Taking a picture? You must be a terrorist...

[mallard]

Yeah I read about that in the paper. Ridiculous.

Never been confronted myself but knew someone who did. She was taking portraits of a friend in a park and some woman stormed up and started accusing her of photographing her child. She even showed the woman all her photos on the LCD but she just accused her of deleting the ones of her child. Psycho.

You know, i think its those people who should be investigated, not the photographer because when the first assumption that anyone taking a picture in public is sneaking shots of kids for prurient reasons is just themselves sick in the head. I suppose Blind Faith and Led Zeppelin album covers are considered child porn by those kind of people.

What would happen if all the photographers in the world just stopped. (the sound of atlas shrugging). Would the public enjoy a world without any photographs? Stop for a second and contemplate that and it stuns me how widespread and important the medium is to our culture yet how little the public understands the needs and rights of photographers to do what it is they do.

 

[Robin]

I know, sometimes these people accusing innocent photographers could be considered guilty of harassment.

 

[Judge Sharpe]

I guess that it is just my karma but I have never been questioned about taking photographs anywhere anytime. I have done so all over the United States. I usually do not try to take pictures inside of commercial establishments unless they encourage such, but in public and private places, parks, playgrounds, streets. museums and even military bases I have never been hassled. Maybe I just look like what I am, a typical tourist. I dress nicely, am polite, and try to be un-intrusive. More people are curious about my equipment than anything else. I have never witnessed the harassment that has been described in this thread. Just timing I guess. I for one am glad to live in the United States and would not care to live else where. Problems? Yes, but those exist everywhere. I can go just about anywhere, do not have to show any papers, can say what I please, and basically do what I want. Where else in this earth can anyone do that?
Judge Sharpe

 

[Bifurcator]

"papers" == Driver's lic. / ID card you know?

 

[LaFoto]

But I even photographed the 360° camera at the ceiling of the GPO in New York because I liked its reflection and no one came up to me to tell me off. Admittedly, I did so with the Powershot, i.e. a compact camera, which meant I did not visibly lift a camera to my eyes, but ... nothing happened.

 

[mallard]

I too do a lot of surreptitious snapshots and havent encountered any trouble, but the kind of photography I am wondering about would most likely in my case be 4X5 view camera on a tripod getting a carefully framed and exposed picture. That used to take me up to a half hour to get one shot. Its this kind of photography that creates interest either bad or good. Fortunately a lot of people might think its cool and be more inclined to agree with you.....its the little power mongers that cause problems...the barney fifes of the world.

One time I was parked in the parking lot of a city park at night....was the only person there and had my Crown Graphic set up on a tripod taking a long exposure of a small building there (actually part concession stand, part restroom) and up drives a Mansfield Police officer. He gets out of his car and asks me what I was doing and what that contraption was. I told him it was a camera and I was taking a long exposure. His only question was "why that building?" because to him it seemed boring. Then I explained to him reciprocity and the chemistry of light on film and the chemical reactions involved and how at night with a floodlight on the side of the building on a sign and bushes in the darkness off to the side how technically difficult it is to get a picture exposed correctly and how miraculous our eyes are when you think about it. Then he started talking about the cameras his family had and really got into it.

 

[Bifurcator]

"But I even.." ?

Sounds like you're trying to make a case for saying that the people who have been arrested or had their cameras smashed and/or confiscated aren't real or something. Jump on youtube and look at all the tazerings of people (on occasion to the death!) for just politely asking unwelcome questions at public dissertations during the appropriate Q&A sessions. Ask yourself what a "free speech zone" is and how it could possibly be free if you can only do it in a zone somewhere off to the side, out of the way where it's of zero impact and consequence. etc. I could bring up many more extreme or specific examples like permanent and semi permanent road blocks specifically for asking people for their papers and tazing, beating, and jailing those who even question the process, and etc. etc. but that wouldn't be specific or related to cameras so I won't. Just to say that America is probably the most un-free nation on the planet right now with most (or at least too many) of the US citizens thinking it's the most free. It's so much like Germany was in the late 30's in the USA right now it's truly sad! But many German's thought they had it good and were loved by their government at that time too.

I guess I better quit before I get too off topic but just know that although it didn't happen to you personally it is happening to 100s perhaps 1000's, of people a month and there's at least 10 new videos showing it just about every week (if not per day) on you tube, private servers, and elsewhere. Not all, but very much of it involves the use cameras as an excuse to harass and disenfranchise good citizens.


EDIT: I hope that didn't come across as an attack or too gruff - I don't always word things in the most eloquent manner.

BTW, Very cool mirror-ball shot!

 

[LaFoto]

Sounds like you're trying to make a case for saying that the people who have been arrested or had their cameras smashed and/or confiscated aren't real or something.

Well, if it sounds that to you, I certainly did not mean to say so.
All I meant to say was that as a tourist to the United States I personally did not encounter any kind of trouble with security or police for taking photos. They only kindly informed me that putting up a tripod right in front of The Capitol was not welcome, even for the most touristy of reasons. So I packed it away.

