Our own Shawn Nee/discarted traveled to Anacapa Island off the coast of Southern California last month to document the work a small group of dedicated volunteers is doing to save its indigenous plant life. Every Saturday the volunteers donate a few hours to pull out the invasive species that are threatening to destroy the natural ecosystem on the smallest of the Channel Islands.
Read about it and see more photos at LAist.
Photo by discarted
The NPRO weekend rally started off Saturday evening in the Port of Long Beach – not only an amazing landscape for photos, but a place known to regularly trample on photographers’ civil rights. So we were shooting for about five minutes when a security guard drove up and immediately yelled out, “You can’t take pictures of the refinery!” When pressed why not, she was clearly stumped. There was some back and forth. Eventually she said, “I don’t care about the law…I care about me doing my job working for that refinery.”
After an exasperated “Fine, whatever,” she left and apparently called Harbor Patrol. Four units arrived on the scene, saying they’d been told there was a physical altercation. You can watch the video; how is that defined as a physical altercation? (More on the Harbor Patrol encounter to be posted later.)
Now, truth be told, this security guard tried very hard to ultimately keep it civil – and she’s just doing her job, granted – but this video is a perfect example of how woefully untrained security personnel are. Instead of having any laws, or even company policy, to bolster her argument, she’s just regurgitating a very vague rule handed down by higher-ups.
Doesn’t the refinery owe it to their employees to give them more training? What if there were actual terrorists out there? You can’t tell me they’re legitimately worried about terrorism if this is how they’re protecting themselves.
It’s been a year since we held our first National Photographers’ Rights Organization (NPRO) rally in Los Angeles, and a lot has happened since then. Over the past 12 months, hundreds of us have been harassed by security guards and law enforcement for practicing a perfectly legal activity while in public. Some of us have even witnessed or personally experienced an unlawful arrest by an out-of-control cop. But with the help of our cameras, the grassroots mobilization of the internet and our lobbying of companies and public officials, we have stood up to this abuse and forced change.
For instance, Amtrak finally released a policy on photography and the NYPD’s leaked policy document says to stop the harassment of photographers shooting in public. So in order to progress even further, promote even more awareness and stand up for our rights, NPRO is holding a Photographers’ Rights Rally Weekend this year that will kick off in the Los Angeles Harbor/Port of Long Beach on Saturday June 6th, and end on June 7th in Downtown Los Angeles.
Before attending this event, it is important that we all educate ourselves about the law and photography. To learn the essentials it’s best to start with Bert Krages’ ubiquitous “The Photographer’s Right.” Read it. Memorize it. Print it. The knowledge you obtain from this document will help protect yourself when confronted by law enforcement or security staff when taking pictures in public.
You can also check out the numerous links in section 9 of this blog’s sidebar, which provide you with even more information regarding the law and photography.
Most importantly though, no matter what we are told by law enforcement, California Wiretapping Law legally permits us to secretly record police, or anybody for that matter, when they are in public and there is no expectation of privacy. We do not need a cop’s acknowledgment or permission to record their threats.
It’s extremely important that we bring video cameras and/or audio recording devices to document the unlawful actions of cops and security guards.
So put on your rally lens caps and clear your schedules for the first weekend in June.
NPRO Rally – Saturday, June 6th
Location: Los Angeles Harbor/Port of Long Beach
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Directions From Downtown Los Angeles: 110 S to Anaheim St Exit, Turn Left on Figueroa Place, Turn Left on W Anaheim St, W Anaheim St Turns Into E Anaheim St, End At N Henry Ford Ave, Park On Street
Directions From the 405 N/S: Exit 33B S Wilmington Ave, Travel West on S Wilmington Ave, Take First Left at E 223rd St, Right on S Alameda St, Continue on S Alameda St, Veer Left on to N Henry Ford Ave, End at Intersection of E Anaheim St and N Henry Ford Ave, Park on Street
NPRO Rally – Sunday, June 7th
Location: Pershing Square, Corner of S. Hill St. & W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Time: 11:30 a.m.
Photo by discarted
The National Photographers’ Rights Weekend Rally is just two weeks away. So put your rally lens caps on and clear your schedules because this year’s event is taking place over two days (not just one like last year) and will certainly cause some controversy – as well as raise awareness for photographers’ rights.
For more info, email npro@discarted.com.
Photo 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.
This is another installment in our continuing series where we talk to photographers whose work we’ve appreciated on Flickr.
This week we feature amadnomad.
discarted: So who is this little girl with her traveling zoo we found on flickr? What’s your relationship to her?
amadnomad: The little girl is my daughter, Zhenya L’vovna Jabban Rukhina. She is 2 years old.
discarted: Wow, that’s quite the name…where did it come from?
amadnomad: In Russia, the middle name is a patronymic — in other words, if you are male your middle name is your father’s first name plus -vich. If you are female you add -ovna. Zhenya (named after my father who was a famous painter in Russia) L’vovna (Lev+ovna, but the “e” is replaced by a character that does not exist in Latin characters) Jabban (her mom’s last name) Rukhina (my last name, but in Russia, women get an “a” at the end. Hence the complicated but *fun* name.
discarted: Looking at the photos, you can see that Zhenya has quite the collection of toy animals. Where did they all come from?
amadnomad: Her mom bought her the toy animals. Zhenya loves arranging them and corralling them about the city.
discarted: Can you describe what it’s like to wrangle up Zhenya and the entire traveling zoo for a day out with the camera?
amadnomad: I always carry my camera (Rolleiflex or EOS 1DS). Whenever I catch Zhenya playing with her animals, I try to capture the beauty and innocence of a child’s fascination.
discarted: What spawned this fabulous idea?
amadnomad: I noticed Zhenya’s imagination as she played with the giraffe over breakfast one day. I took a photo and came to admire her rapture with the animals, her “down time” as she quietly played.
discarted: For some time now I haven’t seen an image that has really stuck with me. But these three really crawled under my skin. I was fascinated and amused yet I was also creeped out by them. How would you describe them?
amadnomad: The images area documentation of our journey via public transportation from Hollywood to the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City.
Though this was meant to be a shot of the loneliness one may experience during a layover from one bus to another, when you find yourself in an unknown section of the city, thinking of what is to come or what you have just left behind. The trash can, however, lent the image a much more forlorn feel, inaccurate of what I wanted to portray. I agree, it came out a bit creepy.
The excitement of waiting for the bus, of the adventure ahead. Fun!
Aahh, the adventure is under way. Unknown faces, unknown places, brochures and fliers everywhere. Exciting time of experience.
discarted: Are there any Zhenya shoots planned for the future? What are some of the other interesting and funny locations we might see her in?
amadnomad: I am working on a new series for Zhenya all the time.
To see more of amadnomad’s work checkout Lever and Fulcrum.
Interview by discarted.
We’ve gotten a few inquiries about the wearable recording device that Shawn mentioned on Digital Village this morning. It’s called the Vievu PVR-PRO 2 and it captures your perspective (about four hours’ worth at a time) and is downloadable with a USB device. It’s priced at $399.95, but if you’re a regular street and events shooter, the protection it affords is undeniable. There are reports that the price might come down too.
You can find it here.
Photo by discarted
Our own discarted will be on Digital Village, the KPFK (90.7FM) show about new technolgy, this Saturday morning at 10 am. He and Peter Bibring of the ACLU will be talking about harassment of photographers and photographers’ rights.
If you’re not in Southern California, you can stream it live on KPFK.org or find the archives here.
boywithgrenade.org 