MonkeyMetal

The second in my series on food.  Emily is a Chicago model who was up in Madison last October.

I am extremely pleased with how these turned out.  Emily is an outstanding model and I would recommend her to anyone.

So it’s been a few months since the last update on my Robert W. Kastenmeier courthouse experience.  After not hearing from anyone for about 6 weeks, on February 10th, 2010 I called the offices of Representative Baldwin and Senator Feingold.  Two days later I received a letter with a number of pages from Representative Baldwin.  Click the picture to read it full size.

In it she recaps what has happened so far and then says that her office received a reply letter from the Department of Homeland Security on January 6th.  Would have been nice if they would have forwarded it to me when it was received. 

Apparently the Federal Protective Service, part of DHS, provides security at the vast majority of US courthouses but not Kastenmeier, which is protected by the US Marshall service.  The current U.S. Marshal told an aide to Representative Baldwin that he considered the case closed because of Judge Crabb’s letter (page 1, page 2) from November 5th.  It should be noted the the Marshal the aide spoke to is Mr. Steven Fitzgerald, who is different than the one interviewed by Bill Leuders for his Isthmus article.

The letter to Representative Baldwin from DHS is below, click to see it bigger.

First, the letter reveals that the Federal Protective Service has “no record or contact with Mr. Zytkiewicz".  Well, that’s good because I never gave anyone my name, they’d only know it from the letters.

It goes on to say that while FPS provides security for 800 courthouses, the Robert W. Kastenmeier courthouse is one of seven pilot facilities where security is provided by the U.S. Marshal service.  Well, isn’t that interesting.  How many parts of our government don’t know what the hell is going on with other parts of the government?  First it was GSA, then it was DHS, now it’s the U.S. Marshal service with is under the Department of Justice.

The letter then goes on for almost a paragraph about the often repeated lie that terrorist use photography. 

“Therefore, as a precautionary measure, FPS personnel may approach individuals photographing Federal buildings in an attempt to ascertain their reasons for photographing the facility, so as to protect against security compromises.”

This is just so ludicrous.  Much better writers than I have written pages and pages about why idea’s like this don’t work.  Just a few days ago Stephen Haynes wrote a wonderful piece about Security Theater.

Now the last sentence of the paragraph is very interesting.  It may even be useful to photographers to print out this letter and carry it with them.

“Unless there is a reasonable belief that criminal or terrorist reconnaissance activity is involved, FPS guidelines regarding this issue prohibit FPS personnel from taking any enforcement action, including detaining persons or seizing cameras or film.”

Now, I’m not a lawyer, and have no legal training.  But I do know that reasonable belief, and reasonable suspicion are closely related.  Meaning that FPS personnel and law enforcement officers must have specific evidence that would lead a reasonable person to believe that you have committed, are committing, or about to commit a crime.  I highly doubt that taking pictures of a public building, standing on public property, making no attempt to conceal your actions would lead anyone to believe you are a criminal.

So now I guess I write some letters to the Mr. Fitzgerald, the U.S. Marshals service, and Attorney General Eric Holder.

So a few things have happened since I wrote my last update on my experience at the Robert W. Kastenmeier Courthouse.

First, on December 4th I was interviewed live on the radio by Sly on Sly in the Morning 1670 WTDY-Madison.  You can hear the segment here.

I’d like to thank Dylan the Executive Producer of Sly in the Morning.  He converted the recording of my encounter with the guard into a WAV file and tweaked the volume so it’s easier to hear.  You can find it here.

I’ve also received a follow up letter from Representative Baldwin’s office.

It seems that the GSA is not responsible for the security of federal courthouses, that task belongs to the Department of Homeland Security.  So Ralph Conner, Acting Associate Administrator of the GSA has forwarded my letter to Phillip McNamara, Executive Secretary of DHS.

And lastly I received a copy of a letter sent by Senator Russ Feingold to Chani Wiggins, Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, who is also with the Department of Homeland Security.

I particularly like the Senators letter for phrases such as “street view photographs” and a request for a “response detailing any restrictions on the photographing of federal buildings”.

One interesting piece of trivia I found when researching the Department of Homeland Security was this organizational chart.

It appears that Mr. McNamara is only two steps away from the Secretary of Homeland Security, and Ms. Wiggins is only one step away.  Since the Secretary of Homeland Security reports directly to the President I can’t go much higher.

Lyjya is a new model here in Madison.  She contacted me on ModelMayhem. 

Liz and Mike contacted me through Craigslist about wanting some pictures.  They were looking for something intimate and romantic, and had never posed before.  We started out in one of the balconies overlooking the Capitol Rotunda.

Then we moved into one of the upper floor hallways near the elevator

Then I changed the lighting so that they were backlit.  These almost silhouettes really capture the feelings they share.

  The Capitol was closing as we shot these last few so we headed to Edgewood Drive.  Edgewood Drive follows the shore of Lake Wingra from Vilas Park to the opposite side of Edgewood College.  Though I’ve been to the area many times (I drove through Vilas Park daily when I worked on Part Street) I had never explored this path.  It’s definitely a place I’ll be returning to.  If for no other reason than pictures like the ones below.

