Alec Baldwin Ballistic in Bev Hills ... SHUT UP!!!!

Alec Baldwin exploded in anger Tuesday, getting in a photographer's face and berating him for shooting Baldwin's wife.

Baldwin and Hilaria were in Bev Hills when he unleashed on the photog with ear-shattering volume, ordering him to "shut up."

It's unclear what preceded Baldwin's tirade, but he tells the photog in no uncertain terms his wife is out of bounds for the paparazzi ... interesting for sure, because Hilaria is a prolific Instagram user who chronicles her life on the app. She's also a correspondent for "Extra."

It's even more interesting ... Baldwin wrote an essay where he said he was moving from New York to California because he can't stand the paparazzi presence in the Big Apple. He wrote in New York Magazine, "L.A. is a place where you live behind a gate, you get in a car, your interaction with the public is minimal."

The incident occurred in a very public part of town ... Bedford Drive in Beverly Hills.