So I just started taking pics of old roads signs...

[Mergingtraffic]

and wondered have you ever gotten in trouble or questioned while doing so?  I feel that people are looking as they drive by and seeing me take pics.

I'm trying to photograph as many signs around my home state of CT that are from 1984 or before that are still out there.


I have some nice non reflective button copy relics, embossed and wooden signs.

Is there a way to share here without creating a website? I take them on my phone. 

[corco]

I try to stay in my car as much as possible when taking pictures.

That said, I do a lot of work for work that involves going near people's houses in very remote areas where you and them are the only people for miles, and I've noticed four things:

1) People don't notice you as much as you think they do
2) A lot of people will be like "whoa, what's going on" and then they don't care when they see you're just taking a  picture of a sign/they assume you're a utility worker or a DOT person or something, even if you're in your own car
3) Second to worst case is they come out and you just say "I'm taking a picture of a sign"- more often than not they'll be pleasantly interested
4) Worst case is they call the cops, which sucks, but that's so, so rare that I wouldn't worry about it.  99.9% of people don't just call the cops on a whim.

The more you'll do it, the more confident you'll be about it. It's normal to be nervous about it at first.

[Alps]

Flickr. Also, let me know where to find them

[Avalanchez71]

and wondered have you ever gotten in trouble or questioned while doing so?  I feel that people are looking as they drive by and seeing me take pics.

I'm trying to photograph as many signs around my home state of CT that are from 1984 or before that are still out there.


I have some nice non reflective button copy relics, embossed and wooden signs.

Is there a way to share here without creating a website? I take them on my phone.

Just make sure that your DL is in good order, insurance is up to date and your registration is good.  Make sure you don't have any dope on you and I hope you don't have any outstanding warrants.

[kurumi]

Seconding Flickr for sharing photos. Maybe not best of breed, but good enough; and there's an app for some smartphones that makes uploading easy.

I've pulled over for probably several hundred photos and been accosted just once, by DOT guys when photographing the Putnam Bridge in CT. This was 2004, and it was still plausible that taking some point-and-shoots from a few hundred yards away would be invaluable in helping me figure out how to blow the thing up (to make my Putnam Bridge page more interesting, I guess).

I told them I was historian with a road website and they were OK with that (and not in the least curious afterward).

(In CT, being a clean-cut white dude helps with first impressions, so make sure and arrange for that )

Also, I did get honked at while roadside at the 85/87 interchange in San Jose, but I think that's more a case of douchebags harassing anyone they see on foot/bike while driving by.

I do try to avoid including other vehicles or people in photos; if we gave them a change to consent, I bet many of them would prefer not to be in your pics.

[hbelkins]

A hint from one of the Chattanooga meet attendees: get yourself a safety vest like road or utility workers use. It makes you look official and might make you less subject to inquiries. I don't know how easily the vests can be obtained, but many Walmarts have the high-viz shirts.

[mefailenglish]

I've only been "confronted" once, several years ago in Chiefland FL.  I pulled onto the grass shoulder of a county road, put on the four-way flashers, and got out of the car to get some pictures of a "Kodachrome" US19/Alt27/98 assembly.  An old woman stopped, rolled down her window, and asked if I was having car trouble.  "Nope, just taking pictures of these signs.  You don't see them much anymore." That either appeased her or confused her (or perhaps both) and she left.

[Alex]

Have taken many thousands of photos from behind the wheel and never had an issue. Haven't done that since 2011 as its too difficult with a DSLR, so someone else has to drive. Still, if someone is directly besides me and I feel like they are looking, I will hold off the photo and be more discreet with taking it. There was a time when I shot a photo of DE-273 at DE 58 and the guy in front of me must have noticed the camera because when the light turned green, he made sure to get behind me before the next intersection and then held up his camera phone. Nothing ever came out of that, but it was discomforting.

Adding to some of the points above, I have been harassed by passing drivers while standing on the side of the road. Most recently and late last year while my wife was getting gas, I walked over to photograph this sign and someone said sarcastically "yah, the road goes that way!"



In that instance, I just ignored them and finished my photo and walked by to the car.

April of 2012 when I photographed the first US 49 shield, I parked on a side road and walked to the shield in front of a fast food franchise only to have an employee ask "Everything alright?"

In 2002 I photographed the south end shield for MS-67 and had a dump truck driver blare his horn at me.



--
To echo the post from H.B., I have a safety vest that I usually bring on long trips where I think I'll be standing on the side of the road for road photography. It does present the appearance of legitimacy as if you are supposed to be there. Shot this photo while wearing the vest and a number of motorists that passed by ignored me:

[US71]

A hint from one of the Chattanooga meet attendees: get yourself a safety vest like road or utility workers use. It makes you look official and might make you less subject to inquiries. I don't know how easily the vests can be obtained, but many Walmarts have the high-viz shirts.

