A Grim Reminder on a Grim Anniversary
There has been alot of buzzing on the "inter-webs" lately about the state of things in the UK in regards to photography and I thought it was time to mention it here. If you are not yet aware there hass been increased harrasment of photographers over there and the government even ran the ad shown above a while back.What prompted this post this morning was THIS POST about their government leaving the decision to allow local authorities decide what photography is permitted or not. Lovely. So if some bobby is having a bad day he can unleash his anger on some unsuspecting photographer. GREAT. It is completely by coincidence that today is the anniversary of the 2005 London Bomb Blasts.
The funny thing is that in the UK there are CCTV cameras everywhere, even in the woods! There is little expectation of privacy anywhere in the UK and while we were there last summer we found it a little unnerving.
But don't think for a moment it isn't like that here... Thomas Hawk writes about this issue frequently HERE and his blog is very interesting in general. Check out THIS ARTICLE he wrote back in January.
And it isn't just photographers... have any of you ladies been harrased for carrying a purse into a museum of historic site yet? I was not allowed to wear my purse across my back while at Gettysburg this past April. I had to carry it over one shoulder. The reason given was simply some ranger guy stating "9-eleven" How is wearing a purse over one shoulder safer than across my back? If anything I could launch it into a crowd of people far easier that way, but I am slipping into another topic here so I'll stop.
At school were were taught to stand up for our rights as photographers and to my knowledge as long as you are standing on public property you can photograph whoever and whatever you want. (Keep in mind that I am not a lawyer folks, this is just what I've been told) Whether or not you can use those images for profit is another matter, but you can shoot them. There's a great document you can print out and carry HERE if you are so inclined.
Back in the mid 1990's when Ron was in art school I thought of a photo project called "Who's Watching Who" where I would photograph security cameras. I never got that project off the ground... maybe now I should?
THIS PHOTO submitted by tube rider Alex Chadwick moments after the bombings of July 7th 2005 will stick in my mind forever. It even made the front page of the New York Times. See the rest of his set HERE.
THIS PHOTO submitted by tube rider Alex Chadwick moments after the bombings of July 7th 2005 will stick in my mind forever. It even made the front page of the New York Times. See the rest of his set HERE.
We live in scary times people and they are just getting scarier. How long before we lose all of our freedoms in the name of protecting them?
posted by kris @ 10:00 AM
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4 Comments:
second link went away for me, cannot see it now.
Hmmm.... I just checked them all and they should all work.
Hello from California Kris. Things get really interesting when one starts reading up on what can and can't be done with the photos that one takes. I haven't entirely gotten to the bottom of it yet, partly because the rules vary from State to State. Interestingly "journalism" seems to grant the broadest rights to photographers, but also just about anything can be exhibited and sold as "fine art". "Advertising" appears to be the most restrictive. Speaking for myself, I'd rather be asked to sign a model release on the spot, instead of seeing my likeness somewhere as a surprise. Dan Heller has written a lot on the subject.
thinking this may give great excuse to someone to walk around london with a baseball bat and clock any paparazzi over the head and call London's version of 911 and say "come quick, I think I got me a terrorista." Wondering if celebrities might get away with that? But, if people started flooding the call lines 500 or 700 times a day, it might actual start to show the stupidity of marketing and promoting a pseudo-law that brings back an era of "join your locak youth organization" and "turn in friends and family and you too might get a statue commemorating your devotion to government." People have somewhat of a sense of what may or may not be right. I think marketing the idea is horrible.
example:
so if you tell everyone, if you see susspition people after dark, call 911.
If I see someone walking around a neighbors house and checking windows...I get the idea it might be a burglar (burgler?), I call 911. But if I see some kids walking down the street at 9 pm, it may be after dark....but they are not necessarily burglars (burglers?). and telling people to contact the police every time they see something that "might" be suspicious....good lordy.
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