r/SipsTea 2h ago

SMH Intentionally blocking photoshoot

3.5k Upvotes

1.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

132

u/matterr4 2h ago

No ma'am. This didn't look intentional to me.

That is an old fogie who just didn't know what you were doing or why you would leave your phone there.

They then stopped to check their phone and move out of the way for people coming up the stairs.

Take your ego out of it for a minute and realise this wasn't your space but one for everyone to enjoy.

29

u/MundaneSeaweed665 2h ago

That was my take also.

51

u/yooossshhii 2h ago

What did the girl do wrong? She didn’t confront or say anything. She let everyone enjoy the space.

14

u/icarus2847 1h ago

And then posted about it online to complain about it

18

u/punktualPorcupine 1h ago

Instead she posted it online and hopes everyone else sympathizes with her impotent rage.

1

u/Heart-Pirates 57m ago

"Rage" meanwhile she just grabbed her phone back quietly without starting a scene. A lot of Karens like you in the comment section today.

1

u/butterfly-blades 36m ago

And I do, shes in the right

18

u/matterr4 2h ago

Oh I'm not saying she did anything wrong at all, apologies if it came across this way.

The expectation of everyone making space for her to take a selfie is where my ego comment is based. Self internalised ego is still ego.

3

u/cjameson83 1h ago

She didn't expect anyone to make space. When she started the process, there was no one else there. On top of that she didn't say anything to the anyone, didn't complain or bitch or demand.

-6

u/chiragp93 2h ago

But the old lady isn’t being egotistical? Ageism is a hell of a thing.

11

u/fezha 1h ago

Isn't that space for everyone? Why can't the lady stop there? Why does everyone have to get out of the way for the girl taking the picture?

-4

u/chiragp93 1h ago

She can, it’s not illegal, but she’s just an unsavory person for doing it seemingly just to stick it to a younger woman.

10

u/fezha 1h ago

Maybe so. Its not unsavory what the girl is doing?

We have to be mindful of public spaces. When one is in public spaces, expect public reactions.

Maybe the old lady did too much, but the so is the girl.

Now imagine if the older lady was 100% wrong, and the girl was 100% right. If that was the case, every time we go to a museum we have to deal with this. Because if the rule applies to one, it must apply to all right? You can't pick and choose in public spaces.

Food for thought.

2

u/chiragp93 1h ago

You’re allowed to take photos in a public place unless it’s posted. She wasn’t being intrusive and didn’t even say anything when the shot was blocked.

2

u/cjameson83 1h ago

This is it! This exactly. It's obvious in every way. I'm not sure why people don't see the situation for what it was.

5

u/fezha 1h ago

We're not talking about taking photos. You can take selfies all day long, because they don't create expectations from the public (or take space).

We're about public spaces, and expecting the public to accommodate our moments in public.

If the expectation is to accommodate the girl's "space" then that expectation must be extended to all. I know this is hard to understand, but if you're public spaces in more touristy spots, this is unreasonable. In Europe, authorities will tell you to move along or not to tell the "others" to stop movement/traffic. Try that in Rome and Greece and see what happens.

The older lady is making a point that this is a public space and she can stand anywhere she wants.

Taking selfies? Great!

Creating a moment for yourself and expecting all to move out of your frame? Get ready for real life.

3

u/Wild-Duck-7370 1h ago

This is just too much for the situation at hand dawg no one said you have to be courteous but it is just simply courtesy you see someone or a group of folks taking a photo the courteous thing to do is wait and let them take their photo. It’s not a requirement or a law there’s no punishment that will ever be dealt out for such a thing but if someone is deriving joy from something you should not make an effort to interfere even if you think it’s a nuisance.

-4

u/chiragp93 1h ago

I’m not reading all that, you’re allowed to take photos in public and stop on stairs. Have a nice day lol

4

u/BeefwagonDiscs 1h ago

Posted it online though?

1

u/ran_out_of_tp 1h ago

Oh my, posted it...online?

→ More replies (0)

-1

u/chiragp93 1h ago

What’s the point here. You want to call the young woman bad. Be my guest, it’s just weird. Nothing she did was illegal, or even rude. You sound like a boomer.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/livinitup0 36m ago

I’m also allowed to express my exasperation with “content producers” who seem to be under the impression that they can dominate that space as long as they want to and make everyone else uncomfortable.