In the spirit of full disclosure, we did cheat a little.  The leaves weren’t actually falling, Liz and Mike through them in the air, then quickly embraced.

“I’ll get a hold of Madison PD, they’ll come talk to you.”

That’s a threat that I received from a security guard at the Robert W. Kastenmeier United States Courthouse in Madison, Wisconsin.  Here’s the story.

I rented a Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 APO G SSM lens to shoot a wedding on October 3rd.  This is the second time I rented this lens and I’ve taken thousands  of pictures with it but they’ve all been wedding pictures.  I wanted to try some other things with it and since I wasn’t able to find any models available I decided to go to downtown Madison.

I started my journey in front of the Madison Municipal building.  They were hosting an exhibit of photography from Chernobyl by Michael Forster Rothbart.

Afterwards I walked the two blocks north to the Wisconsin Capitol.  About the only attention I got was from this guy.

Squirrel on the Capitol Grounds

I entered the Capitol building through one of the public entrances.  There are at least 4, one on each end of the 4 wings, none of which are guarded or secured in anyway.  I say at least 4 because I think there are upper and lower entrances on the stairs between each of the four wings.  The first “official” person that I saw that day was one of the guides at the information desk in the Rotunda.  I was able to walk freely and photograph throughout almost all of the Capitol.

Liberty Mural, one of four murals just below the dome.

I didn’t go into any of the private offices but I was able to enter a small conference room.

Small conference room

And the North Hearing Room with it’s wonderful murals by Charles Yardley Turner.

Detail of Mural in the North Hearing Room

After leaving the Capitol I walked down State Street.  Not seeing anything that interesting I turned towards the Robert W. Kastenmeier United States Courthouse.

Robert W. Kastenmeier United States Courthouse

Robert W. Kastenmeier United States Courthouse Main entrance

As you can see the Robert W. Kastenmeier United States Courthouse is a very visually interesting building.  First off, it’s blue.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a blue building.  Designed by architect Kenton Peters of Madison, it’s covered in blue metal, with red accents, some of which are neon.

So I started to photograph the building.  Some wider shots, some close ups, from all different sides.  On the west side of the building there’s a small alley between it and the City of Madison Overture center parking ramp.  (In the picture at that link, the blue line just above the head of the two gentleman is the back of the courthouse).

Courthouse on the left, parking ramp at right

There are no fences, no signs, nothing limiting access to this area as being off limits.  I walked straight ahead in this picture and come out on the other side where I took this picture.

Robert W. Kastenmeier United States Courthouse - Rear

I turned a little to my right and snapped this picture

Wisconsin Capitol Dome

when I heard someone calling “Hey, Hey, Hey”.  A security guard was approaching me.  At this point I turned on the voice recorder in my iPhone.  Here’s a transcript of our conversation.

Guard:  Hey Hey

Guard:  Hi how you doing?

Me:  Pretty good

Guard:  What you shooting pictures of?

Me:  Whatever I want

Guard:  Well yeah I understand that.  For what?

Me:  Just ’cause I was out today

Guard:  Ok. What’s your name?

Me:  Why do you need to know?

Guard:  This is the federal courthouse, we like to know why you’re shooting pictures around it.

Me:  There’s…

Guard, interuppting me:  Relax man, no one, no ones in trouble.  We just, we like to know.

Me:  There’s no law that says I can’t take pictures.

Guard: No there’s not.

Me:  So, what’s your deal?

Guard:  I want to know why you were taking pictures and what you were taking pictures of is all.  That’s it.

Me:  Well.  (I shrug, looking at him)

G:  Okay, have a nice day.

Guard walks away, I shoot a picture.  He turns around.

G:  But you won’t take one of the building.

M:  What was that?

G:  Don’t take one of the building.

M:  Why not?

G:  Because…..security procedures.

M:  What security procedures?  There’s no law that says I can’t take pictures.

G:  I’ll get ahold of Madison PD they’ll come and talk to you.

Guard walks away.  I stick around shooting pictures of the building for another ten mintues, no police ever show up.

Guard:  Hey Hey

Guard:  Hi how you doing?

Me:  Pretty good

Guard:  What you shooting pictures of?

Me:  Whatever I want

Guard:  Well yeah I understand that.  For what?

Me:  Just ’cause I was out today

Guard:  Ok. What’s your name?

Me:  Why do you need to know?

Guard:  This is the federal courthouse, we like to know why you’re shooting pictures around it.

Me:  There’s…

Guard, interuppting me:  Relax man, no one, no ones in trouble.  We just, we like to know.

Me:  There’s no law that says I can’t take pictures.

Guard: No there’s not.

Me:  So, what’s your deal?

Guard:  I want to know why you were taking pictures and what you were taking pictures of is all.  That’s it.

Me:  Well.  (I shrug, looking at him)

G:  Okay, have a nice day.

Guard walks away, I shoot this picture.

Robert W. Kastenmeier United State Courthouse

He turns around.

Guard:  But you won’t take one of the building.

Me:  What was that?

Guard:  Don’t take one of the building.

Me:  Why not?

Guard:  Because…..security procedures.

Me:  What security procedures?  There’s no law that says I can’t take pictures.

