Once upon a time, people in my hobby, known as plane spotters, were rather welcome in the Houston area. The airport I shoot at had been very friendly...the pilots would love to come up and chat, they'd wave as they came by, it was a very open, welcome environment to people like me. Well, in the last few weeks, something rather drastic has changed what was the norm over the last two and a half years. Pilots are starting to become increasingly paranoid and closed off...when they used to come up and have a friendly chat, they now come up and say things like 'you're freaking us out', 'you can keep doing what you're doing, I don't mind that, as long as you aren't anywhere around this aircraft (even if it is parked in a designated public viewing spot), not to mention the waves are becoming replaced by dirty looks. The actions of people like me haven't changed one bit, and yet the aviation world is growing more and more hostile. Some will give the excuse that "you're the papaprazzi" (even after you explain you're shooting artistic photos of the plane, and not the people), and others get more ludicrous, like they think we are plotting something sadistic. Why can't people use common sense these days, or at least realize they true, harmless, sometimes beneficial nature of people in this sort of hobby? Especially those of us who have been at it for so long unhasseled...ARRRRGH!