I wonder if I could get one with my avatar printed in it?

[kphoger]

A hint from one of the Chattanooga meet attendees: get yourself a safety vest like road or utility workers use. It makes you look official and might make you less subject to inquiries. I don't know how easily the vests can be obtained, but many Walmarts have the high-viz shirts.

I don't suppose it would be polite to steal one from off the back of the cart attendant...

Hey, I bet nobody would ask what you're doing if you wore both an orange vest and a hardhat!

[US71]

A hint from one of the Chattanooga meet attendees: get yourself a safety vest like road or utility workers use. It makes you look official and might make you less subject to inquiries. I don't know how easily the vests can be obtained, but many Walmarts have the high-viz shirts.

I don't suppose it would be polite to steal one from off the back of the cart attendant...

Hey, I bet nobody would ask what you're doing if you wore both an orange vest and a hardhat!

Amazon has them for less than $10

[US71]

Flickr. Also, let me know where to find them

The photos or the signs?

[NE2]

I don't suppose it would be polite to steal one from off the back of the cart attendant...

Hey, I bet nobody would ask what you're doing if you wore both an orange vest and a hardhat!

Wear it while stealing it and nobody will ask. Wait...

[US71]

and wondered have you ever gotten in trouble or questioned while doing so?  I feel that people are looking as they drive by and seeing me take pics.

I'm trying to photograph as many signs around my home state of CT that are from 1984 or before that are still out there.


I have some nice non reflective button copy relics, embossed and wooden signs.

Is there a way to share here without creating a website? I take them on my phone. 

I get questioned on occasion. Most of the time, I'm left alone. I get more questions about taking photos of bridges, then I do signs. I generally don't let it bother me.

As far as sharing photos, check out Flickr (as others has suggested). I believe they have a mobile app.

[kphoger]

I don't suppose it would be polite to steal one from off the back of the cart attendant...

Hey, I bet nobody would ask what you're doing if you wore both an orange vest and a hardhat!

Wear it while stealing it and nobody will ask. Wait...

Yeah.  Two separate thoughts.  LOL!

[Mergingtraffic]

Thanks for the replies, yeah there was one place I felt odd taking a photo.  It was of a non-reflective button copy BGS (Exitt 22 on-ramp to Route 8 SB in Seymour for those in CT) It was high traffic and a bridge near by.  It was hard to get a good photo because the signs were close to the road.  I would have to stand in the middle to get a perfect shot, which I didn't do. 

And for those in CT:

Hoping to get some pics of the non reflective button copy on i-84 in Waterbury, before the widening project starts next year.
The non reflective button copy for I-84 on Broad St in Hartford.
Anything else of interest I missed??


Stuff I found,
original I-84 shield in the Brooklyn section of Waterbury.
forgotten non-reflective button copy for I-95 in Bridgeport
original CT-25 signage in Trumbull (which will be gone soon)
old road narrows diamond sign on CT-8-25 SB at Exit 3.
various relics in New London.

Will try to post soon.

[ethanhopkin14]

This thread is very intriguing. I have been taking pictures of road signs long before there was an Internet and did it just for the fun of it and loved signs. For a long time I took pictures from the car so no one knew of course. But as the years went on, I took close ups and pictures with low light that had to be taken outside the car. It is very odd, because I have worked as a land surveyor for over 17 years and I am very used to being on the side of the road, but when I take pictures, every once in a while I get conscious of being there.

I guess some of it comes from the way the world has changed in the last 13 years. Used to be no one thought twice about anything anyone did. But now days, it seams like if you are doing something other than going to work, going home and going to bed, you must be "up to something". It seems like, particularly in the US, people have been brainwashed to think anything outside the norm is "suspicious" even if it is extremely innocent.

Another part is what most of you have pointed out, that now days people get bent out of shape when they think you are photographing them. I guess in this day of there being a camera everywhere, everyone is thinking everyone is out to steal their identity.

Another reason is I guess I think everyone thinks I am out to steal the sign. In that case I kinda want to show the camera more to show all I want is a photo.

But of course, the last reason is because most of the world doesn't understand the road obsession.  It is funny to me that other obsessions are fine in society (alchohol, drugs, etc), but if you like something that most people don't, then you are seen as crazy. My friends don't understand why I take road trips and vacations just to look at roads and take pictures of signs. But I am ok with it so that's all that matters. 

I guess that's the point to this whole thing: even when you are confident, you still get conscious of not bothering anyone.  But it is like anything else, if you walk around like you own the joint, everyone will assume you are supposed to be there and leave you alone. The vest thing is a great thing as well. 

