Photography is Anti-Social Behavior?

Well, THIS really cooks my noodle. Yet another incident in the UK where a photographer is stopped and harassed for taking pictures. The gentleman in this video was photographing holiday activities in a town square the week before Christmas and stopped by police for the anti-social behavior of taking photographs.

Anti-social? Frankly I can't think of anything less so then taking shots of Santa the week before Christmas. Now, if they were walking around completely ignoring the festivities around them and photographing the buildings or something maybe, just maybe, THAT could could be construed as anti-social.

Personally I think police harassment of photographers will kill the tourist trade in the UK thus irreparably harming their economy. Tourists bring and spend money but they also bring cameras. I know I sure as hell wouldn't want to go back there right now if this is what I can expect as a photographer in that country. The more I hear the scarier it sounds which is sad because my one trip over there was not the best and I would love to go back and experience this beautiful country under different circumstances.

Perhaps the authorities and the government in the UK are too confident in the lure and appeal of their historic attractions to be concerned about a drop in tourist visits but I for one won't be returning there anytime soon. I'm not saying this is the only reason why, but it's the biggest one. Perhaps if more folks chose other destinations to spend their tourist dollars they would get the message and change their policies... but it would take an awful lot of people to do that.

And yes, I know... incidents like this happen over here too, but here in the US it's usually overzealous security guards and there is not threat of arrest unless they call the police. I am not a legal expert but as far as I know you are allowed to photograph anyone and anything as long as you are on public property. You can be kicked off of private property. Please consult a legal expert for more information on the laws in your area as they may vary widely from location to location, be careful and have fun.




Boing Boing also has some stories of this nature, as well as the story I reference above. Click HERE if you'd like to read more. And be sure to check out the site I'm a Photographer, Not a Terrorist too.