I was just in San Diego doing some private training with a client that included night shooting each evening. One of these evenings, I was detained by military police for about 30 minutes while making photographs on a public sidewalk. On this particular night we were apparently near, but not on, a naval base. It was 2am, and I had my tripod setup under a streetlight. I was enjoying the playful, intermingling colors from neighboring mercury vapor, metal halide and incandescent light along this particular street. I was making images of the streetlights and of the streets themselves, not of the naval base or its industrial gate entrance down the street. Here’s the image I was making when a hummer full of soldiers in camouflage pulled up and said “Hey – what are you doing? Don’t move!”

I love telling people what I’m doing when I’m shooting and night, and often show images to explain the concept of making this kind of art. But these guys didn’t want to see my images; they called for backup (more…)