Posts Tagged 'denver'

Harrassing Photographers a Nonpartisan Effort

It’s not surprising that the political conventions have proved to be hostile venues for some photographers. Politicans and media types don’t always mix well.

At the Democratic Convention in Denver last week, an ABC News producer was arrested for trying to shoot film of some Democratic senators and bigwig donors leaving a private meeting at a hotel. Asa Eslocker was manhandled by the Denver police, one who couldn’t even be bothered to put down his cigar before handcuffing him. He was told by one officer that he was “lucky I didn’t knock the f–k out of you.” See footage of the arrest here.

And in Minneapolis this week at the Republican convention, three New York filmmakers from the Glass Bead Collective were detained by police for filming in the Shoreham Rail Yard. Fittingly, they were in town to document police brutality. Confiscating the trio’s belongings, including cell phones, cameras and hard drives, the police justified the search and seizure as a homeland security matter.

Also in Minneapolis, though not relating to the convention, photographer Guy Still was handcuffed and detained for taking photos of a police special operations center. Through a chain link fence, Still photographed some officers getting into a van, which triggered the requisite terrorist accusations. One officer told him he remembered “the good old days [when] we used to take people like you in a van.”

Whatever that means.

Articles via ABC NewsMy Fox Twin Cities and My Fox Twin Cities.

Spy Photographer Thwarted at Car Shoot

This is funny. I happened upon this post on motortrend.com that details the exploits of an automotive spy photographer (is that an official title?).

The guy, operating under the name Ringo Kamens, says he came across a super-secretive car photography shoot in downtown Denver, and his attempts at getting shots of the yet-to-be-released car got him in hot water with the crew. They berated him, saying they had a permit and no outside photography was allowed. Then they called over plainclothes officers who told him he wasn’t allowed to shoot on city property. He willingly left once they tried to take his camera and threatened him with arrest.

Too bad Kamens didn’t know the laws protecting his rights to shoot the shoot — permit or no, city property or no. Kamens actually had every right to take those photos.

Nobody was up in arms over this trampling of his rights though. Commenters were more concerned with guessing the make and model of the car. (Most people think it was the Audi A4 Avant.)

Article via Motor Trend

Read Ringo’s account of what happened here.


Spam Blocked