in prayer and did not respond, chanting in Hebrew with a small prayer book in hand. The man repeated his request several times to no avail and became agitated. By the time the train pulled in the Myrtle Avenue Station, the big guy was cursing and ranting; "If you don't remove that *&*F&*%$h%!!#! box, I'm gonna throw it right out of the window"!!! Just past the Broadway station he did just that and heaved the box out of an open window onto the tracks and then it crashed the street below, landing on a garbage truck that was passing by! The old fellow, looked up, never interrupting the rhythm of his chant and said: "IT'S NOT MY BOX"!

Perhaps you were blamed for someone else's flash?

Hippies, Yuppies, Hipsters, Milineums, X-Generation, ME-generation folks, and grumpy old photographers all have their ways. Perhaps it is ageism that causes folks to pick on one and another? Who knows? In some cultures, prayer must not be interrupted and perhaps in others, it is eating that is sacred!

Nowadays, some folks ALMOST equate cameras with firearms, if you pulled out a gun, it might cause less of a panic than pulling out a camera! Nowadays everybody's "privacy" is being violated. Hey, maybe the guy at the next table was out on a date with his girlfriend and was cheating on his wife and did not want to show up in the background of one of your pictures! It may end up, God forbid, on Facebook! Maybe they thought you were shooting a video and there were some folks sharing classified investigative information with the Ukrainians or the Russians! It seems that's a big deal in restaurants theses days!

Although I have significantly limited my red meat intake, when in Williamsburg, I prefer to eat at Peter Luger's Restaurant and get me the World's greatest thick juicy steak! Or, go on the cheap and find a street vendor with some Fried Plankton (Cuchifritos) and have some coconut ices for desert!

Vegan dishes can be somewhat tasty with enough hot sauce but oftentimes they usually taste like hospital fare or straw! I guess you can't use flash in a hospital room if the O2 is running!

Listen, you gotta have a sense of humor and not let all theses nutty folks get you down. My approach would have been to give the waiter a short seminar on available light photography in lieu of a tip!

As usual E. L. Shapiro is not only extremely informative, but hysterically funny and provides good fodder for incessant laughing. I would not expect the police to show up. The restaurant did not serve donuts. LOL!
The folks at the next table could have been cheating on their spouses. Should that be the case, they should pay blackmail so as to get my prized CF Memory card.
I did notice there were two men in Gaberdine suits selling real estate to each other. (Simon and Garfunkel forgive me!)
I really believe that many people have their priorities confused. If people paid more attention to what was going on, they would have realized the dreaded smartphones are the culprit.
With my carnivore instincts in check, I stopped by a McDonalds afterwards (for some chicken nuggets and a vanilla shake). Peter Lugar's would have been overkill.
When the restaurant manager came over to me, I explained to both him and the waiter, I am well aware of my camera's ability to photograph in a darkened restaurant. I also explained that this is one of many hallmarks of a competent photographer. I also showed them the 18 photographs o had taken with out the flash. Their jaws dropped open and ashamedly walked away.
My sister had a wonderful time and has many photos from other's cell phones and me.

The other restaurant patrons can kiss my A$&~*. They don't pay my bills and didn't eat the food and cake I enjoyed.

These millennials would want Halloween postponed because it is going to rain and their children may get wet! They shouldn't get their panties in a bunch!!

I have been reading the postings on this site for a long time now and I suspect that there are folks who say things from the safety of their laptops, etc that they wouldn't begin to say to the face of the person to whom their remarks are being directed. If you feel it necessary to respond that you are one of those brave souls who tells it like it is right to people's faces, this will only confirm my point. In point of fact, if you are a "tell it like is" person, you won't need to respond to me.
Now specifically about the current squabble. I have been reading Scruple's postings since becoming a member and have found his writings indicate that he is a kind and decent man with an interest in photography, but more importantly in his friends and family. There are many people who write to the UHH who I think I might enjoy breaking bread with; Scruples is certainly one of these, but perhaps not at a vegan restaurant.