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LA’s Gas Tower Full of Hot Air

Published October 2, 2009 Photographers' Rights , Security Guard Harassment , Street photography 3 Comments
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UPDATE: YouTube removed the video due to an apparent “privacy” complaint.

We had to go to downtown for an errand this week and, since we’d been hearing some reports of continued harassment at US Bank Tower, we thought why not do a little photographers’ rights reconnaissance while we’re there? We’re happy to report that the US Bank Tower is as friendly and respectful as ever, with a security guard coming out after a few minutes to hand us a courtesy card – and then turning right back around to go inside.
One block down at the The Gas Company Tower, however, they are apparently not on the same page (and it’s owned by Maguire Properties and patrolled by Universal Protection Service, same as US Bank). After a minute or so of harmless shooting of an escalator, a security manager who identified himself as Ivan came out and told us we couldn’t take photos of a private building. We told him that’s not true and we were on a public sidewalk. He said it was a private sidewalk (and we were very aware of the easement plaque). The usual back and forth ensued.

We ended up talking to Ivan for a bit, and he changed his tune once he realized he didn’t really have any facts to go on. He ultimately made some comments about respecting photographers’ rights and kept mentioning a courtesy card inside they normally hand out, but he really didn’t seem very prepared to tackle this issue for his superiors. It was interesting that a security manager of a major skyscraper in LA would come out to reprimand photographers and not be armed with courtesy cards, his own business cards, or any knowledge of the law. But, I guess they pay these guys just to reiterate.

The takeaway is this: Knowing your rights and standing your ground is essential. Undoubtedly nine out of 10 photographers security approaches at the Gas Company Tower apologize and leave immediately. The security staff is then emboldened to enforce a nonexistent law and trample on constitutional rights, and there is absolutely no incentive for them to do otherwise.

Interestingly, someone has filed a privacy complaint with YouTube due to the above video. How does it infringe on anyone’s rights? No face is shown, no last name is given; we’re on a public sidewalk discussing a policy that relates to photography in public. What an incredibly lame move from a very small person – someone who is perhaps embarrassed how he comes off? Just speculation, of course.

 

 

Joe Wigfall on the Streets

Published August 9, 2009 Street photography 1 Comment
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“Any time you have people and they’re alive, you’re gonna have something going on.” – Joe Wigfall

Check out this clip of New York City street photographer Joe Wigfall. He’s the winner of WNYC’s Street Shots Challenge. Good stuff. 

See Joe Wigfall’s Flickr stream here.

Photographers Effect Change at US Bank Tower

Published June 7, 2009 Photographers' Rights , Security Guard Harassment , Street photography 10 Comments
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NPRO Creates Change at US Bank Tower

In January a small group of photographers went to shoot photos in downtown Los Angeles and at the US Bank Tower, a building notorious for its aggressive, overzealous security staff. At the time, we were threatened and bullied by six security personnel – and told by Patrick Silver, the supervisor on duty, that we were on a private sidewalk (we weren’t) and he was going to call the police (he was bluffing). It was an unpleasant encounter, not to mention a certain violation of our rights. (See the video here.)

This time though, someone higher up in the food chain had clearly reviewed their policy. During the NPRO Photographers’ Rights Rally today, we stopped at the Bank Tower, and after about 10 minutes of freely shooting, a friendly guard came out to tell us we were allowed to continue but he had to give us the above notecard. 

So, it seems, the questions, posts, calls and letters may have indeed been effective in changing the way UPS patrols its buildings. Interesting how that works.

Stay tuned for more videos and updates throughout the week of this year’s NPRO weekend  rally.

More Made Up Laws Regarding Oil Refineries

Published May 31, 2009 Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment , Street photography 7 Comments
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Photo by wmliu

One of the Daily Kos site’s diarists, Androsko, posted about a recent incident he and a friend experienced while taking photos outside of the Hess Refinery in Port Reading, New Jersey. While they were there to shoot a comedy sketch, the local police smelled terrorism.

A police officer pulled up and told them – surprise! – they weren’t allowed to take photos and they’d have to delete them. Why? As Androkso writes:

He responded that there were town ordinances that were mandated by the state and the Department of Homeland Security. I then asked for the specific ordinance or law, saying that I had read a lot of stories about police and photography in public places. He failed to provide me with anything specific, citing Homeland Security “stuff”.

