Photographers are Terrorists

bakuretsu

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Photographers face challenges every day photographing for pleasure (or profit) in completely public places. I don't really believe that photographers are terrorists, but I am biased :wink:

I wrote an article about photographers' rights and I would love it if you would vote for it on Photography Voter. Not only because I think it deserves it, but also because I want to support Photography Voter and what they're trying to accomplish. Check out the other articles there, too.

http://photographyvoter.com/story.php?title=Photographers-Are-Terrorists

I would also love to hear your comments on the issue, either on my blog or right here. Cheers!
 
Your blog is vague. Certainly our rights can be taken away if we do not understand them. I shoot anywhere I please because I ask for permission first. If you shoot in front of a government building or even an apartment complex plan on getting harassed. Yes our rights are slightly violated, but security has changed dramatically. As photographers I believe that we should not fight this issue. It is better to help because believe it or not their job is really hard now.

Love & Bass
 
It was okay, but I agree that it's vague. There has been written on this subject. I like the anecdotes, though. Stories are always good.

The issue photographers are fighting against is the issue of the violation of our rights. It's more like standing up than fighting. Though if someone tells you to lie down, standing up is easily viewed as an act of aggression.

The real question, which your blog raises, is how do you get more of what you want: by standing up or lying down? Standing up means asserting your rights (though you still don't keep to keep them), but it also means harassment, loss of time, possible damage to equipment, and a bad day/night in general. But if you lie down, as soon as they leave, you can stand up again. As long as you stand where they tell you can stand, you can keep your rights, and go about your day/night any way you want.
 
I was photographing some radio towers near my house and all of a sudden this car pull ups and picks up his cell phone and we think he is calling the cops so we just book it.
 
Lol ya I remember going to the states a couple of years ago. They are so scared it is stupid. on all the bridges they had signs the photography of any kind of or around the bridges was prohibited. It is just plain stupid!!!

PS Photoman720, wrong thing to do. If he was calling the cops then when you run it mostlikly mean that you were doing something wrong. If in fact you just wanted to take pictures then don't be scared just stay and take pictures.
 
Lol ya I remember going to the states a couple of years ago. They are so scared it is stupid. on all the bridges they had signs the photography of any kind of or around the bridges was prohibited. It is just plain stupid!!!

PS Photoman720, wrong thing to do. If he was calling the cops then when you run it mostlikly mean that you were doing something wrong. If in fact you just wanted to take pictures then don't be scared just stay and take pictures.
Haha true. I just wanted to avoid a confrontation with the cops.
 
But if you weren't doing anything wrong then they can't do anything to you. I would just explain what I was doing to them then they would go or tell me to go, end of story.
 
But if you weren't doing anything wrong then they can't do anything to you. I would just explain what I was doing to them then they would go or tell me to go, end of story.

True. I understand your point now.
 
Terrorists don't use cameras to plan attacks. Imagine bridge photography. You don't need to go home spending hours of your time studying how to blow a bridge up. A terrorist could easier just "take a walk" around the bridge, come back later with a truck full of dynamite and place it in the places he saw on his earlier "walk around" Much easier to make a "plan" while you're there. Come back later with your payload... and kaboom. It's not rocket science. I've taken pictures of bridges and the support columns are pretty obvious, you don't need a picture to be able to tell where the supports are.

The government doesn't attack us photographers for fear we're going to blow a building up. The government attacks us photographers because we're a minority with a limited voice and because they can.

"God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. ... And what country can preserve its liberties, if it's rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure." Thomas Jefferson, Nov. 13, 1787, letter to William S. Smith
 
Terrorists don't use cameras to plan attacks. Imagine bridge photography. You don't need to go home spending hours of your time studying how to blow a bridge up. A terrorist could easier just "take a walk" around the bridge, come back later with a truck full of dynamite and place it in the places he saw on his earlier "walk around" Much easier to make a "plan" while you're there. Come back later with your payload... and kaboom. It's not rocket science. I've taken pictures of bridges and the support columns are pretty obvious, you don't need a picture to be able to tell where the supports are.

The government doesn't attack us photographers for fear we're going to blow a building up. The government attacks us photographers because we're a minority with a limited voice and because they can.

