Archive Page 98

Alert: Man Taking Photos of Kids!

Published April 30, 2009 Photographers' Rights Leave a Comment
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According to an article on the BBC news site, Glasgow police and school officials have their knickers in a bunch after a man was spotted photographing the football team at an elementary school. Apparently the man did not approach any of the students; he was just seen taking photos. Police are now on alert and have stepped up patrols of the school and are trying to track him down from the description they have. (“He was described as a white male, around 50-60 years old, approximately 5ft 10ins tall, with white, greying hair. He was wearing a brown jacket, khaki trousers, a white shirt and walking boots.” Gee, that sounds like just about 1/4 of Scotland.)   

On the one hand, it’s alarming to think a pedophile is stalking an elementary school, and I’m all for protecting children. On the other, what if he just saw a good photo opportunity of some kids playing football? Is that really so wrong? Is this the sort of melodramatic, fear-mongering, hyper-intense society we can expect to live in from now on? I guess so.

Article from the BBC

Man Takes Photo of Kid, Gets Visit From Police

Published April 23, 2009 Photographers' Rights 1 Comment
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The most ridiculous stories involving photography and children always seem to come out of the UK. ePHOTOzine reports that a 69-year-old man took a photo of a child who was vandalizing trees and got a visit from the police as a result.

Geoffrey Massey, of Somersham in East England, recalls:

When the child realised I was taking his picture he turned round and told me that I can’t do that and that he would tell someone what I did. Well later that day the lady that child-minds him came round and told me she would report me as I’m not allowed to take pictures of children without consent from their parents.

The officer was talking to me and said I don’t care if you’re a professional photographer or not you can’t take a picture of a child without written consent of the parent.

Never mind that it was the children who were committing an illegal activity in the first place; it’s those precious parents who emphasize their childrens’ personal happiness and individual rights over their moral and societal obligations.

Massey says the incident has put him off taking pictures, but we think that’s a little extreme. C’mon, Geoff, you can’t let one snot-nosed kid ruin it all for you.

Article via ePHOTOzine

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

Threatened With Arrest

Published April 17, 2009 Harassment , Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment 26 Comments
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Last week I wrote about a confrontation between myself and the LAPD while legally photographing a crime scene where a man had been killed. During the encounter LAPD officers berated, bullied and threatened me with unlawful arrest for supposedly obstructing their investigation. At no point did  I encroach on the crime scene, or cross police tape to photograph the incident. I was well within my legal rights granted to me by the US Constitution and LAPD’s Media Relations Handbook.

Photographer Bullied, Berated at Tent City

Published April 17, 2009 Harassment , Photographers' Rights , Photojournalism , Security Guard Harassment Leave a Comment
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Photo by Ted Soqui

LA photojournalist Ted Soqui was in Ontario, CA, working on a story about the homeless encampment called Tent City when he was harassed, followed, berated and assaulted by its nasty security force.  Surrounded by cyclone fencing, the landscape is adorned with tents, campers and port-o-potties. All of which, are patrolled by Securitas security guards, who apparently rule with an iron fist.

As Ted tells it:

The agents followed me street to street, even pushing my camera into my face at one point. Another person joined in to attempt to stop me from taking photographs, waiving their hands in front of my camera lens as well. They called me every name in the book and threatened to call the police, which they said they did. The police never came. It was a bizzare day, and I was told that they have my license number and are going to come over my home and harass me. 

To see more photos from his day in Ontario, go to Ted’s blog LA Photo.

Photography, Half-Truths and the Whole Story

Published April 15, 2009 Photographers' Rights 2 Comments
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glare1Photo by discarted

Columnist Ian Jack took on the ubiquity of photography in The Guardian this past weekend, and he seems to be conflicted about photography’s role in that it only provides a glimpse of the truth and not the whole story. However what he fails to note is that, without cameras, the only thing that is certain is that we get no truths, never mind half-truths.

To prove his point, Jack refers to the incident in London April 1 at the G20 Summit where police struck Ian Tomlinson from behind, causing him to slam into the ground and later die of a heart attack. The attack, seemingly out of the blue and unprovoked, was caught on film by a bystander.

Update: A second postmortem examination shows that Tomlinson died from an abdominal hemorrhage.

