[Elizabeth]

Things that come to mind immediately are you are there to prospect buying his land.
Perhaps the bank is hassling him, and he is  worried they are gettin ready to make a grab?
Or, that he has had an offer for someone who is trying to pressure, him to sell.
Or he has heard about this going on in the area..
Plenty of legitimate reason the old guy may have not liked you taking photos.
Even some hassle about GMOs. A LOT of problems about them with folks who do not use them, and plenty of it is legal actions..

[nathanm]

Nope, I have zero sympathy for this man.  I was not doing anything illegal, I was not ON his property, he's 100% wrong to accuse me of breaking either the law or any ethical principle.  He came to me from the start with hostility and intimidation instead of curiosity.  Why should I care what his reasons were for his behavior?  He certainly didn't care about mine.  Unfortunately society is dominated by these sorts of bullies.  They were belittled as children and now they're taking it out on the rest of us.

[macrojack]

Nathan- I'm sure you know this but I'll tell you anyway. Fear is born of ignorance. The farmer doesn't know what the hell your doing with all that fancy camera gear but he figgers he best be careful so he'll just run you off.

I think you should have told him you are an advance man scouting locations for a planned Hollywood blockbuster/thriller called "Field of Screams". Are there any better views on his property to show to the producers? How much would he want to let your company film on his property and does he know of any prettier farms in the area?

In other words, use his stupidity to your advantage. He'll probably give you the tour and take you down Mel's Diner for lunch too.

[nathanm]

I know, but I did tell him what I was doing so he was no longer ignorant!  I'm having a hard time letting this one go in my head, I'm still mad about it now.  I just did not expect to get that hassled about something so innocuous.  I haven't shot LF in a long time, then when I get some ambition and a spot of nice weather I can't even enjoy a casual shoot out in the middle of the boonies thanks to some humorless, paranoid crank.

[charmerci]

Great shot Nathan.

But you're probably wrong on one thing. He probably beats his wife and kids!

[thunderbrick]

From a more noble perspective, smile and say "would you like to see what I am composing?"  Sometimes it defuses their anger.

Part of me would say go back out there and give the little pecker a nice 5x7 print.  If he has any sense of shame he'll feel embarrassed and apologize.  Or he'll shoot you off the porch.   

[konut]

I just got off the phone. The cornfield wants its spirit back. Oh, the golf course wants the cart back, too.

[MaxCast]

So, can we see the shot of the chair?

[nathanm]

I call this one "Invisible Visitor"

[bladesmith]

Is that the farmers house in the background,  the old fella in the golf cart....?

[Elizabeth]

Perhaps he is caught in the dilemma of artist vs craftsman?
Perhaps he is a painter, and does not like photographers with the pretensions of being 'artists'?
He may be facing a deep existential dilemma over the KIND of work you were doing?
I mean who puts two chairs and a pair of boots in the middle of a road?
To him, you might be some terrorist... bent on destroying America's youth... Or even worse, a Democrat.
(8^Q...
Added; great pic BTW. 

[MaxCast]

Nathan, how did you mirror image just the clouds?  The phone poll on the right looks a bit weird too.

[nathanm]

The sky is mirrored, but it is masked off at the horizon line.  I like doing a hybrid mirroring where possible, because it is more subtle and not immediately apparent as an effect. 

I guess the silos on the distant left side are his?  Not sure, it might just be the blank grass area in front of the corn.  I don't think he saw me put the chairs in the road, though.  Or maybe he did.  I know if it was me I would shoot anyone dead if I saw them putting chairs in the road.  At the very least you will have justly killed some fruity, pretentious artist and at best you will have bagged an alien being in human skin who doesn't fully understand what chairs are used for.  Either way, it's a win.

[thunderbrick]

Or was he pissed that you swiped the boots off his porch?

[nathanm]

I just got off the phone. The cornfield wants its spirit back. Oh, the golf course wants the cart back, too.

I'm guessing that driving a golf cart on the road is probably more illegal than taking a picture from a road.  I also wonder that since I drive a comparatively HUGE Smart Fortwo and he was in a golf cart, maybe he had car size envy issues.

I was shocked to receive an e-mail this morning showing a FLAGRANT photographic crime, a man IN a field shooting a photo!  I will be reporting this to the relevant authorities immediately.  I can only hope that man was executed shortly after.  The thought of such monsters running amok makes my blood chill!  Those are probably endangered dandelions he's trampling on too.  The scum!