P3D Re: Tripods in DC

["KENNETH LUKER" <KLUKER@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> We plan to visit Washington,DC in conjunction with the NSA
> Convention. I work strictly with a tripod(and a cable release). I
> heard somewhere that tripods are a No-No in some areas of DC. Does
> anyone have any knowledge of this?

I was in Washington in May, and I set up my tripod next to the fence 
on the north side of the White House.  I was about to squeeze the
release when a uniformed man approached and spoke to me through the
fence.  He was stern, in a hurry, and definite: "Sir, you may not use
a tripod here.  You must go across the street if you have a tripod."
So, I folded down the sunshade of my Realist, unscrewed the Realist
from the tripod, laid the tripod on the ground, (the man was still
standing next to me, watching), and I pushed the Realist through the
fence and squeezed off my shot, hand-held.  The man walked away.

I put the Realist back on the tripod and walked along toward the
east, turning in at the north-east gate.  I found myself inside the
compound on what seemed to be a broad footpath.  I walked south and
found an interesting view directly toward the Capitol, away from the
White House, with hedges, buildings and flowers framing the distant
dome.  I spread the tripod legs, took an exposure reading, set the
exposure and squeezed the cable release.  I changed the setting to
bracket the exposure, as I saw a uniformed man walking toward me.  I
squeezed it off as he reached me and said "Sir, you may not set up
your tripod here in the road."  "Is this a road?"  "Yes, it is an
active road, and tripods are not allowed here.  You must remove it.
NOW!"  I looked at each end of the path and saw the heavy gates
locked shut, and the bollard obstructions in the middle of the path. 
I folded up the tripod and collapsed the legs. "Looks like traffic is
a little light today," I observed.  He glared at me as I walked to
the end of the path and left the grounds. All three shots came out 
acceptably.  

Ken Luker
 _______________________________________________________________
Kenneth Luker
Marriott Library Systems and Technical Services
KLUKER@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


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