Jack says the details are yet to come out about what really happened, as if the fact that Tomlinson was a part of the protest would somehow justify the brutality. That  is immaterial. Regardless of what the Tomlinson did a block away or four hours before (and all accounts have said he was not a part of the melee), he was killed by a policeman who demonstrated unnecessary force, and it was caught on video. I guess Ian Jack has never heard of the expression “The tape doesn’t lie.”

More importantly, before video surfaced of the Tomlinson attack the only half-truths being told were from the Metropolitan Police (Met) when they claimed that Tomlinson died from a massive heart attack and did not have any contact with police. According to BBC reports, Tomlinson had repeated contact with Met Police before one officer caused his untimely death.

Update: The Guardian releases new photos proving Tomlinson had prior contact with police before being assaulted.

Jack also refers to the firing last week of Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism chief, Bob Quick, after highly sensitive documents he was carrying were caught by photographers as he was going to a meeting at 10 Downing Street. The monumental gaffe forced officials to deploy a raid on al Qaeda suspects earlier than they had planned.

Continue reading ‘Photography, Half-Truths and the Whole Story’

Are Those Swastikas?

Published April 14, 2009 Photographers' Rights 22 Comments
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Generally, the streets of Los Angeles are navigated via car, but if you ever find yourself walking up Highland Avenue toward Los Angeles’ famous Hollywood Boulevard where you’ll find thousands of dirty stars engraved with celebrity names and the icons depicting their craft, you might come across another symbol or two along the way.  Just north of the Highland and Sunset intersection there’s a stretch of sidewalk adjacent to Hollywood High. Here you will not find the names of Hollywood’s past and present, but rather two swastikas carved into the pavement with lesser known symbols and names.

It’s unknown how long these symbols of hate have defaced the public sidewalk, but it’s amazing that they have gone undetected by city officials and have been allowed to permeate a belief that’s been dead for over 60 years.

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To voice your concerns regarding this issue contact Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti via email or through the information below:

5500 Hollywood Blvd., 4th Floor
Hollywood, CA 90028
Phone: 323-957-4500
http://www.lacity.org/council/cd13/

NYPD Told to Back Off Photographers

Published April 13, 2009 Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment , Street photography Leave a Comment
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Photo by lempkin

Responding to numerous complaints by individuals and public advocacy groups, the NYPD has finally issued a department order reaffirming the rights of photographers and tourists to take photos in the city. The New York Post reports today:

“Photography and the videotaping of public places, buildings and structures are common activities within New York City . . . and is rarely unlawful,” the NYPD operations order begins.

It acknowledges that the city is a terrorist target, but since it’s a prominent “tourist destination, practically all such photography will have no connection to terrorism or unlawful conduct.”

The department directive — titled “Investigation of Individuals Engaged in Suspicious Photography and Video Surveillance” — makes it clear that cops cannot “demand to view photographs taken by a person . . . or direct them to delete or destroy images” in a camera.

This is a big step in the right direction. In a city with so many irresistible photo opportunities it’s a shame there are any impediments to capturing them.

Article via The New York Post

Google Street View Employee Objects Over Photo

Published April 11, 2009 Photographers' Rights , Street photography 1 Comment
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A Google Street View car in York, England. Photo by itspaulkelly

In what could be the supreme irony, a Google Street View employee objected to his photo being taken while working to capture public streets and landmarks. The Telegraph reports that an English  photographer spotted the Google car in Dorset, and when he started taking photos, the employee, who was visibly agitated, told him, “Don’t you take pictures of me, mate.” Then he actually asked the photographer to blur out his face in the photos like Google Street View does.  Seems like someone’s maybe in the wrong line of work.

Article via the Telegraph

Sir…No Pictures

Published April 6, 2009 Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment 796 Comments
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c099_011_10-2Photo by discarted

Recently I came across a crime scene in Hollywood where a homeless man had been killed in an alley behind a strip mall. According to a fireman who was there to assist with the trauma scene clean-up, the man had been asleep when a sanitation truck accidentally ran over him, crushing his skull.

Without crossing the police tape I was able to photograph the entire crime scene from the public sidewalk, Barnsdall Park (which is a public park) and parts of the strip mall parking lot that had not been taped off. However, on two occasions I was confronted by LAPD for photographing the crime scene.

Continue reading ‘Sir…No Pictures’

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