Police have been dispatched to the Thruway overpass on Route 98 where a person is setting up a tripod and camera.
(For the record, it's not me -- though if somebody called police every time I set up a tripod and a camera I'd spend a lot more time talking with deputies and a lot less time taking pictures.)
sheesh..just what we
sheesh..just what we need..another serial photographer running around the county with a suspicious tripod and camera! ....It's the end of the world as we know it.....
Damn I just wanted to be like
Damn I just wanted to be like Howard, and take a pretty picture of the lights on the thruway diffused by the snow.
(ok and see how many people were talking on cell phones)
Point well taken, Howard! LOL
Point well taken, Howard! LOL
We get the same type calls
We get the same type calls for the Airfield in Niagara Falls. However, three incidents were legit. Identify an Pakistan National with a detail hand written map and digit photos (2002 or 2003), a American Muslim with digital photos of the civil and military side of the airfield (Stated he was taking picture of aircraft but, had no photos of planes in 2005 and Finland national who also, took photos of the airport and airfield along with some military aircraft in 2010. He stated that he develops aircraft and was on holiday in Buffalo and decided to travel to Niagara Falls and take photos of civilian aircraft.
Most people stop and photograph the military aircraft and nothing more. I doubt very much a terrorist would need to photograph the thurway. All you need to know is when traffic is at its heaviest. Good job to whomever called and wasted valuable police assets.
The Federal Detention Center
The Federal Detention Center is right there, so that is probably the issue. Not the thruway.
Federal Detention Center is
Federal Detention Center is there but, it is disturbed by trees, hotels and you would do better with an aerial shot. Unless you get closer to that target it you would be pressed to get good recon. Though you are right that would be a good target for someone.
You're not going to get
You're not going to get anything of the detention center from that location at night (maybe with infrared -- I've never used it so I wouldn't know, but I doubt it ... that's quite a distance to shoot at night).
Most photographers at that location at night shooting with a tripod are trying to make a creative picture of the car lights creating red and white lines on the Thruway -- something I've thought about doing myself.
Yeah, even in the day I do
Yeah, even in the day I do not believe it is a good shot. I will have to check tomorrow when I go to work.
Howard forgot to wish you and
Howard forgot to wish you and your wife a Merry Christmas, I hope it was good. Happy New Year.
I know. But if there was a
I know. But if there was a report of suspicious photography in that area, it'd probably be because of the detention facility. Good place to take one or not. It's like if you park anywhere close to Attica Prison, you'll be asked what you're doing there. Even miles away. If you park somewhere out of the norm for extended time.
"But if there was a report of
"But if there was a report of suspicious photography in that area, it'd probably be because of the detention facility. Good place to take one or not."
Cory if, it is not a good place to take a photo of the detention center, then it is not a good place or a logical one. If, someone want to target the facility they would want clear pictures of same. This would allowed them to know points of entry/exiting, camera location, patrol paths, advantage points to use, disadvantage points to avoid. One would know about the thurway to the south and the entry point to the east. They are better off staying at one of the hotels to get photos.
As far being parked over a mile away from Attica Correctional Facility. Police are more likely (depend on the time of day) to make contact with you to see if you require help or under the influence of something.
Howard's statement about the photographer is more accurate in my opinion.
If it were detention center
If it were detention center focused, I would assume it would not involve locals. Wouldn't it be plausible that there would be a need for photos to familiarize participants with the "lay of the land" ie: sheds, streams, woods, dogs, traffic etc. etc.? Especially when considering a last minute "Plan B". Maybe I watch too much TV
Paula you are right, it would
Paula you are right, it would be plausible that they would need photos if not from the local area. However, taking photos of landscape items such as streams, roads, forestry, etc.., would not be necessary and could be done with a map. Pictures of sheds, buildings, dogs would need to be clear and detailed. Photos of traffic would not be necessary since, you can either drive the route or in the case of the NYS thurway, you can look it up online.
The photographer would have useless advantage point, especially if they cannot see their target.
Brad and Angelina Langeweile
Brad and Angelina Langeweile were in town for the big video game tournament. The photographer was scoping their window at the Comfort Inn.
Title said "Suspicious
Title said "Suspicious Photographu on Route 98"
There was no decent information included as to what made it suspicious. The only thing I could come up with is that it was close to the Detention Facility. I don't see any other posts here suggesting something else. Most likely it wasn't really suspicious and just some person photographing the sunrise/sunset/thruway. But if they're going to say it was suspicious what other reasons are there? Since we didn't get a good description.
What ever happened with the rest of this story? Why was it called in as suspicious? And just becauswhat there isn't a clear view of the actual detention faciltiy/building from the bridge, doesn't mean a broader view of the area isn't important to someone who may be SUSPICIOUSLY photographing it (entrance, surrounding buildings,forests, security patrols, etc.)
But since we have nothing more to this shotty story than it was 'suspicious,' all we can do is assume, which is the case with most news stories that only have half of it reported.
Nice theory Corey, but first
Nice theory Corey, but first problem with your assumptions is this, I think that Howard usually does reports like this straight from the scanner. The time says 10:36pm since sunset is at what 4 or 5 nowadays that makes that a pretty far fetched theory. As for the photographer being "suspicious" that is probably a definition used by whomever called in the photographer to the authorities. I have been on that bridge and there isnt much of anything of value that can be obtained about the detention center from there. However since 9/11 bridges have been watched as potential targets so someone photgraphing that bridge or the onramp overpasses could be considered suspcious. I myself in 2004 was practically pulled up by my dive flag by authorities when diving on a wreck near the 1000 islands bridge so I speak from personal experience. As for the rest of the story well obviously there is no rest of the story because I'm sure if there was authorities would have reported it but...no arrest, no suspcious stuff going on so nothing more was made of it.
The story isnt shoddy at all nor is it half reported, all that was available was related to us.
Cory, you're reading WAY too
Cory, you're reading WAY too much into this.
First, it's standard practice for dispatchers to tell a patrol they've received a report of "suspicious activity" -- that doesn't mean the caller called it suspicious. It just means somebody called in and said, "hey, I see this happening and I think a cop should check it out."
I found it ludicrous that anybody would call in to dispatch about a photographer setting up a camera and a tripod. Photography is not a crime.
It was an unusual call and interesting to me, so I posted it. It's standard practice around here for Billie and I to post things we find interesting. For no other reason than that we find them interesting. We don't care if it meets your definition or anybody else's definition of news. Often the matters are so minor they're not worth the time to report further -- all of the interesting juice of the matter was in the initial report and so then we move onto other things.
This is not a half-reported story. It's a fully reported story because that's all there is to it -- something I found interesting and posted. There's nothing else to say about it. It's not worth saying anything else about. It's not worth doing a follow up on (nothing else about it came over the scanner -- I don't know that the cop ever got on scene, and if he did whether he saw anybody or made contact with any body, and, frankly, I don't care, because the WHOLE of the story is that some person who should have been minding his or own business called the cops because somebody was setting up a camera and a tripod in a public place, which is perfectly legal and hardly "suspicious" at all.
LOL Damn those suspicious
LOL Damn those suspicious photographers anyway, should be illegal to photograph anything, specially those terrorist rainbows that appear just before Christmas.
And people call me a
And people call me a conspiracy theorist