Did you get away with it?
Indeed. All of these apply.
Primarily, a person is quite entitled to take a photo of anything from a public place, without fear of molestation.
A pub's interior is private property and in the main, I don't take interior photos as it's just not good manners to do so without permission, particularly if pics are going to include images of customers. Some just don't want their privacy invaded by endless group photos, selfies and the like; I just get sick of the group photo binges due to the constant flashbulbs going off, particularly in one instance when a person produced a Canon EOS 1D with a flashgun with a greater output than a lighthouse and began firing this thing off like a machinegun.
Of course there's the issue that some may think we are casing the joint and are recording valuables or security weaknesses but in the case of people, some might not want photographing because they may think that we are the Authorities keeping tabs on suspected criminals or dole dodgers.
Others may think that we are acting on behalf of prospective property developers. I remember around 2004 I was photographing some rather rundown high-rise buildings near The Wenlock as part of a project to document architecture of the period. I was accosted by some locals and asked when Islington council was going to undertake much-needed repairs. When I told them that I didn't work for the council and was just photographing the particular style of architecture, they though I must be mad.
If I plan on visiting a pub and taking an exterior photo, the simple way of avoiding any potential problem is to visit the pub first and then photograph it on leaving.
You ain't seen pub valuables until you've drunk in The Gunton Arms - ££££££££.
Oh dear, I recall Mrs Ale having a similar experience whilst taking a picture of a pub in Stratford on Avon. After taking the photo from across the road, we heard a string of expletives from a fag smoker outside the pub who appeared out of nowhere. We hadn't intended going in anyway. Needless to say, we made a hasty exit...
Last edited by Real Ale Ray; 26-09-2019 at 20:00.
'I only drink on two occasions, when I'm thirsty and when I'm not'
Brendan Behan
Although they can try to chase you down in a car, which happened to me once (although thankfully my route to the next stop involved a short length of footpath that confounded the pursuers...) but what on earth had they done to be worried about to provoke that extreme reaction?
There was also another occasion on an early Pubs Galore crawl (or possibly a day trip involving a few Pubs Galore members) where an irate landlord came chasing out of their premises and accosted us when we were by then some distance away. Something about a dispute with the pubco was the reason, if I recall, and he thought we were spying on him.