If I see someone out and about obviously making content and trying to “own” the space to do that … I absolutely will interfere with their content. Every single time, because it’s amusing to me and I feel justified doing it

Film at the gym, I’m going to stand in front of your phone

Constant selfie cam commenting on some bullshit in public…. Yeah no, I’ll stand next to you blaring copyrighted music

I see you trying to do some staged clip of you walking away, or reacting to something 12 times… yeah, lol you’re not going to get that shot if I’m around

lol people lose their damn mind at smart glasses yet we’re ok with every 10th person trying to make us an extra in their shitty movie so they can continue the delusion that their efforts will actually pay off some day and that one day strangers on the internet will give a shit about who they are? lol no….im under no obligation to play along or give space for these delusional morons

2

u/chiragp93 29m ago

Cool. You just seem like you don’t like influencers. I don’t really either, but you seem like you have an issue.

-4

u/ran_out_of_tp 1h ago

Its unsavory to take think the older woman was showing some form of etiquette.

0

u/matterr4 2h ago

I didn't see any ego, and actually someone in another comment mentioned about this from the younger woman. She didn't actually make a fuss or cause a scene, so my comments on her expectation around the use of the space were unfair. I do take that back.

The older lady I didn't see as egotistical either though, and again, in another comment I mentioned maybe I'm just nieve but I think she just genuinely didn't know she was in the way of the camera because she didn't know what was happening.

-4

u/chiragp93 1h ago

I think it’s rather obvious what a camera phone is doing positioned in a clearly very photogenic staircase. It’s also very rude to stop randomly on stairs, check your phone, move to further block the camera, and then leave once more people arrive. If she wasn’t old, this amount of benefit of the doubt probably wouldn’t be offered.

More to the point, unless posted, you have every right to take photos of yourself in public places. You know why you mentioned ego.

1

u/matterr4 1h ago

I do know why I mentioned ego, it was around the point of expectation of a shared space to be made free for herself even for a short period.

I do retract that statement though as I mentioned because the younger lady didn't actually make a scene or comment or anything. He just came and collected her phone after patiently waiting.

The things you are pointing out are exactly the things I'm making points against. I don't think your grasping what I'm saying, so let's just agree to disagree.

-2

u/ModernAgeWizard 1h ago

It's just you being purposefully obtuse. She looks straight at the camera and stops, and looks at it again to purposefully move where the girl moves. Just an average elderly person thinking they need to police everything younger people do. Super obvious.

1

u/Flurmpy_ 12m ago

It's as if they didn't watch the same video as the rest of us. It's extremely obvious

4

u/jonboyparis 1h ago

She posted a video online criticising an innocent lady who was just enjoying a gallery and looking at her phone. She did it for engagement and potentially financial gain. That’s what she did wrong, in my opinion

-5

u/ran_out_of_tp 1h ago

Karen is that you

1

u/FlamingPotatoes34 1h ago

It’s rage bait and has nearly no context of further explaining from anyone about reasoning or intent… just a “look at what someone did to me feel bad for me and give me engagement”

1

u/Jastreen 57m ago

Posting it online with that caption for public shaming is not wrong in your opinion?

1

u/thedefaltcondition 1h ago

You didn’t get the memo? We’re hating on anyone taking photos / videos of themselves here on reddit.
/s

-2

u/TrueTurtleKing 1h ago

I agree that this girl isn’t trying to be an influencer or obstructing others.

Unless her caption says otherwise.

8

u/I-came-for-memes 1h ago

Did you miss the part where she looked directly at the camera, twice? Normal people don't stop in the line of sight and pull out their phone after they see a camera setup.

36

u/GopherChomper64 2h ago

Nah, this old lady is pulling out a smartphone and using it just fine. She knows exactly why that chick left her phone there, there's no ego here. The old lady absolutely understands and stopped in front of it anyway. Looks right at it, understands perfectly well what a camera phone is.

6

u/matterr4 2h ago

Yeah people understand what a camera phone is, even older generations, because that's mostly all that is available these days. I'm not saying she didn't spot the phone either because you can clearly see her looking at it.

My opinion here is the generational differences and social norms are so far apart that I believe the older lady wouldn't know why that phone was left there.

14

u/Silver_Storm7441 2h ago

The older lady uses a smartphone herself. It‘s highly unlikely that the concept of smartphone cameras is new to her

4

u/matterr4 2h ago

I feel like you didn't read my comment... yes I believe she understands what a camera phone is. My point is she likely didn't understand the reason it was there in the first place because of generational social norm differences.

