No. I'm Not OSHA.
If you’re a photographer and you see what you think would be a good photo to illustrate a story about a new building being built just off the main street of town, grab a camera from the trunk of your car and begin making photographs of the workers, don’t be surprised if they give you that side eye look as if you’re someone they don’t like and don’t want to see.
You might be that person.
That happened to me today and not for the first time. I started making photos of the power-washing at the new office and apartment building going up on West College.
Most of the recent work has been done inside the building where I’m not allowed without permission and have been told I won’t get it. So, I make photos off the property. From public land or a place where I am allowed.
The power-washing crew is a subcontractor for the building. This was their first day on the job and they had never seen me before. Most of the other crews know me because I stop often just to see what is different although I don’t always make photos. Sometimes it’s just to make conversation, get familiar with one another or just to say hello.
I kept getting the side eye from the guy on the lift as he paused to change its position along the building front. He would maneuver the lift with one hand, hold the wand with the other, and frequently turn to see what I was doing. When he reached the bottom of the section he’d been washing I walked over and said before he could ask and much to his relief, “I’m not OSHA.”
He now was very relaxed, smiling, and lighter on his feet as he exited the lift.
His coworker, who didn’t hear me say I wasn’t OSHA, appeared around the same time and gave me a look that implied that he wanted to know who I was, what I was doing, and why I was doing it, and tell me right now before you do anything else.
Smiling, I repeated that I wasn’t OSHA. He then relaxed and smiled just as his companion had done earlier.
I knew what had happened.
One of the methods OSHA uses to collect infractions is to stand off-site, often with a camera for documentation, checking to see if the rules are being followed. Then they go on the site, check in the main construction office, usually a trailer, announce who they are and ask to talk to the safety officer for a closer inspection. They are not allowed on the site without permission, just like me.
I once cleared a very large apartment construction site off Central College at Harlem Road just by parking in the adjacent parking lot and getting a camera out of my trunk. It was like turning the lights on in a dark room filled with cockroaches. Everyone scattered either exiting the site or disappearing into dark corners.
One of my rules is to do nothing that wouldn’t get me invited back. I’m going back tomorrow to what I’m now calling the Ampersand Building. They know I’m not the punishing authority of OSHA.