Archive Page 97

Looking Into the “Lens”

Published May 20, 2009 Photojournalism Leave a Comment
Tags: , ,

At a time when newspapers are shrinking, if not outright dying, a new blog dedicated to photojournalism projects is a heartening development for photographers and fans alike. This week, the New York Times  debuted its large-format photojournalism blog called Lens. With content spanning their vast archives up to present day, what’s also interesting is that the mission is to not only highlight the best of Times photographers but also other media outlets. But lest you think it’s a glamorous big-dollar venture, it’s actually a fairly simple proposition.

From an article in Editor & Publisher:

In a sign of how online publishing is often run on a shoestring, the blog has no dedicated staff and no budget for photography. It will showcase work shot for the Times’ print edition, personal projects by Times photographers, wire service photographs, and work provided for publication at no cost.

E&P says the blog was in part inspired by Boston.com’s The Big Picture, but Lens is more sleek, sophisticated and comprehensive. The format is user-friendly too, allowing viewers to peruse the photographs vertically rather than horizontally, which is a nice feature. Definitely worth checking out.

PATH Cop Targets Mom, Grandma and Newborn

Published May 18, 2009 Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment 20 Comments
Tags: , , , ,

Kim Hudson

On Friday afternoon I was in the Christopher Street PATH station in New York City with my mom, my sister and her baby. My mom and I were taking pictures of the baby, her with an iPhone and me with my camera, when the Port Authority officer came over and told us sternly “No pictures, no pictures.” Though I knew this was absolutely ridiculous – and groundless – I wasn’t going to make a scene there with my family. All we could do was laugh. If three women cooing over a baby are now a security threat, well … I don’t know. It’s just unfathomable.

Considering the hot water New York’s MTA subway system and Amtrak have been in lately, you’d think the PATH would be more aware of the law. What’s more, Boing Boing posted an NYPD document yesterday outlining their stance on photographers – and, in a nut shell, it says it’s perfectly legal and they should refrain from harrassing people shooting in public places. (The NYPD does not patrol PATH stations, but the agencies work very closely with each other.)

I contacted PATH authorities to find out their policy on photography. They told me their private bylaws allow them to outlaw photography in their stations – despite it being a public place and a government entity. To voice your concerns about this incident, contact the Port Authority Police at (201) 216-2677.

Greek Photographer’s Case Dismissed

Published May 18, 2009 Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment , Street photography Leave a Comment
Tags: , ,

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.

Can I See Some ID?

Published May 15, 2009 Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment , Security Guard Harassment Leave a Comment
Tags: ,

3514238906_2db2dc0a92

Not that we’re endorsing fraud, but this is a funny idea – download your very own  Homeland Security photography license to show off to overzealous cops and security guards.

From JWZ via Boing Boing

Eddie Adams Workshop Deadline Is Today

Published May 14, 2009 Documentary , Photojournalism Leave a Comment
Tags: , ,

mosaic

Today, May 15th, is the deadline for student photographers and professional photographers (with less than three years experience) to submit their work to Eddie Adams’ Barnstorm XXII, an intensive four-day workshop attended by photography’s top professionals and a selection of 100 students.

If you’re unaware of Eddie Adams, he is probably most known for taking the image of police chief General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan executing Nguyễn Văn Lém on a Saigon street in 1968. It was a photo that earned Adams the Pulitzer Prize but reportedly caused him great pain, publicly lamenting the image’s notoriety and the hardship it created for Loan throughout his life.

The workshop, started in 1988 by Adams and held in Jeffersonville, New York, is a tuition-free event  and a program deeply focused on photojournalism. During the past 21 years, many known photographers, including Chris Hondros, Rick Loomis and Matt Black, have attended this prestigious gathering. Some would consider the workshop a right of passage for photography’s most talented documentary photographers, launching their careers in a new direction.

In the past, the workshop required photographers to submit a letter of recommendation from a working professional along with their images, but this year that part of the submission process has been removed, making it much easier for documentary photographers who lack connections to professionals to submit their work.

This year I submitted the above 20 images.