The officer asked for their driver’s licenses and Social Security numbers, while insisting they weren’t being reported, just that he had to enter their information in the system. The photos were not deleted in the end and they parted amicably. And the harassment goes on….

A commenter points out that the canon of laws is so vast that cops can’t be expected to remember them all, further adding:

So they sometimes operate the way most of us do, sorta figuring if it seems like it might be illegal, it probably is. … Whether or not any laws got passed, it seeped into the collective consciousness, and a lot of folks have vague impressions that ‘you’re not supposed to scope out such places’. Your cop obviously had that vagueness floating around in the back of his mind.

I get that rationale; police officers are human and they can’t be expected to have an encyclopedic knowledge of law. But they need to have a better-than-average one – and more importantly, if you’re stopping someone to tell them they’re breaking a law, you damn well better know which one. (And if you don’t, radio into the station, read up on laws that pertain to your district, bone up for god sakes!) This type of thing is going on all the time, and no matter how wrong, how egregious, how unlawful, it doesn’t seem to matter.

Read Androsko’s whole post here.

Hey Joe – “A Hendrix Experience”

Published May 29, 2009 Photojournalism , Street photography Leave a Comment
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Newspapers are dying. Multimedia is the future, or so they say. Here’s an example of what the Los Angeles Times is doing to stay current.

Photographer Mel Melcon followed Hollywood Boulevard’s Jimi Hendrix impersonator, Anthony Aquarius, and it’s actually a very cool little piece. I like how Melcon somehow briefly but very vividly captured this Jimi’s life – a group of teen guys rocking out to him on the sidewalk; Aquarius on the mattress in his bleak bedroom; a couple taking a photo with their phone and we see the result before they will; a passerby dancing to the music through several frames so you can feel the movement; Aquarius’s own unique insight: “The only reason why this works is cause there’s doubt.”

To see the piece, go to “A Hendrix Experience in Hollywood.

ACLU to DOT: Why Harass Photographers?

Published May 28, 2009 Photographers' Rights , Security Guard Harassment , Street photography Leave a Comment
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Photo by spiggycat

In April we posted on the consistent and regular harassment photographers, including families and tourists, have experienced outside the Department of Transportation headquarters in Washington, DC, and now the ACLU is getting involved. Arthur Spitzer, legal director of the National Capital Area chapter of the ACLU, wrote a letter to the DOT’s acting general counsel requesting explanation of what seems to be their no photography policy on the public streets surrounding the building. As Spitzer writes: “We are not aware of any law that imposes such a rule, and we do not believe DOT has the authority to impose such a rule.” See the whole letter here.

Flickr via Thomas Hawk’s Digital Connection

LAPD Lies, Bullies Photogs Off Public Sidewalk

Published May 24, 2009 Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment , Street photography 10 Comments
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20040401-IMG_0092-797245Officer Thomas Malloy, Badge #8641, Serial #22934/Photo by David Sommars

Photographer David Sommars and two friends went to the Port of Los Angeles on Saturday night to take photos of the amazing industrial landscape. As they walked on the sidewalk with their tripods, they noticed they were being followed by a black SUV. Being as the driver was shifty and suspicious, the photographers were more worried that they were being cased for their gear.

But, as it turned out, the driver was Officer Weiss from the LAPD, who had called the three men into the station. When a police cruiser showed up, Sommars asked the officer what law they were breaking, but Officer Malloy declined to offer any information. He just told them it was illegal to audio record him and if they didn’t stop taking photos of him they would be arrested.

His boss, Officer Chacoh, also on the scene, was unfortunately just as ill-informed and tight-lipped. He said they had to go to a different city to take pictures. He was not willing, or capable, of citing a  law they were breaking; he was only able to repeat that if that they continued to take photos they would be taken in.

As Sommars points out, the photos they were taking from public sidewalks were essentially not any more detailed than what you’d find on Google Maps. The police can’t come up with a valid law because there isn’t one, and their harassment of photographers on public streets is illegal. “I’m actually getting very used to being “Lied” to by police officers,” Sommars writes on his blog. “This is not a good thing, and it’s not legal. But hey, they have guns and we don’t, so deal with it.”

