I just remembered how the OP began his last thread.

"A strange thing happened to me on my way to work."

This thread.

"A peculiar thing happened last night. "

Last time it was a security guard, this time the wait staff.

Could a tinfoil hat be involved?



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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.

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!

A peculiar thing happened last night. I attended my sister-in-law's fortieth birthday party. It was a nice vegan restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We had a great time laughing and chatting amongst ourselves (party of 8). As the photographer I set my camera on Manual, dialed my ISO to 25600 and fired away. Excellent photos of all of us and the restaurant surrounding. Our waiter came over to me. He told me that my flash was disturbing the couple next to us. I paid him no never mind. I kept photographing. A shot while later, a waitress came over and told me my flash was annoying others. I pulled her to the side and showed her my camera. I didn't have a flash. She was confused. Others at our party had their cell phones working in full view. A restaurant manager came over to ask me not to use my flash. I showed him my camera and told him I have been photographing when these kid's grandparents were in diapers. I'm not some ignorant snapchat child !
Any how I enjoyed my meal, took photos of my sister and everyone else at our table and just wondered. Are the Millennials here so self absorbed that they aren't paying attention to anyone but themselves? I felt I was being constantly assaulted because I was using a "camera" and not a cell phone.
Does anyone have their take on this or has anyone experienced a similar scenario?

Happy Shooting!

A peculiar thing happened last night. I attended my sister-in-law's fortieth birthday party. It was a nice vegan restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We had a great time laughing and chatting amongst ourselves (party of 8). As the photographer I set my camera on Manual, dialed my ISO to 25600 and fired away. Excellent photos of all of us and the restaurant surrounding. Our waiter came over to me. He told me that my flash was disturbing the couple next to us. I paid him no never mind. I kept photographing. A shot while later, a waitress came over and told me my flash was annoying others. I pulled her to the side and showed her my camera. I didn't have a flash. She was confused. Others at our party had their cell phones working in full view. A restaurant manager came over to ask me not to use my flash. I showed him my camera and told him I have been photographing when these kid's grandparents were in diapers. I'm not some ignorant snapchat child !
Any how I enjoyed my meal, took photos of my sister and everyone else at our table and just wondered. Are the Millennials here so self absorbed that they aren't paying attention to anyone but themselves? I felt I was being constantly assaulted because I was using a "camera" and not a cell phone.
Does anyone have their take on this or has anyone experienced a similar scenario?

Happy Shooting!