Having recently returned from a monthlong trip to Europe, I wanted to rant just a bit about the way the tourists seem to have no respect for anyone but themselves. They will walk in front of your camera, hold their iPhone up in front of your lens just as you snap, walk into you as your setting up because they’re looking at a cell phone or as the case in this photo, just totally screw with your shot. Yes, I can clone it out, but why can’t people just have some consideration. This dude just walked up and set his camera in front of mine while I was shooting in Venice. His shot could have been done on the other side of me, there was plenty of room that late at night. Took all I had to not bump him over the side of the canal

The local people are fine, but it’s mostly the hordes that get off the Cruise Ships that are such as#0/e$. And of course dipsticks like this guy.

Having recently returned from a monthlong trip to Europe, I wanted to rant just a bit about the way the tourists seem to have no respect for anyone but themselves. They will walk in front of your camera, hold their iPhone up in front of your lens just as you snap, walk into you as your setting up because they’re looking at a cell phone or as the case in this photo, just totally screw with your shot. Yes, I can clone it out, but why can’t people just have some consideration. This dude just walked up and set his camera in front of mine while I was shooting in Venice. His shot could have been done on the other side of me, there was plenty of room that late at night. Took all I had to not bump him over the side of the canal

The local people are fine, but it’s mostly the hordes that get off the Cruise Ships that are such as#0/e$. And of course dipsticks like this guy.

Having recently returned from a monthlong trip to Europe, I wanted to rant just a bit about the way the tourists seem to have no respect for anyone but themselves. They will walk in front of your camera, hold their iPhone up in front of your lens just as you snap, walk into you as your setting up because they’re looking at a cell phone or as the case in this photo, just totally screw with your shot. Yes, I can clone it out, but why can’t people just have some consideration. This dude just walked up and set his camera in front of mine while I was shooting in Venice. His shot could have been done on the other side of me, there was plenty of room that late at night. Took all I had to not bump him over the side of the canal

The local people are fine, but it’s mostly the hordes that get off the Cruise Ships that are such as#0/e$. And of course dipsticks like this guy.

The problem may be the way cruise ship tours are operated. On a cruise my wife and I took last year around the British Isles, we stopped at eight ports of call in ten days. At only one port did the ship stay over night and allow us a second full day. Almost all cruise ships stop at each port for only one short day. They typically arrive in port just before dawn. By the time they are ready to disembark all the passengers going ashore, half the morning is shot. The ships typically sail in the late afternoon following at least a couple of hours getting the passengers back aboard. As a result, there is a lot of pressure on passengers, most of which have never been to the location and may never be there again, to see as much as they can in the very little time they have been afforded. It should be no wonder that some tourist that feeling the pressure of seeing and photographing as much as possible in a limited time frame may become oblivious to other photographers or act with short tempers.

Although we have been on several cruises and port tours, our British Isles cruise provides a typical example. Our ship's last port of call was La Harve, France. We had never been to France, so instead of taking the close by Normandy tour, we took the Parris Tour. It was a two hour drive to Parris, the bus rushed around the city. We drove quickly around the traffic circle at the Arc de Triomphe where photography was very difficult from the bus. Because the tour guide was narrating the tour from the front of the bus and we were in the back, we were trying to pick out one sight while she was talking about the next. As a result, I have a whole bunch of pictures that I have no idea of what they are of. The only real stop we made was at Notre Dame. There was sufficient time to photograph a decent amount of the interior. After that, it was back on the bus which drove by the Eiffel Tower over a mile away. A couple of us had to talk nicely to the bus driver to get him to agree to stop long enough to jump off the bus and shoot a few frames (less than five minutes) after which we drove another two hours back to the ship.

For the most part, photographers are an afterthought for the tour operators. It starts with the buses themselves. The majority of the new European tour busses have polarized windows that not only preclude the use of a polarizing filter on your camera, but also amplify reflections on the windows from the inside of the bus. Because they try to cram too much into a tour so they can say that you will see everything, the busses often fly past the sights you most want to photograph. Then there are the "photo stops". Depending on the tour, there may be one or two and they are often too short to get good photographs because there is no time to go far from the herd and everyone is climbing over one another to get a shot. Add to that the fact that there may be five or more buses from the same ship following each other and making the same stops at the same times, it is a wonder that there isn't more discourtesy.

There's always human nature. It sucks.
"Photo bombing" is a prevalent hobby. Many practitioners abound.
Many a$$holes are just bred that way. ie: I drive from LAX to Tahoe for a reunion. A$$hole BIL hears I'm getting up early to take sunrise shots. HE gets up early to "keep me company", basically nattering to me about "unnecessary" hobbies. The Sun starts peeking. Camera on tripod. shutter 1/30, Nikon clicker so I don't have to touch it. When I take @ 30, I go over to peep my doings- and BIL starts throwing rocks in the water. He says a little action will brighten up the scene. ?!?! I manage @ 20 more with the clicker- I'm 5 feet away from the camera, so he's not moving. We walk back, most folk are moving about, and he announces the right thing to do is for me to offer him 10% if I sell any of these.
Yup. Sure thing. A$$hole me accidentally deleted *every* picture of him and his wife.
We're in the middle of the selfish selfie generation. Celebs stopped most of the meet&greets here- some a$$hole will run up, cheek to cheek, FLASH!, run off. Bozo ho, fresh perfume and lipstick, runs up, plants one, FLASH!, runs off.
Websites are full of duckfaces and full booths in restrooms.
A$$hole steps in front- "I don't see it- what are you looking at?" "The good side of an a$$hole!"
This is LA; we'll get people jostling for selfies at crime and accident scenes.
Just accept there will be a$$holes, a large percentage, and learn to go around them.

Ramblings -
My daughter just came back from an Asian trip. She found it was half price to book a taxi for the day than to book a tour. She saw lots more at a slower pace.
I went to NY once and was waiting at the second lift on the Empire State. A couple pushed in front of us and took the last place in the lift, the lift attendant said he would be straight back. We had a discussion on our trip up. The attendant said the couple were German and for the 20 years he had been an attendant he said the Germans were the most impolite race on earth followed by the Dutch.
When in Asia (incl Japan) look them in the eye. An Asian will not normally misbehave if you are eyeballing them because they then cannot use the excuse "sorry I didn't see you".
Since I normally steer clear of any area that has boat people around I cannot comment about them but in any other areas the worst offenders are usually Americans who seem to feel that they are owed something so I find the above comments interesting.
My wife and I find that rudeness is exhibited mostly by tourists (all makes) who are not in their own country, BUT in their own country they are usually nice people so why anybody feels they have to throw their weight about outside their own borders is beyond us.

Could the tourists have been Americans? I had a similar experience in New York City about 40 years back... my first encounter with really rude people.

I often see couples taking photos of each other at a scenic site and ask them if they would like to have me take a picture of both of them; they are generally happy for me to do this. I show them the pix after and see if they are happy with them, and occasionally take some additional ones.

I've been unknowingly inconsiderate myself about 40 years back. I was taking photos at a wedding for a friend and there was a professional photographer there also. My F2 and Metz strobe were triggering his slave strobes. He politely told me about the problem, and I became far more considerate. I had no idea it was an issue.

Dik