Since my recent forays into GMAX I'm finding the need to do a great deal of walking around downtown Phoenix with my digital camera snapping shots of building sides from rather bizarre angles that a normal tourist or photographer wouldn't necessarily be doing. I've been wondering, in our state of heightened national paranoia, if people wouldn't view my actions with some trepidation and call the authorities on me, thinking I may be some terrorist or criminal casing out structures. Got me thinking that there must be quite a few of us going around doing this kind of thing and I was wondering if anyone had ever gotten harrassed taking shots of sensitive areas. Surely you'd make someone nervous these days going to large airports and snapping photos of the sides of terminals, hangars, and support buildings. Anyway, would love to hear how everyone gets their texture shots and if there are any great stories about the risks involved.Art

Last year, I did scenery of two separate airports about 2 hour drive apart. Before taking any pics, I emailed the administrator of each detailing what I intended and could I get permission to take photos, accompanied by a security representative if necessary. I also asked for access to the apron side, which ordinarily is not available to the public except when getting on or off aircraft. I insisted that this be carried out at their convenience; in between flight operations, for example, so as not to present too much of a hazard in their minds.The one readily gave permission and set up an appointment. The other sat on the fence for the longest time before I was finally able to convince them that I wasn't bin Laden.My advice: email, or phone someone with authority and plead your case. Even suggest that copies of your photos can be given to them to prove your intent. If you're extremely fortunate, someone with authority will be a simmer too!! This will go a lot further than if you just show up and start walking around click-clicking everything in sight, even if as tax payers we feel that access to public buildings should be our right. Try and pick a day and time when op's are dull and few people walking around(don't want them in your photos) and fewer vehicles blocking views.

Hi Art,I have not yet been in trouble (yet) while taking photos. Even after 911 I could walk in the public areas of Schiphol (Amsterdam airport) and take photos without trouble. But one of the team members of our Dutch team almost got into trouble doing the same, he was warned that they would take away his photos if he did not dissapear right away (and that is what he did).But I guess it is easier to get into trouble in the US, then it is here in the Netherlands.Even before 911 it happened more often that people just did not understood what I was doing. For example while taking photos at the GA airfield of Texel, other visitors kept telling me that the parachutes were coming down and that I had to watch them, while I was taking pictures of the hangars :).

The whole world is not paranoid about terrorist attacks, only the U.S. I remember living in France during the worst time of terrorism, bombs going off right and left everywhere, and aside from the C.R.S. in the streets with their tommy guns, business went on as usual and nobody called the cops when someone pulled out a camera.Here are some shots taken recently of the El Portillo airport (MDPO in case you are interested.)http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/120219.jpgPlease note the perimeter fence in the foreground:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/120216.jpgAs you can see, we are not really worried about some nutcase with an exploding shoe.Here is the control tower:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/120217.jpgI wonder, is that controller reaching in the window to answer the radio or to grab his cold glass of rum and coke? I bet on the rum and coke.And the passenger terminal:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/120218.jpgAlright, it is not Kennedy airport, but at least I did not have to ask anyone for permission to take some pictures.Best regards.Luis

Oh that's too funny Luis. Doubt you need to worry about getting strip searched there.Art

ROFL. That's putting it perspective, Luis. Looks very much like a couple of airports I've been to in Costa Rica.And yes, before taking photos at an airport, I notify the airport authorities. Although it helps to contact the right people.At one airport, the Public Relations folks wanted to charge me C$300/hour to shoot groundside. Plus various other fees. Teehee. Engineering was much more cooperative.Jon

I'm frankly not concerned with airports as such. Obviously they're going to be sensitive to people walking around with cameras taking shots of terminal buildings. My FS fun consists of spending as little time as possible in them and taking in the eye candy once you've left them. I was primarily wondering about wandering around city streets snapping shots of buildings. In Phoenix we certainly have a large tourist population so I'm sure my activities are diluted significantly by them. However, we have this really strange political climate these days and I just wonder how I'll handle it if someone in authority comes up and questions my actions someday. I'm not so sure I won't get a bit defensive about it and tell them it's none of their business what I'm doing. I think it's approaching that day when we need to start responding to invasion of privacy again and stop this national paranoia. Art

Just don't get caught taking photos of MILITARY airports, especially in GREECE. But in the US and Australia and the UK I assume too, it constitutes an offence. Unless you are with an authorised person!Is GMAX easy to use? I just installed it....Danielwww.danielmcaloon.tk

Is Gmax easy? In a word, no. But it depends greatly on your spatial reasoning ability and experience with complex tools. I found great support at http://www.scenerydesign.org which was critical to moving beyond creating a pretty pink box. I found (with that advice)my desire for instant creative gratification was met. In other words I could create fairly cool objects in a matter of weeks.Even without complex tool experience, with patience and logic, good results can be had.Also recommended for gmax advice:http://www.turbosquid.com/MessageBoard/ind...hreads/FID/1065http://www.aerodynamika.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgiJon