This image was taken on Tuesday Evening and two days later I still can’t shake the experience! This farm is one that has been on my radar for a while and I like it because of the long lane leading in and the multitude of structures that stack up in a long lens shot. I headed here because I thought the sun would be a big subdued orange circle due to the misty air resulting from snow melt. Shortly after this shot the sun faded behind heavy clouds and never showed itself again. So all was well and good and their is a house to the right just out of frame. A Mother, father and their young daughter came out and walked up the lane to get their mail which was right in front of me by the road. I snapped a few shots of them walking toward me because they were all holding hands and I thought it added a nice touch to the shot.

We had some casual conversation, they asked what I was shooting for and I said just myself and off they went back to the house. I am terrible at self promotion so I never mentioned my website if they cared to look at my work and possibly the shot I was taking at that moment. So the husband leaves in an RV, we wave to each other and I am killing time till the farmhouse lights start recording on the farm. I decided that I might as well go knock and tell her my website while I am waiting. I knock two or three times, wonder why no one is answering and back to my camera I head. Now mind you I am out in the country and sound travels for miles, so in the distance I hear a police car siren screaming on the roads and wonder What might be going on? An accident, a fire, a car chase, it’s anyone’s guess until just up the road I see the flashing lights coming my way and I do mean coming “my way”. The cruiser pulls up right in the middle of the road and out springs the officer, only to be backed up by a second officer a minute later?

They proceed to start questioning me what I was doing, why am I here, asking for I.D., taking my license plate and I am completely taken aback and to be honest getting more defensive as the minutes rolled by! I am pro law enforcement but put yourself in this situation, you are just enjoying photographing the local landscape, not parking on anyone’s property and suddenly being accosted like you just committed the crime of the century! So one officer stands with me while the other goes to the house where the friendly family lives. He must have been in there 10 minutes and all the while I have no clue what is up and getting more frustrated as the minutes pass. Finally that officer returns to us and tells me the woman was scared out of her mind when I knocked so she called 911! He goes on to tell me that the dispatch call came across as a home invasion in progress, hence the screaming sirens!

I get some people scare easy but after talking personally with them for a few minutes at the mailbox, I was a little confused how she made the jump to me being some nut job. When the officer was speaking with me I just kept thinking how did we get to this moment? The thing that really bothers me is wondering if the officers even believe my side of the story and how something so innocent has the potential to tarnish a reputation. I plan to request all bodycam footage from initial incident to after I left the scene to see if any malicious comments were made concerning me or the facts of what actually happened!

I understand the tough job police officers deal with daily but me being put on the defensive like I was just keeps being replayed in my mind and wondering if my reaction was understandable in the way a persons character gets called into question undeservedly? For me it is hard to just move on to the point I can’t think of much beside this and feel out of sorts so to speak.