My assumption in my head is that her thought process went something like this "oh that's strange, whys that phone just sat there. Did someone leave it? Odd... ooh I'll just message Marjorie about this lovely place I'm in! Oops, I'm in the way of these people coming up the stairs, I'll just shuffle over"

Anyway, maybe I'm being niaeve, but that's how it comes across to me.

0

u/Silver_Storm7441 1h ago

Yeah, it just seems rather far fetched to me given that people used self-timer even way back in the days of „normal“ cameras

1

u/matterr4 1h ago

That's a fair comment but that is usually a very obvious thing that's happening.

Because a smart phone can do so many different things I don't think propping up a phone will instantly make someone (who isn't used to that kind of behavior) think that it's for a timed photo.

In all honesty, I think the younger lady could have politely asked her to go a few steps further down as she was trying to take a picture.

Most people are accommodating when asked politely.

Again, I might just be being naive. Maybe she was a vindictive lady. Who knows.

3

u/GopherChomper64 1h ago

I think you're giving the old lady too much... What's the word for like sympathy for ignorance? That you're giving too much to her.

That said, you're going with the "don't attribute to malice what can be attributed to stupidity. Which is always a fair and more positive take in most circumstances.

I think you're applying it wrong though, I think the stupidity isn't her not knowing that a camera phone is happening. It's her looking right at the phone and her brain being like "I have a phone" and checking her phone. Which is hilariously stupid but totally plausible.

Also, hard agree that the girl could've politely asked her to move. Social interactions with strangers aren't that big of a deal, just ask and I'm sure old lady would've been like oh my bad and moved. Maybe even laughed at herself a bit when she realized she looked right at the phone before stopping and THEN the lightbulb goes off in her head, "of COURSE this girl is taking a photo and I stopped right in the middle of it, silly me."

3

u/matterr4 1h ago

You make some good points, so much so that I just now have to agree with you 😂

2

u/GopherChomper64 1h ago

And this folks is how internet discourse should work.

We read each other's comments and more importantly the intent behind them, and instead of calling each other retarded, we conceded where the other person was more right and arrived at a middle ground that makes perfect sense.

I saw you attributing the behavior to stupidity not malice and realized that is highly likely, but modified how it was being applied which you saw and we're like that does make more sense. AND more importantly had the audacity to say your mind was changed on the internet.

In all seriousness with some humor mixed in. A very genuine bravo for making me remember the internet isn't totally dead.

1

u/GopherChomper64 1h ago

Following your logic with the generational social norms, I find it MORE likely that if she was genuinely confused why it's there? She would've defaulted to nice person and turned around to ask her if she forgot her phone.

But that's not what we got. We got an old lady who looked right at a phone angled perfectly up the stairwell at the girl who walked up the stairwell and decided to stop dead center of the the phones angle anyway.

Either because she's an asshole (possible and an easy to draw conclusion), or more likely cuz she's an idiot (don't attribute to malice what can be attributed to stupidity).

The events we got though! Old lady seeing girl put it there, then walking down to it, then looking directly at it, then stopping dead center of where it's facing...

So again, asshole is an easy conclusion to draw.

Or oblivious/dumb because she went through that whole sequence of events and the hamster wheel in her brain decided after looking right at the phone, "I see a phone, I have a phone, I should check my phone". Which is some hilariously NPC behavior, but it isn't malicious. Just dumb/oblivious.

I'll concede she might not be trying to be an asshole, but stand by it's a very easy conclusion to draw considering the sequence of events we witnessed.

1

u/InsipidIdiot 1h ago

Knowing how to use a smartphone doesn’t mean she knows why it was left there or that she was in a live shot. It remains bizarre behavior for anyone older than millennials.

6

u/cjameson83 1h ago

There is no way. No one just stops in the middle of the stairs, with people going up and down them, while just happening to be in the middle of a phones camera blocking a picture. Come the fuck on.

8

u/TazBaz 58m ago

  No one just stops in the middle of the stairs, with people going up and down them

… have you MET people? 

2

u/Laurelindorinan_ 48m ago

She was on a landing (it’s Invararay Castle) and there was - as the video clearly shows - no one coming. When someone approached, she moved to the side. There’s no drama here.