[CanesFan27]

I pretty much get out of the car 80% of the time...situations of course determines what you are able to do or how you take a photo.

I'll get an occasional beep or question now and then...but I wouldn't consider it harassment.  If they kept coming around to bother you, sure I'd say it was harassment.  A lot of the times folks ask if there's something wrong with my car.  But more often than not when I've been out taking photos of towns or other events and items - they are more than happy to tell you more about a particular building or give you a tip to find something else you didn't plan on.   I come across that oh hey go down a few blocks you'll like to get photos of this or a great story - seasoned residents love to tell you about these things and sometimes can be very fascinating.

I'm always prepared if i am questioned by LEO's (law enforcement officers) or property owners - I have business cards made up that list links to my blog and gn.com.  If they would say hey we prefer you not to take photos, say I'm sorry I didn't realize and go on your way.  More often than not you can go back or find ways to get permission.  (in other words instead of ranting and raving about the man - work the system.)

Personally, I would be worried about a car losing control and being vulnerable to injury vs. someone making a smartass remark or yelling out the window. Unless you are sensitive to that stuff.

the key is use your own common sense.  If you feel it is unsafe to get a photo - don't do it. 

[empirestate]

I've never been in a position for this to be an issue regarding signs, but I sure have when it comes to county courthouses, which I had a brief interest in photographing. Probably the most extensive encounter was in Ocean County, NJ, when some guy who worked for local law enforcement said photographing the courthouse wasn't allowed (not a factual assertion). I had a brief, cordial discussion with him about the nature and source of the law he tried to be citing, but as he couldn't provide any further details, and I already had all the photos I wanted, I went on my way. Still, it happened often enough to be annoying, such that I don't really pursue that activity anymore.

However, I've found that being in groups, ironically, makes the activity far less suspicious. When in Oklahoma City with a bunch of co-workers, for example, I had no qualms and received no suspicion from walking all over downtown snapping photos of the courthouse, federal building (replacing the one destroyed in '95), and whatever else happened to be in view. I've also photographed super-sensitive targets like the Pentagon, the White House and the Treasury in Washington without raising the slightest eyebrow. I even have scores of photos of the international frontier between the U.S. and Canada, where it cuts across Goat Island just beside the Horseshoe Falls at Niagara, yet I've never been indicted for possessing them. Weird, huh?

[formulanone]

But more often than not when I've been out taking photos of towns or other events and items - they are more than happy to tell you more about a particular building or give you a tip to find something else you didn't plan on.   I come across that oh hey go down a few blocks you'll like to get photos of this or a great story - seasoned residents love to tell you about these things and sometimes can be very fascinating.

This; the only time I've been "bothered" is by taking photos of places, not signs. I've only been told to leave exactly once, and it was a business, not a private home. One other time, I've been "scolded" for intruding in what appeared to be an abandoned place (remember, someone or some entity owns just about anything), but was told to "not touch, break, or steal anything", as he walked off. He could have easily told me to get lost...about a dozen years later, this place was razed.

In several more instances, I've chit-chatted with others. Usually, the small-town folks are happy that someone's interested, and in some cases, I think the older/middle-aged guys are thrilled at someone who appears younger than them is intrigued by old and/or unusual stuff, and aren't intent on vandalism. But mostly, people have their own things to tend to before worrying about some photographer.

I've never been bothered by anyone on the road...Most signs on are public right-of-ways, anyhow. It's quite obvious when it isn't, but if you're not harming it in any way, and you're not creating a danger, there's no worries. I've had plenty of cop cars pass me by while I'm taking a photo of some road, vista, building, or sign. Some have even waved to me.

Never thought about the reflective vest, although I usually pull over far from the side of the road, and if it's unsafe or risky...I shoot from the car or at least pull up close to it. The only time I'm self-conscious about it is when there's a crowd of people around or near a sign; I figure carrying around an expensive camera and some goodies is a bit of a disarming way to approach total strangers, unless they're expecting you.

If I'm on an airplane, and I'm looking through my images on my laptop, I do occasionally get questions from people sitting next to me. Nobody's ever said anything rude to me, and I've struck up some interesting conversations from folks as well over the subject and travel, etc.

[US71]

Good start! I look forward to seeing more

[Mergingtraffic]

Good start! I look forward to seeing more

Thanks US71!  I added more today.  Thank god for the Flickr app.

[Avalanchez71]

Oh yeah don't forget to walk against the flow of traffic in Tennessee if you are going to be on the roadway.  If a law enforcement officer wanted to be a pest about something he could hammer you on that.