Evolution of cameras, and knowing your neighbors
So funny story I want to share.
My wife and I have a jacuzzi in our backyard that we use ALL the time. Im talking in the morning with coffee and in the evening for cocktail hour. Oh and we go in the nude of course. My wife is not a social nudist so this is the only place we hang out nude.
So my neighbor has a dog run against the same wall we have our jacuzzi. There is a motion light for the dog that we dont mind.
Well they decided to put in the ring camera with flood lights to keep an eye on their dog. (Innocent enough) but the camera sits about 7ft high on the wall and can easily see a piece of our backyard. So now we have a camera pointed at our only sacred nude spot we have.
I mention this to my (self proclaimed never going to be a Social nudist wife ) I told her I want to tell the neighbors what we do but dont know how.
Well, without hesitation she sends a text to the neighbor wife and says can your camera see in our backyard, because we sometimes forget our bathing suits when going in the jacuzzi. The neighbor says just a part of it and they show us the frame. The next day in our driveways the husband neighbor shows me the frame and you can indeed see when we get in and our nude.
He says they dont mind nudity at all but are willing to move the camera if it bothers us.
To my surprise, my wife says, ah well I dont really care if they see me nude. So the funny part is I think I am the only one (the nudist) that seems to be bothered by this. But here I am writing this from my jacuzzi.
So the camera stayed, and I am free to be nude in my backyard without worrying if the neighbors see me anymore. All thanks to my non-nudist telling my neighbor ever so casually that we are nude in our backyard.
So thank you ring camera for giving me the opportunity to be open with my neighbor.
But I do have a question for you all. Do you think the communication would be different if I (the man) would have sent the same message?
Best thing I did was tell the neighbors I got tired of sneeking around my own yard , we wee texting back and forth one day and I asked if they had a problem if I went nude in my yard , we live side by side it took them about 5 minit's to get back to me and he said it was ok and I asked if his wife was cool with it too I got yes .I waited a week I started using my back yard they both waved and yeal ed over hi
great that your neighbors are ok with it , i go nude in my backyard some actually believe my female neighbor got tired seeing me nude and moved after 20= years now new neighbors not sure how they will take my nudity but they can see me when i go in the laundry room and since warm weather has arrived i want to be outdoors.
The only real issue I would have is that the ring cameras will record a snippet (when the motion detector goes off ) to the ring servers. Those videos can be forwarded. I don't really care at this point in my life, but someone who could have their professional life damaged by such videos getting out might feel differently about it. And yes, I have ring cameras here at naked acres. But I control them, not the neighbor.
Not to do with Cameras, but I moved into the greater Cincinnati area about three years ago and while looking for a house, found an excellent one outside of Auburn, Indiana where the house was almost exactly what I needed, the property led down to a beautiful stream that I could have skinny dipped in, but the view from the neighbors house was questionable, especially with no foliage. So I went and spoke with the mom and dad as they had kids and was honest with them that I was a card carrying nudist and if I bought the house, wanted to put in a hot tub in the back yard and use the rear of the property in nude recreation, to tan if nothing else. I also told them that I had always been a good neighbor in the past and very considerate of my neighbors, and most had not cared that they saw me nude or that their children saw me nude. At first they were like, "well, it would be your property and you have the right to be naked if you want to...", but I reiterated that I wanted to be a good neighbor. They repeated at least three more times that I could use the property as I saw fit. What I was trying to get them to say, was that they had or would teach their kids that the human body is beautiful and nothing to be ashamed of, or something to the effect that they would teach their kids body positivity. They finally admitted that if they had their druthers, that they would prefer that their kids did not see me naked. I did not buy that house. Bummer, because it was perfect in every way except for that.
The moral of the story is ALWAYS be honest with the neighbors and if looking to relocate like me, do not be afraid to broach the subject BEFORE you buy instead of after. It will save many headaches and possibly you compromising on your lifestyle.
Don
So that is the weird part about this. I dont have an issue if someone were to see me naked by happening to look out a window or even over the fence. But parking a 24hr camera that automatically records bothers me. And now in my backyard I am very aware of that camera and that seems to kill the stress relieving qualities I get from being nude. Its like having a judgy clothes person on a nude beach park next to me. So I have trimmed a close by tree so it will grow more to block the way. Then will probably put up a 1ft lattice so the vine on the wall can grow more.
You know, it's not just our homes. While we do not have the "right", the fact is that back in the 80's and 90's, many of us would spend time in the nude at work while working graveyard shifts. Hell, I even once did my full walk from top floor to the basement of the Netherland Plaza in Cincinnati nude when I was the house detective there. Anybody who tries to do that today will get a pink slip at best or arrested at worst. Cameras have certainly changed our lives.
Don
Di and I walk everyday, or at least try to. Just walking by homes you can see Ring door bells and security cameras on many of those homes we pass. We have a Ring door bell and I will be adding a couple of security cameras to our front and backyard. Dumb thing about it is that moving tree branches, bushes, neighborhood cats and dogs running free, cars driving by... they set off the alarm so much I turn off the notifications. So if something is happening, we'll find out after the fact! haha But they give you some sense of security and peace of mind.
Neighbors security cameras should be used for protection of their property from those that are doing something wrong and NOT to pry on their neighbors everyday activities. That, in my opinion, is voyeurism, whether or not your neighbors are naked or clothed. Positioned cameras that enable you to view your neighbors is simply... peeping.
We have and had neighbors that took the attitude with our nudity as someone stated above; "it's your yard, your property, you can do what you want back there. Here in So Cal, fences and, even more so, block walls make for good neighbors. Even then, if you have a two story home next to you and they have a view of your property, it is ethically and morally incumbent upon them to give you and respect your privacy. Peeking or placing security cameras in places that take that right away, is just wrong on their part.
Post 9-11, police stations and fire stations placed security cameras on on their properties. I heard about it and was aware of it but didn't figure the cops would point one right at our station back doors. I drove to work naked for 32 years. I got out of my truck after arriving for work one morning and since it was early, I exited naked and walked into the station and up to the locker room. Later that day, I had to speak with a police officer about an incident and found him in their dispatch center. While speaking to him, the two younger women dispatchers kept looking back at me. After my conversation with the officer, I asked them why they were staring and giggling at me. They reminded me that the security cameras were installed and one of them pointed to the back of the fire house. They'd seen me, that morning, exiting my truck. They could have made a stink but instead took it in stride and asked if I was going to do it again. They then showed me the screen with the back of the firehouse. Did I do it again? Yes, but positioned my truck so I could exit naked and not be seen by the camera.
As far as I know, there are no security cameras in the fire houses to this day and thankfully so. I walked around naked at the fire house a lot, mostly very early or very late at night. I even worked naked in the main office. I was seen by my boss and his only concern was that if someone came to the front door for an emergency, I'd not be able to answer it right away. I showed him my stashed shorts and t shirt and he just said, "okay!"
Camera's are just a fact of life now. I started a new security system of cameras and audio system at my business and home. I got wind of an employee that was bitching as it "invaded " his personal privacy. It made my head space spin a for a tad as I scrolled them you never know who has a cameras running. The same employee was just shocked when the home owner heard him grouching and bitching about the job in her home. My lead person on job site attested to his difficulties.
His reply was no one in the house at the time when i approached him after a customer complaint. My reply is they have cameras.