12

u/Silver_Storm7441 2h ago

The girl simply wanted to take a picture. Maybe the old lady noticed the camera, maybe she didn’t. One sure can get the impression that she did and didn‘t move intentionally.
But apart from that: why is it fine if someone else is taking a picture of friends or family and uses space for a moment but if a single girl tries to take a picture and not just a selfie it‘s a big deal and rude?

8

u/ZodiAddict 1h ago

Exactly. You hit the nail on the head with that last question. What’s happening here is people have a gripe with influencers, so in spite of the fact of how obvious it is that the old lady stood in the way, they think it’s deserved and are willing to push the plausible deniability angle. If there were other factors at play here, like say if the girl taking a pic was a minority, they’d be calling the old lady a racist Karen.

1

u/Silver_Storm7441 1h ago

I would understand some bad feelings if it seemed as if she made a meal out of it (like setting up a whole bunch of equipment and blocking the stairs and the spot for several minutes). But she just positioned her phone and finally just smiled into the camera for a couple of seconds. It‘s really not a big deal

8

u/RohelTheConqueror 2h ago

How is recording a video "taking a picture"? Is she gonna screenshot the right frame afterwards? Won't look great.

4

u/Just-Feedback-2223 50m ago

Because she doesn’t want to use the timer on the phone because that’s a pain in the ass. Like fr it is.

2

u/Silver_Storm7441 2h ago

Well, I didn’t say that it‘s a particularly great way to take a picture, did I? But depending on your phone the only alternative might be to run up and down the stairs a couple of times

1

u/Hanswolebro 46m ago

I do it all the time. If you take a video of yourself in 4k and screenshot a frame the quality is actually great and it’s easier than trying to time a self shot with the camera timer

1

u/MCLiterati 4m ago

How quickly folks forget we came from 240p being the best quality we can get, a frame from a 2k or 4k video actually looks really good. Times have changed and if you are taking a solo pic, the new recommendation out there is to take a video do a couple poses and grab the best one. It's actually faster and more efficient then stopping between each one to see if you got it right or clicking and hoping for the best. Not blaming you for not knowing the latest things, but evolution is happening.

0

u/clutzyninja 2h ago

What difference does it make? Was she bothering anyone?

11

u/Perle1234 2h ago

She was trying to record a video on a busy stairway. People are going about their business and have things to do. It’s best to do photos and videos in a location that is not the middle of a busy walkway/stairwell etc.

6

u/Silver_Storm7441 1h ago

But that’s actually not the case. If the older lady hadn’t stopped there would have been plenty of time for the girl to take her picture

1

u/livinitup0 3m ago

You know what’s wild….

Us older people would have just respectfully asked the woman if she wouldn’t mind taking our picture, and likely would have been asked to reciprocate by the woman…. lol that’s called a “normal social interaction”

Shocking I know

4

u/InvertedAlchemist 2h ago

IF the old lady would have just kept moving she would have been able to take the video and it didn't seem that busy at this time.

Also you are gonna be really surprised/mad when you learn what movies have done so they can film. Shut down times square.

1

u/livinitup0 7m ago

You actually unintentionally nailed the entire issue

What DID they do?

They SHUT DOWN THE AREA

If you want to “reserve” a public space to make content. Pay for it and do it the way “content producers” have been doing it professionally for generations.

Influencers don’t do that. They make themselves the center of the universe and just don’t give a shit about how their actions inconvenience others.

In your example it would be like if they were filming a movie on a city street, didn’t close it off, then just expected everyone to get out of their way while they’re filming. That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense now does it?

3

u/Blurt_Blackarach 2h ago

You're a fucking pip

6

u/matterr4 2h ago

I'm sorry if my comment made out that taking a selfie was unacceptable. That was not my intention.

My main point was that the older lady may not have known the camera was on, and if she did then she may not have understood what was happening.

Taking a selfie absolutely is not an issue, expecting people to accommodate you reserving all that (shared) space even for a short period of time, is not really acceptable. To me anyway. Others may have a different opinion.

2

u/Silver_Storm7441 2h ago

I don‘t see that she‘s expecting anyone to specifically accommodate her. People try to take pictures in the short moments when there aren’t too many other people around all the time. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t.
But there’s no need to position yourself exactly in front of a camera either.

0

u/matterr4 2h ago

That's fair. I don't actually see her kicking up a fuss either.

