Is $30,000 to shore up and waterproof foundation and rebuild front stairs a fair price?

My girlfriend and I hired a foundation contractor in Michigan. I'm not from this part of the country originally, and I don't know how things are done here normally. When paying a contractor large sums of money where I'm from, it's not seen as out of the ordinary to take a picture of the person and/or money if they don't have a receipt to give on the spot. I asked politely if I could take a picture of the man picking up my check since he didn't have a receipt to give me on the spot, and he agreed. Now the owner of the business says I made the contractor's son feel like a criminal and that they don't think we think they're trustworthy or doing good work. I'm being yelled at because I was paying him and not receiving a receipt right away, and the photo acts as a pseudo receipt. My girlfriend had to call and apologize on my behalf, which I think is excessive. I'm asking if it's impolite to ask for an (optional) picture under these circumstances, and if I'm out of line for covering my bases. Our stairs are not rebuilt yet, and we were asked to pay for the first section of the job.