Guard:  I’ll get ahold of Madison PD they’ll come and talk to you.

The Guard then walks back towards the building.  At this point I’m not sure if I’m standing on Federal or City propery so I walk to the sidewalk but continue to take picture.

Robert W. Kastenmeier United State Courthouse

Robert W. Kastenmeier United State Courthouse

I stick around shooting pictures of the building for another ten mintues, no police ever show up.  On the way back to my vehicle I spot this outside the Central Library.

On the sidewalk outside the Cental Library, Downtown Madison

Lets just hope that someday the federal government will learn to trust it’s citizens.

That’s right she has super powers.  She can defy gravity.  She can fly.  I have the pictures to prove it.  These were taken in the hallway next to the Memorial Union Theater.

So this is a very large post in terms of the amount of pictures.  Depending on your connection it might take a while to download them all.  We took these pictures just after the last set.

This is the second set with Sydney Max.  Again, these were shot on August 20th.  The weather this day was difficult from a photographic standpoint.  The temperature was good, but the sun kept moving in and out of the clouds.  In one frame the sky looks like it’s about to storm, in the next frame it’s a beautiful summer day.  To try to compensate for that we moved to the chairs under a small tree.

So I’m starting something new with this post.  In the past I would wait until I was done editing all the photos from a shoot.  And while it was nice to know I had them all done, sometimes it would take a while.  I wouldn’t be able to post as often, and when I did I think some of the pictures didn’t get as much attention.

Now I’m going to post as I get sets done.  I consider a set to be one outfit or one location, from a shoot.  Today the set is Sydney Max at the Red Gym on the University of Wisconsin – Madison campus.  We shot these on August 20th.  I have three more sets from that day, and not to give to much away, but in the second set she defies gravity.

This one is my favorite.

So there’s a proposal before the Madison City Council to gather data on how much people drive. http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad/latest/460514

The goal is to reduce driving and make it easier for people to get around without a car.  There use to be specifics like a reduction in of 25% in miles traveled by 2020, but that was removed because too many people objected.  If you go to the link above you can see the currently 50 comments from some of my fellow citizens.  Most of them negative.  Which is really hard to believe because this is a good proposal.  Even with the 25% reduction in miles I would support this.  People drive too much.

I’ve spoken before about transportation issues.  (Here and Here)  If we can make it easier to choose a more environmentally friendly option, why wouldn’t we?  If a mode of transportation is easier or cheaper people will use it.

Take the Madison Metro Bus for example.  A one month bus pass is $55, less than $2 a day.  I pay only slightly less than that just to insure my car.  I own my car and don’t make payments but the average car payment is at least $400 a month.  ( $479 according to this article from 2007) That’s a savings of at least $12 a day.  But you know why I don’t ride the bus?  Convenience.  The bus stop closest to my home only has a bus there every 30 minutes on a weekday and every hour on the weekend.  In Madison it doesn’t take more than an hour to get anywhere by car or moped so why would I wait that long to take the bus unless I had to?  Answer:  I don’t, and neither do most of the other people in Madison.  The only way you’ll get more people to ride the bus instead of the car would be to make it more convenient.  Buses need to run every 10 minutes, 15 minutes at the most.  Yes this will cost money.  But the increased usage will offset that.  And if you’re running the buses more often they don’t have to be as big.  Why have a bus that can hold 100 passengers when most of the time they’re empty?  Why not use a bus half the size.

Another area we can really work on is location.  71% of people live over 5 miles from their job.  Half live over ten miles away.  (source) And if you’re that far from your job how far are you from other things?  Grocery store, doctors, shopping.  Just in Janurary 2008 Americans traveled over 226 Billion miles (source). Why?  Why live so far away?  Answer:  Because our society lets them.  It’s not considered wrong to live so far away.  When a former boss moved to the area, he thought nothing of living in Sun Prairie and driving the 20 miles one way to work on the west side each day.  I on the other hand didn’t want to buy anything that was more than 2 miles, and preferably within one mile.   I don’t think we really need, or would want to actually prevent people from living or working where they would like, but we can make it undesirable.

One of the reasons people give for not living in the cities is lower taxes.  That’s easy enough to fix, raise taxes.  It’s always bothered me that people who don’t live in the cities, use all of the wonderful resources that the cities offer, but don’t pay for them.  85,000 people work in Madison each day, but don’t pay a dime for any of our city services.  They use our roads, are protected by our police and fire departments, shop at our stores, and many times work at companies that have been lured here with city funds.  Personally I even look down on the people who live in the continuous cities like Middleton or Fitchburg.

And how much are we spending in travel costs to live so far away?  Those 226 Billion miles we traveled in January 2008 cost us over 28 Billion dollars in fuel alone. (assuming 20 MPG and $2.50 a gallon gas)  How much for all those extra cars and trucks?  Speaking of extra cars and trucks how many times do you see people driving 4, 5, 8 or more passenger vehicles with just the driver?  85% of people commute to work alone.  Yes there are legitimate uses for multi-passenger vehicles, but every vehicle does not need to be multi-passenger, especially when the vast majority of the time it’s only the driver.