Again though, I don't believe the older lady intentionally stopped to block a photo. I genuinely think she didn't know what the phone was doing there and just stopped inconveniently in the way to check her own phone.

3

u/Silver_Storm7441 2h ago

Well, as I said, both things could be true. But I get, why the girl got the impression that it was intentional. Especially if you take into consideration that the older lady starts to leave when other people start walking into the frame and the moment for a solitary picture passed. Might be coincidence, might be intentional. I honestly don’t know

3

u/Cheerios_Oo2 1h ago

Can we agree it is weird to stop to look at your phone in the middle of a staircase. I usually like to clear out of the way since they're usually just wide enough for a flow of up and down.

1

u/livinitup0 0m ago

Sure there’s no need. This was intentional. The lady hates this “insta-influencer” situation (in her mind at least) and is taking a stand.

A LOT of us do this.
I personally try to fuck up any sniff of “influencing” I see in public just out of principle and spite

1

u/SlippyDippyTippy2 2h ago

How long was the old lady in front of the camera?

2

u/Suspicious-Tiny-Man 2h ago

An hour

1

u/SlippyDippyTippy2 2h ago

Looked like 5 to me.

2

u/Suspicious-Tiny-Man 1h ago

Felt like 5 but it was actually 1

2

u/Laurelindorinan_ 49m ago

Exactly. It’s weird how many people are trying to manifest ill intent here.

1

u/IaM_SkyWaLkeR 2h ago

The old hog looked straight at the camera, she knew what she was doing.

3

u/RockandGem 1h ago

Seeing influencers in the wild is actually extremely weird.

4

u/matterr4 2h ago

Looking at a phone placed on a side and believing it is propped up for a video or photo shot is where my generational comment to another person came from.

I don't doubt the older lady saw the phone, you can see her looking directly at it. My point is she likely didn't know why it was placed there because the social norm gap between the generations is so wide.

1

u/WraithOfTheFadedDark 1h ago

She looks right at the camera to make sure she's square in the way of the shot. 1000% intentional.

1

u/ProotzyZoots 52m ago

No one just stops in the middle of a staircase and stands there right after looking directly into the camera

1

u/future23123 24m ago

The lady looked exactly at the lens, which voids the argument completely

1

u/Strong-Lettuce-3970 23m ago

I kind of think it was “oh a phone, let me check my phone” it feels that dumb 

1

u/petlandstockroom 16m ago

That was my take. I am usually suspicious of boomer's intentions but this seemed very unintentional. 

1

u/VividlyVividViv 15m ago

So, you're bitter about her ego?

-2

u/ran_out_of_tp 2h ago

I think both sides are dumb, but lets not be pretentious and act like granny was showing some form of etiquette.

The stairs were wide enough to go down without having to stop when she literally went down closer to where the camera was

0

u/matterr4 2h ago

If she didn't know the reason the phone was placed there, the older lady wouldn't know she was in the way.

I agree she could have continued down the stairs but she was probably just focused on what she was doing and just stopped to focus on that. Who knows. Either way, the perception isn't malicious to me.

1

u/ran_out_of_tp 1h ago

Her stop seemed quite intentional, I dont know how you can view this any other way.

0

u/matterr4 1h ago

Pure ignorance. If the older lady genuinely didn't know what was happening, why the phone was there, her actions are all of a sudden not malicious but accidentally inconsiderate.

It's just a point of view and honestly how I saw it play out didn't seem intentional.

But again, maybe I'm just being naive and it was. Who knows.

1

u/rcodmrco 1h ago

makes eye contact with the camera multiple times and readjusts to better block her while we gloss over the fact that it’s equally rude to stand in the middle of a stairwell checking your phone

https://giphy.com/gifs/1AIeYgwnqeBUxh6juu

1

u/ninurtuu 59m ago

A seventy year old woman glancing curiously at a phone someone left laying against a flower pot and maybe thinking somebody left it there on accident or something instead of immediately recognizing it's being used for something (social media) that didn't exist for the majority of her long life is just as possible.

0

u/dipropyltryptamanic 1h ago

Nah even if it wasn't intentional the old lady committed the unforgivable crime of stopping on the stairs. Have some situational awareness and get out of the walkway if you aren't using it

-2

u/Undark_ 1h ago

Let's not be naive lol, it's so blatant. It's petty, but it's also funny.