UPDATE: Sommars called the number on the card he was given by the officers and was told he could be put in federal prison for 10-15 years for photographing refineries. Wow! If that’s really a law on the books and someone can point us to it, please do.

UPDATE #2: Sommars received a communication from a special investigator on May 26 that the Office of the Inspector General has launched an internal investigation into the officers involved in this incident.

Read Sommars’ full account, along with photos, here.

To voice your concerns regarding this incident, contact the following:

Los Angeles Police Station – Harbor Area
2175 S John S. Gibson Blvd, San Pedro, CA
Phone (310) 726-7700
Fax (310) 726-7739

Office of the Inspector General Los Angeles Police Dept.
Phone (213) 202-5866.
Fax (213) 482-1247
oigcompl@lapd.lacity.org

Janice Hahn – District 15 City Council Member
City Hall Office (213)-473-7015
200 N. Spring Street, Rm 435
Los Angeles, CA 90012
councilmember.hahn@lacity.org

Greek Photographer’s Case Dismissed

Published May 18, 2009 Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment , Street photography Leave a Comment
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The British Journal of Photography reports that the case against the Greek tourist who was arrested for taking a photo of a little girl on the subway in April was dismissed and can “return to Greece free.” (Does that mean he was detained in London for a month?) As we posted last week, Pericles Antoniou, 53, was on the subway with his family when he inadvertently took a photo of a young girl. Her mother went ballistic. Antoniou was arrested.

There aren’t many details about this story since it hasn’t been covered by any mainstream outlets as far as I can tell, which is shocking in itself – this is a huge civil rights violation, even in England which has a history of being extremely hostile to photographers.

Thanks to Byron.

Taking Photos of Little Girls Is Illegal in London

Published May 12, 2009 Harassment , Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment , Street photography 6 Comments
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Photo by d.anny

A Greek photographer has been arrested – yes, arrested – for taking photos of a little girl on the London subway. According to the British Journal of Photography, when Pericles Antoniou inadvertently took photos of a young girl in April and her mother complained, he says he did the courteous thing and showed the mother the photos and then erased them all. The girl’s father wasn’t satisfied though, and demanded that police arrest Antoniou. He was charged with “public harassment” and causing “alarm and distress.”

As Antoniou writes in a letter to the Greek ambassador to Britain:

It is inconceivable for one to think, in the country where Bill Brandt, Marτin Parr, Killip were born and their works are based on street photography, that I had to be humiliated and accused of taking photos (!!!) while being in the Metro – subway. It is noted that in the National Portrait Gallery there is a photo exhibition currently which is about photos taken of people in streets!!!

His court date has been scheduled for May 18.

Check out the Facebook group that was created for Antoniou’s cause here.

DOT Headquarters a No-Photo Zone

Published April 17, 2009 Photographers' Rights , Security Guard Harassment , Street photography 4 Comments
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Photo by army.arch

Stephen Miller just wanted to take photos of some vintage bicycles at the US Department of Transportation headquarters in D.C. But a security guard said that wasn’t allowed. Why, you might wonder? He couldn’t tell you that, but he knows it’s not allowed.

From Miller’s account:

“What’s going on here?” he asked.

“I’m photographing the bicycles,” I replied. He continued walking, and I rode down to the next installation — three vintage gas pumps — and began taking photos of them.

“You can’t do that here,” he told me. I asked him why not. “It’s the rules, for security,” he said. I asked him what rule prevented me from taking photographs of public art, but he said that he could not tell me the rule. I asked if he worked for DOT or a subcontractor hired for security. “I can’t tell you that,” he replied again. I asked for his name, which he also refused to tell me.

“So you can’t tell me the rule, your name, or who you work for?” I asked him.

“Nope,” he replied. Luckily, at that point I was already done taking photographs, so I wished him a good evening and continued my ride.

This is not the first time photographers have been hassled at the DOT. Flickr user urbandispute posted an incident where he was stopped and questioned three different times for taking pictures outside the DOT. As urbandispute puts it, the building was built in a run-down part of D.C. as part of revitalization efforts. It’s one block from the Washington Nationals stadium, and there are several public art installations outside for pedestrians to enjoy. Which raises the question: What the hell is their problem?

Article from Greater Greater Washington

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