I'll not comment on the "Security Theater of absurd rules" we've saddled ourselves with other than to say the on-site security personnel didn't invent the rules.
I will say however, that the alternative to being individually escorted from the gate to the aircraft is to follow the rules whether they make sense to you or not. Unless you're experienced in working in an aircraft movement area
you are truly ignorant* of the hazards and risks encountered there. You definitely don't want to be present when we pick up the pieces of someone that slipped through the safety nets of protective equipment, training and procedures.
You
will not be allowed the freedom to make a meaningful image in an airport environment you don't understand. And the snapshots you might take there, which may go to the Delete key or the 'shoe box in the closet' within the week, aren't worth the risk to yourself or the distraction and hazard you present to those who do work there and are responsible for your safety. No one on that ramp is interested in harassing you just to "bump chests and show you who's boss". Certainly not any of us that've seen someone sliced, diced or squashed owing to a moments inattention; and it happens to trained ramp workers all too frequently. That person may only have one nerve to spare at the moment an' you're standin' on it.
You (probably) wouldn't wander across a busy commuter-hour freeway wearing a hoodie and headphones and distracted by texting or taking pictures on your cell phone because you (presumably) aren't ignorant of the risks. It may not seem like it to you, but that ramp is equally hazardous. More so when it's an unfamiliar environment.
Or maybe it was just a hat that got blown off your head by an unexpected gust of jet blast while you dallied on the ramp. It got ingested into a 5-million dollar engine causing a cancelled flight, lots of pissed passengers who blamed the airline and some very expensive maintenance which ended up in your ticket costs.
Please, accept the idea that there just may be a very good reason for an aviation rule you don't see a reason for. And it's probably written in blood. The freedom do do
anything carries with it the responsibility to do so with prudence and consideration for its effect on others.
H2
*Def: ignorant = not aware of
However, properly prepared, with due regard for the actual hazards and a well planned exposure . . .
Nevertheless, this was an "ego shot". It didn't NEED to be taken, and probably shouldn't even have been made because it was a distraction from the norm in a hazardous environment and an inconvenience to those that had to accommodate the distraction.