Beverly Hills Photographer Snaps Pic, Drives Off

Published May 14, 2009 Photographers' Rights Leave a Comment

 nicole and jordan
Photo by discarted

Jay Grossman of Hometownlife.com writes about an incident that took place in upscale Beverly Hills, Michigan where an “older man” is reportedly on the loose for photographing children in public without permission.  

The father of the two children, ages 3 and 4, questioned the man after he observed him with the camera. According to police, the man replied he liked taking pictures and then drove off in his car without further explanation.

A message was left with Karl Woodard, Director of Public Safety for the Village of Beverly Hills, asking for more details concerning the incident.

An investigation is underway.

Homeless Advocates Are The New Domestic Terrorists

Published May 14, 2009 Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment Leave a Comment
Tags: , ,

640_cimg0011
Photo by Phil Connelly

The Fresno Police Department’s Homeland Security force is going after some big fish – because we all know what a threat homeless advocates are.

Phil Connelly sparked the interest of anti-terrorism officials in April when he was monitoring city crews removing property from a known homeless area of Fresno, CA and photographed them dumping the materials in a city maintenance yard. City employees grew concerned over Connelly’s presence and contacted the Fresno Police Department’s Homeland Security Bureau, who tracked down Connelly via his license plate. However, rather than visiting the suspected “terrorist”, Connelly  only received an intimidating letter from Homeland Security saying his behavior “caused concern among several city employees.” 

Now, there’s more to this story that involves a $2 million dollar judgement against the city for destroying the homeless people’s belongings, and this could be an intimidation tactic (as Connelly believes it is).

But, as Sgt. Ronald Grimm, the Homeland Security Coordinator for the Fresno Police Department, told the local ABC news station:

“It was textbook casing. Similar to what a domestic terrorist, an international terrorist, or simply, what a citizen meaning to do harm to the government would do just prior to an event.”

Actually, I’m willing to bet it couldn’t be farther from “textbook casing.” Do terrorists follow city workers in broad daylight and photograph them from at most a few feet away? Sgt. Grimm can’t really expect people to believe that, but it’s just another ridiculous, lazy justification that government officials like to use these days to infringe on our rights.

Maybe we should all send Sgt. Grimm a letter because his justification for what was done to Connelly is causing me grave concern. 

Watch the news story at ABC 30’s web site.

Read more about Connelly’s incident here.

Taking Photos of Little Girls Is Illegal in London

Published May 12, 2009 Harassment , Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment , Street photography 6 Comments
Tags: , ,

556089197_4fcdf7f7bb
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.

Caltrain Guards Need More…Training

Published May 4, 2009 Photographers' Rights , Security Guard Harassment Leave a Comment
Tags: , , , ,

3494923161_cff542e2a8
Photo by darthdowney

Photographer and Flickr member darthdowney was taking photos of the conductor at a Caltrain station in Mountain View, Calif., when a security guard told him it was not allowed “since the attack.” (Would that be 9/11? Swine flu?) Darthdowney tried to point out it was in fact legal, but soon gave up when he realized there was no getting through to the “goon,” as he called him.

Note to Caltrain employees: Photos of trains are perfectly legal. If you need to bone up on the law, read this.  And let’s stop with this tired old 9/11 crutch and start living according to the laws we are granted in a free society.

Read darthdowney’s account here.

Photostreaming With Obama

Published May 1, 2009 Photographers' Rights 2 Comments
Tags: , , ,

 3484011749_38a78194a3
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

I don’t want to just be a bandwagoneeer, but there are things about this presidential administration that have really impressed me. There is a hackneyed old phrase that comes to mind, but I’ll use it anyway: breath of fresh air. 

In an interesting – and unprecedented – move, the White House created a Flickr account and uploaded 299 photos this week. We see President Obama in situations a rare few have access to:  in the White House movie theater, waiting in the Blue Room before a press conference, on Air Force One, in his private study. The photos are, collectively and individually, quite awesome. 

This president doesn’t seem to have a problem with cameras, and amazingly, wants people to see what’s going on at the White House – he seems to be encouraging, dare I say it, openness. They’ve even enabled comments! Now that’s an interesting tack for a government official….

The man behind the camera is the White House’s official photographer, Pete Souza.

Spam Blocked

1,139,202 spam blocked by Akismet