For some time now, I have been wanting to make a trip to Hamilton, Ontario to take pictures. A couple of weeks ago, the opportunity presented itself and off I went with two other photographer friends to capture all that the blue-collar town has to offer. To most people, Hamilton is the city you never visit twice, with its countless abandonded buildings and an even greater number of demolished or partially demolished industrial sites. In fact, even the buildings that are still in use have a decaying quality that only a photographer could love. These are the very things that drew me to the place.

We spent a fair bit of time driving around the city trying to decide where to begin, before settling into the industrial playground that rests its head on the shoulder of lake ontario. All of the big names are down there: Stelco, Dofasco, Union Gas, Lakeshore Sand ... we could barely contain our drool at the thought of getting inside some of these places, but we knew that the best we could do was to get close - and that is just what we did.

Through fences we shot densified metals packed into perfectly shaped cubes; we shot pyramids of sand set against a backdrop of grey skies and blue buildings; and we shot the blue and yellow pipework of a factory set outdoors, and that is where the story gets interesting. While getting ready to shoot the wonderful colours through the fence, I noticed a woman had come outside for a cigarette so I said hello. She proceeded to tell me that I needed permission to take pictures on their property. It took a great deal of strength for me to resist the urge to move my tripod two feet back where I would have been on a public street, but in the end I managed to refrain. Afterall, I had already snapped what I wanted and my friends were waiting in the car. So, I wished her a happy new year and said goodbye.

All of this happened less than two weeks ago. I received a phone call tonight from my friend who did the driving that day, informing me of the visit by Hamilton Wentworth police to his home tonight. It seems the busy-body smoker-lady called them and said that an east indian terrorist had been taking photos of their factory.

First off, not every person with brown skin is a terrorist. Second, I AM A WHITE GUY WITH RED HAIR! Perhaps my appearance was marred by the cloud of smoke in front of her face. There are so many levels on which this story saddens me. It is truly upsetting that photographers are increasingly finding themselves the subject of such harassment and in a growing number of cases - banishment from places like the NYC subway and most recently Wal-Mart. Even though I have never had any desire to take photos anywhere near a Wal-Mart store, I was still disturbed by their treatment of people with cameras.

I really think it is time for North Americans to get some real problems to concern themselves with. Let's face it - our biggest concerns include the rising price of gasoline and whether or not we can fit two bicycles in the back of our SUV when we head up to Muskoka for the weekend. Lighten up people. If we keep going down this road, the world will have no more art of any kind and people like the smoking lady of Hamilton will have suceeded in supressing every bit of creative expression in existence.

My apologies to the cops from Hamilton who had to make the drive to Toronto for this - I sincerely hope that no real crimes were comitted in your absence. On the other hand, maybe you should be thanking us for getting you out for a few hours of fresh air.