Moscow, Russia. 15:44pm. 17 October 2006
In the second of a new series of travel photography tales, Canon pro and PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine columnist David Clapp reveals how he was nearly arrested by the police in Moscow - and an hour later, it happens again...
"In 2006, I made my first trip to St Petersburg and Moscow. The architecture of this country has always fascinated me, with its incredible palatial masterpieces like the Hermitage and St Basil’s Cathedral. When my wife’s school organized a trip to these fabulous cities, I was deemed responsible enough to accompany the group as an assistant – and I would also be free to pursue my own agenda.
On arriving in Moscow, we stay in the popular Hotel Cosmos. It looks like it could also be a nightclub from the gaudy red strips of neon and mirror balls. The following day’s excursions are to ecclesiastical sites, ending with a trip to the GUM department store, which has some superb symmetry.
I have planned a day on the underground, with the intention of shooting more precision symmetry on the platforms of fabulous art deco stations. One in particular has Stalinist imagery and is high on my list. I have a new (in 2006) Canon EOS 5D, a Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, an adapted Contax 35-70mm f/3.4 and an EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM in my kit bag, plus I also need a tripod, because these places are not particularly well lit.
I arrive at the Ploschad underground station and exit the train. The platform is busy and after the crowds disperse, I get a chance to examine the beautiful bronzes. There is a man with his arm around a dog, a field worker with a scythe, and many more, all of which could be photographs in themselves.
With the platform now empty, I swiftly put up my tripod, thinking out my shot as I do. It’s going to need 20 seconds at least if I am to keep the ISO low, and the aperture will need to be at around f/11."
"I assemble everything, swap to portrait orientation and take a shot.
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Then the unexpected happens. In the dying seconds of the exposure, a large policeman walks into the frame. He is surprised to see me and engages me in Russian. I try to explain I am English and he asks me for my passport.
“No passport,” I reply.
“Passport…” he demands.
“Passport at Hotel Cosmos,” I confirm.
“Passport…”
We are getting nowhere. Then the fear hits me, he’s linking his first two fingers together, the global sign for “I am going to arrest you if you don’t give me your passport.” I grab my guide book. Perhaps I could order him a beer and get myself out of this. The sweat is forming on my brow as I grapple with tourist phrases.
He takes the book from me and strangely we now seem to be working together. Bored of this dumb English guy, he gestures me away. I dismantle my tripod faster than I ever have and extend my hand in gratitude. He stares at me so I head to the escalator. As I ascend slowly to my new-found freedom, a wave of relief causes me to break a nervous smile."
"Out on the street, I walk into Red Square. There is St Basil’s Cathedral, floodlit and beautiful in the blue hour. Leaving my tripod low, I grab my EF 70-200mm f/4L lens, at f/11, compose a portrait shot, and during the eight-second exposure, I see a man walking towards me. He opens his wallet. His ID says KGB.
“Get your tripod, your camera and leave now, or I will arrest you,” he demands. I immediately do as he says.
Safely back on the bus later on, the kids delight in my tales of nearly being imprisoned twice in one day. "
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