 

[mallard]

"But I even.." ?

Sounds like you're trying to make a case for saying that the people who have been arrested or had their cameras smashed and/or confiscated aren't real or something. Jump on youtube and look at all the tazerings of people (on occasion to the death!) for just politely asking unwelcome questions at public dissertations during the appropriate Q&A sessions. Ask yourself what a "free speech zone" is and how it could possibly be free if you can only do it in a zone somewhere off to the side, out of the way where it's of zero impact and consequence. etc. I could bring up many more extreme or specific examples like permanent and semi permanent road blocks specifically for asking people for their papers and tazing, beating, and jailing those who even question the process, and etc. etc. but that wouldn't be specific or related to cameras so I won't. Just to say that America is probably the most un-free nation on the planet right now with most (or at least too many) of the US citizens thinking it's the most free. It's so much like Germany was in the late 30's in the USA right now it's truly sad! But many German's thought they had it good and were loved by their government at that time too.

I guess I better quit before I get too off topic but just know that although it didn't happen to you personally it is happening to 100s of people a month and there's at least 10 new videos showing it just about every week (if not per day) on you tube, private servers, and elsewhere. Not all, but very much of it involves the use cameras as an excuse to harass and disenfranchise good citizens.


EDIT: I hope that didn't come across as an attack or too gruff - I don't always word things in the most eloquent manner.

its ok to speak your mind.....as long as people are respectful to one another they shouldnt feel any reason to be afraid to speak the truth as they know it.

i remember during the primaries in New Hampshire a reporter asked Gulianis staff an uncomfortable question about 911 (yes, these guys were reporters for some conspiracy nut newspaper but as far as I know the first amendment covers all free speech and the press regardless of how unpopular it may be. The first amendment was set up to protect unpopular ideas, not the ones that made everyone feel cozy) and Guilianis staff had the New Hampshire police arrest the guy and haul him out of there. He was representing a news website, had the proper press pass (which they applied for and were given), he was not disorderly but they still removed him from the premises but later declined to press charges.

At least he didnt have to yell "Dont taze me bro!"

 

[Bifurcator]

@ LaFoto,

That's cool. I thought I might be misunderstanding or that is was unintended. Glad that's indeed the case. I hope you don't feel like I was jumping down your throat or anything. Frogs are bad enough.

 

[mallard]

They only kindly informed me that putting up a tripod right in front of The Capitol was not welcome, even for the most touristy of reasons.

which makes it discrimination against large format photography....unless they view a tripod on the sidewalk as "impeding traffic flow" which should be a judgement call on the scene, not a blanket ban. Yale University has some wonderful old buildings and spires and the one shot I really wanna get (in the winter with snow blanketing it) just happens to be from the middle of the street

 

[Bifurcator]

At least he didnt have to yell "Dont taze me bro!"

Hehe, yeah, that video went viral. I wish more would. The active gun confiscation they're doing in some parts of the country scares me more than the camera nabbing but that really IS off topic.

So why did I say it? One might wonder?

 

[Overread]

Well, if it sounds that to you, I certainly did not mean to say so.
All I meant to say was that as a tourist to the United States I personally did not encounter any kind of trouble with security or police for taking photos. They only kindly informed me that putting up a tripod right in front of The Capitol was not welcome, even for the most touristy of reasons. So I packed it away.

Its a funny thing, but it seems if you are either using a small camear (point and shoot or camera phone) or look, act and sound like a tourist you don't get bothered at all.
Look like a normal resident of the country however and suddenly you are a potential criminal.

In the UK I put it down to the police targets that government puts out 0 if they don't meet arrest quotas they get penelties - so our police are encoraged to go after quick and simple arrests/convictions etc in order to get their quota targets met. A tourist would bring a lot of fuss and paperwork to process - a normal resident won't. Plus everyone has a point and shoot - not everyone has an SLR - so its easier to target a minority group rather than a whole population.

 

[mallard]

Hehe, yeah, that video went viral. I wish more would. The active gun confiscation they're doing in some parts of the country scares me more than the camera nabbing but that really IS off topic.

So why did I say it? One might wonder?

especially in the Katrina aftermath.

think of it, an entire major american city has been blown off the map, thousands of people are homeless, there IS NO law enforcement or other services to assist people and what did they do? if the national guard caught people in possession of firearms, even legally owned firearms they paid for they were confiscated and then left the people to their own devices. I dont know about you but if I had a wife and kids to care for and we just lost all we had and were thrust out into the middle of chaos.......i would consider it criminal for a government entity to violate my RIGHT to be armed to protect myself and my family.

the SCOTUS just ruled in favor of the 2nd amendment....lets hope they side with the 1st as well.

 

[LaFoto]

Please don't return to bringing up the topic of firearms... We've had no less than three threads locked for this - maybe a day before you joined, mallard. We declared the discussion of use and possession of firearms a "TPF-no-go-area". Please.