Photography......a Dangerous Pass time?

Today seemed like a good day to go out and take additional photos for uploading onto Google Maps. I was only 100 "points" shy of reaching level five, which I believe is the highest level attainable for, so called, Local Guides.

That 100 points could be gained in one of three ways. One, I could gain points by adding "missing businesses". I've been successful adding a few locations, but this is a hit or miss approach. Not every edit gets added right away, and in some ways it's counter productive. Secondly, I could write more reviews. The problem was that there didn't seem to be too many places left where I could add a legitimate review. I wasn't going to do as I've seen others do, simply give a business 2, 4, or 5 stars without giving any comment.

The third way of obtaining points is to upload additional photos. If I were to get the 100 points via photographs, they couldn't be simply more photos, but photos of places that I hadn't photographed before. I'd have to get photos of 100 separate locations...... not 100 photos of the same spot.

Looking at the maps, it seemed to me that I could add quite a few by simply going to Robinson's Mall and taking photos of as many shops and eateries as I could. So, that would be my plan for the day.

Arriving at the Mall shortly after it opened at 10:00, I parked my car, walked inside and began photographing every business there. It only took a short time to photograph every business on the first floor. I made my way across the Mall and proceeded up the escalator to begin photographing the 2nd floor.

I had only managed to take photos of a few businesses on the upper floor when I was approached by a security guard. She wasn't the first security guard in the Mall to see me taking photos, but she was the first and only one to approach me. When she asked me what I was doing, I simply told her I was taking photos; I made no mention of Google Maps, or the Internet. She told me that taking photos wasn't permitted.

Rather than give her any argument, I said, "OK" and headed back down the escalator.

I walked backed to the entrance where I had entered on the opposite side of the Mall. I made my way up the escalator on that side and managed to take a few more photos on the upper level.

There was no way the guard who had confronted me earlier could have seen from where she was stationed. Feeling that discretion was in order, I only took a few more photos and left the Mall.

I wasn't able to take photos of every business in the Mall - I managed 51 photos. I estimate that to be about 65 to 70% of the shops in Robinson's. As I write this, I haven't yet gone to Google Maps, so I don't know how many of those photos I'll be able to upload, but all in all, I feel good about my accomplishment this morning.