"God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. ... And what country can preserve its liberties, if it's rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure." Thomas Jefferson, Nov. 13, 1787, letter to William S. Smith

Terrorists are not dumb people. They are educated and some times very well educated. People taking pictures of a land mark sometimes is considered to be a "security risk" hence why they have those signs. Why else would they have them??? Just cause they don't like us taking pictures. I am sure if that was the case you could make a lawsuit and probably win too.
 
Terrorists are not dumb people. They are educated and some times very well educated. People taking pictures of a land mark sometimes is considered to be a "security risk" hence why they have those signs. Why else would they have them??? Just cause they don't like us taking pictures. I am sure if that was the case you could make a lawsuit and probably win too.

I've already been harassed by cops in public for taking pictures of just normal unimportant buildings. I've met other photographers on TPF and on other forums, who have endured harassment as well.

Out of all of us folks who get harassed how many stories have you seen with headline: ONE OF 'DEM TERRORISTS BUSTED, POSING AS AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER, INTENDED TO BLOW UP BRIDGE

It's senseless mindless harassment. It's wrong, and I want it to stop. It's destroyed my faith in our politicians. If I ever intended to blow up a bridge I assure you I wouldn't need to take photographs. Lets just assume I would though, I could take some photos pretending to be a "amateur", after being harassed I'd come back the next day. Within a week I'd have enough photos to plan an attack anyways, right? The only way to prevent the security risk is to make it a felony offense to take photos in areas like this. Sadly enough, it'll probably come to that eventually.
 
Lol I think that is the point, that it is very unlikely that a terrorist would blow up a building of unimportants. But you know that is the states for you. I have never been harassed yet in Canada taking pictures of the CN Tower and such buildings around Toronto. The states I think are MUCH more scared then they need to be. Besides it is not the "posing photographer" they are scared of, it is the planning. An architect can pick out points of weakness from plans or pictures so it is not some guy who is faking being a photographer, it is people PLANING attacks with photographs.
 
If the authorities didn't keep the public stirred up then they would be asking questions like "Why did you just spend 2 trillion dollars and the lives of American and British citizens -and others- just to get rid of that guy that sent a couple of thugs after your daddy?".

;)
 
JON K! HEAR HEAR!

It is WRONG... and so is the earlier assertation by "craig" that we should not fight this issue because Policemans jobs are "harder" these days.

How is the average cop's day harder than it was 8 years ago?

Anyway, It's wrong for them to tell you to stop, taking away our rights, and it's wrong for people to run away from the issue. The are, perhaps somewhat subconsciously, forcing us to submit for no other reason than to prove they can.

In this case, if I was arrested, I would sue. WHY? Because of the "INTENT OF LAW". It's one of those things people forget about with laws. They are there for a reason. It's illegal to speed, and the intent is to prevent accidents and reckless driving. But let's say you are in a school zone, going 15 mph and you are about to get into an accident. Should you obey the law, or speed up to avoid the accident? Of course you'd speed up, and in this case you haven't broken the law per se, because of the INTENT of the law. (This is why Super-Heroes get away with breaking buildings)

Anyway back photography. Take your pictures. I was slightly harassed behind a hospital one day, and I was able to just walk away, but one thing I will NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER DO... is give up my film/memory card. Ever.

I'd be arrested first. Seriously.
 
this reminds me of a time that i was at the mall with a large group of people. there was a man that looked middle eastern taking pictures of a statue in the mall and everyone automatically assumed he was some kind of terrorist. to me this was just people being paranoid. i guess i can understand though because this did occur like a month or two after 9-11 but still...

Yeah because terrorists love blowing up... statues.

Seriously, what is the point of a Terrorist taking a picture. If they were able to sneak into a mall/building/whatever, do you honestly think they would be like "Crap we dont have anywhere to put this?" No... they'd find a way.

Photography can be used as a terrorist tool if taking pictures, like overhead maybe, of security points of well guarded areas... thats what I would be looking for, not people in a mall or on a bridge.

Again, this all boils down to control and public fear. It reminds me of a few months after 9/11, a coworker of mine was proud of herself for complaining about a few arabian men at the airport, and they were detained. How sad that we assume anyone of a Middle Eastern origin is a terrorist.
 

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