Can he tell me I'm NOT aloud to take pictures?

[memento]

So there I am, at a local water park, taking pictures of my wife and three year old daughter, that are floating on a raft, circling in the 'lazy river', with our good friend and her daughter.
I sensed a presence and turn around to meet the gaze of a kid half my age. He is obviously uncomfortable and I can tell he is having a hard time finding words but eventually figures out how to say, I'm not allowed to take pictures inside the 'park'.
I was blown away and at a loss for words, at first.
Then I started to get angry.
I asked if NO ONE is allowed to take pictures or is that tattooed, GUYS aren't allowed to take pictures?
He retorts, no one.
He claims that 'they' tell anyone with a camera that they're not allowed to take pictures.
I turned around and pointed to an older lady that had a p&s out and was taking a picture of a kid that was standing under a water fall and asked, what about her?
He reinstated that it is a Fairfax County Park Authority rule/policy and walked off in her direction.
I'm left alone, presuming that I'm going to put my camera(40d w/ 28-135) away and he's going to tell this lady she has to put hers away too.
I didn't pat attention to whether or not he actually talked to her, instead I walked over to the entrance where there is a huge sign displaying the 'pool rules'.
NO WHERE does it say 'no camera's'.
The last 'rule' states, for a COMPLETE set of rules go to the main office, which I did.
The only copy of the COMPLETE rules the kids can find are in Spanish.
(I don't speak Spanish, let alone read..)
They asked me what's up and I say some co-worker(read glorified supervisor of some sort) said I'm not allowed to take pictures.
All three kids in there were like, "uhh.. what?"
As a matter of fact, the two girls that were in there were taking picutres of each other.

This whole time I never did put my camera away. And after I left the office, I went back to taking pictures of my family and friends.

All this happened about 45 minutes before closing(perfect evening light) and I crossed paths with the kid again and he said he talked to his boss whom said, it IS a park rule, no camera's.

But as I looked around, it seemed every mother there, either had a p&s or a video recorder.. wtf?

So am I right or is he?

Who is to tell me that I can't take a picture of my daughter and wife?

 

[Battou]

If it's not in black and white anywhere all they can do is ask you to leave, provided it is privately owned property.

 

[Rachelsne]

write them a letter and ask them to send you a copy of the park rules in English, jsut so you can see-ultimatly it is going to be down to managers and such, but it would be nice to see for your self-oh what does the web site say?

 

[Big Mike]

As I understand it...If it's private property, they can make the rules. If a rule is 'no photography' then they can do that. Whether they 'have' to post that rule in plain view, I don't know...but I suspect that they don't.

Now, I don't think they can do any more than ask you to stop or ask you to leave. They couldn't take your film/cards/camera, for example.

I don't think you would win this fight...probably best to forget it and move on. Next time, bring your own tiny P&S camera.

Of course, I'm not a lawyer. For actual answers, consult a lawyer in your area.

 

[Hertz van Rental]

Who is to tell me that I can't take a picture of my daughter and wife?

If you are on private property - and even public spaces are technically private property because they are owned by the Government/Local Authority - then the owner of the property can set the rules. That is to say, you are allowed to use the property providing you comply with the rules or by-laws. And using the property is deemed under Law as consenting to abide by the rules/by-laws.
In the UK at least a complete copy of the rules/by-laws must be available for members of the public if they wish to see them.
However, if there is no copy of the rules/by-laws available, or if there are no signs prohibiting the taking of pictures, this does not mean that the rules/by-laws are not in force. They are. And any duly authorised person can request that you comply with the rules. Refusal to comply entitles them to eject you from the place.
It does not matter that you think the rule stupid or unreasonable - you must comply.
It would appear, though, that whoever manages the place is not being very 'user friendly'. If they are going to get some poor mug to go around prohibiting people from taking pictures then they should at least put up signs to announce the fact.
And if the place is public space then the whichever Government, Federal or Local Authority manages it should have to give a good reason as to why photography is prohibited.
Although in the current climate it will likely be claimed to be prohibited on the grounds of 'security'.

 

[Iron Flatline]

I'm sure the rules state that park visitors must follow the instructions of all park personnel. So if he said "No Photos" then that would be the rule at that moment.

I know, I know... it's ridiculous.

 

[memento]

this is where we were,
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/watermine/

Next time, bring your own tiny P&S camera.

ha, that's exactly what my wife said any 'perv' would be doing.



yes Hertz, I hear you.
precisely why I didn't cause a scene.



'ridiculous' is one would you could use.
all the ones that come to MY mind only contain four letters..





the funny thing is, I left the freaking camera in the car because WATER park didn't seem to go with SLR.
But then the sun started setting and the light was perfect, so I ran back to the car to get it out.
silly me. :er:

 

[Battou]

There is a link to a PDF file on Park rules down near the bottom of the page in the side bar under administration but I can't access it because my Adobe reader is screwed up and not displaying anything.

 

[SimplyEuphoric]

I was wondering what the restrictions were on photographing publicly a few months ago. I saved a few websites, so these might help:
http://www.rcfp.org/photoguide/ninekeys.html
http://www.krages.com/ThePhotographersRight.pdf

Basically, what i've understood is that if you can see it you can photgraph it, unless private property. If it is a water park, I'd assume you are allowed to take pictures seeing as it would be a family affair.

 

[Moglex]

Surely your first step would be to contact the park's senior management and ask them (assuming you can't find the rule in black and white).

If they say there is no such rule, politely ask them to ensure that their staff know that.

Had I been in your position I would have politely told the person who approached you that you had checked the rules before entering and as there were none saying no photography would he please fetch the park manager to make a ruling.

If he got belligerant I'd not cause a scene but my guess is that he'd either leave you alone or go and fetch the mnager who'd either tell him not to be an idiot or, if he did believe there was a rule to enforce, you would have have had a good few minutes more to get your shots.

Whilst it's true that the owners of a property are allowed to make up the rules I'm not sure that that implies that any of their employees can just make up new ones on the spot.

Where would you draw the line?

Suppose some oik decided no one who wasn't wearing red was allowed on the water (to take it to a ridiculous extreme).

 

[JHF Photography]

SimplyEuphoric, a place such as a water park is generally still private property, it just has public access. Same as malls or other similar things. They are still privately owned, and make money by allowing people to use them - provided they follow the rules.

 

[malkav41]

I took a look at all the rules on the website, and found nothing about no photography in the park. Now they may have changed the rules since July 1, 2004, but I feel that until they have an updated set of rules to show you, you are in the right, and the kid is in not.

I'm no lawyer as most of us state when replying to they sort of things, but the rules I read make/made no stipulation anywhere I saw about no cameras.

 

[Rhys]

I'd have asked the individual to produce his/her ID before continuing the conversation. If he was unable/unwilling then I'd just have told him to go back to his lunatic asylum. If he could then I would require to see his supervisor then summoned the manager having met the supervisor.

 

[Garbz]

Depends how much common sense is applied to the displaying of the rules too. If someone doesn't display rules than you may be entitled to take photos up until told not to by management (not an employee).

Not sure if this applies in other countries too but for instance in Australia you have no right to check peoples bags as they leave the store unless there is a sign saying we reserve the right to check people's bags when they leave, and they can't instate this retrospectively, meaning the sign needs to be up before you enter.

Gotta love the vagueness of the law.

 

[castrol]

There will be a time in this country, that people will be unable to take a photograph
of anything without being stealthy and secretive.