Mecca

Nikon D70 @ 18 mm, 1/320 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200
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Ah, shopping malls - the Churches of the 21st Century, surely? I love the architecture of shopping centres, particularly when they're completely empty - but when do we ever get chance to shoot them like that? Mind you, it's increasingly impossible to shoot them when they're full of people either. I barely had time to squeeze this shot off, and one in the portrait orientation, before a security guard swooped on me and told me off for taking photographs. It's not allowed, presumably for security reasons.

I sort of understand the logic behind it - maybe they think that all photographers are potential thieves/terrorists 'casing the joint', or maybe they just think it's an invasion of privacy or copyright or something. I don't quite know, because there's never an actual answer to these questions when I (politely) ask, while putting my camera away without deleting my shots... It's a particularly poignant point considering the date (and not deliberately so) but I wonder if this level of paranoia has increased in recent years? Having only been photographing at this level for a few months, I wouldn't know.

Either way, one day I think I will actually write to the management of these shopping centres and get specific permission to shoot in one. Just to piss off the security guards.