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Or Greg Palast getting arrested in New Orleans for
photographing/documenting some of the destruction to the oil terminals ater
Katrina.
Or reporters from Eastern Europe (!) having their cameras
confiscated trying to photograph events at the New Orleans Metrodome during the
Katrina debacle.
But never mind those. Try to take a picture today in
any US airport and see what happens to you.
How many more need be cited? The answer to your
question is "yes" -- as if I really had to write this
sentence!
Don Feinberg
In 1964 I spent two weeks in the USSR. Photography was not
permitted of any bridges, military installations or within about 20 kms of a
border with another nation, even within the Eastern Bloc. There may have been
other restrictions, but this is all I remember.
Roger
On 13 Jun 2007, at 12:31 PM, Herschel Mair wrote:
In the cold war days
an American talk-show host was interviewing a balerina that had defected
from Russia.
The entire interview
was pretty mundane and she was as happy as a lark etc., but one line gave
away what was really going on inside her. She said. "I am glad that I am now
free but I hope no harm will come to my family"
The two lines I might
question in Darin's beautiful picture of freedom is: "Expect to be hassled"
and
" It can't hurt to
send a friendly, but polite letter beforehand"
Why?
Is photography so
dangerous that we need to get police permission before we go somewhere to
shoot pictures?
Herschel
Mair
Head of the Department
of Photography,
Higher College of
Technology
Muscat
Sultanate of
Oman
Adobe
Certified instructor
+
(986) 99899 673
----- Original Message
----From: Darin Heinz
<spacecoastphoto@xxxxxxxxxxx>To: List for
Photo/Imaging Educators - Professionals - Students <photoforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>Sent: Wednesday, June
13, 2007 7:55:56 PMSubject: Photo
Freedom, was: Australian TV advert
Hi,
everyone.----- Original Message
----- From: "Bob
Blakely"> So far, here in
the US, one can take photos of anything> or anyone they
can see from any public place...An exception to this
is active military installations. Even if you are across the street, on
a sidewalk shooting through a chain-link fence, you still need express
written consent of the base commander, or face serious charges. Legally,
those who attend public events on-base, such as air shows, for example, are still
subject to this restriction. In such cases, however, it has become an
expected practice for the security forces to turn a blind eye.I have gotten used to
being asked the usual questions, to the point where I am recognized by local
police officers. In one instance, I accompanied a friend to his job at
an airfield. Shooting some airliners being refueled, an airport authority
officer approached in an SUV, but I stopped being nervous when he recognized me.
He said "Come with me." I climbed in, and thought I was being either
escorted off the property or "taken in for questioning". Instead, he drove me
to a different area and pointed out how much better the lighting
looked...As long as you're only
being a photographer, you don't have anything to worry about. Comply.
Be laid-back, be cool. Don't let yourself be perceived to be hostile. Expect
to be hassled, but it most likely won't get to that point. Actually, every
time you find yourself in a conversation with a member of law
enforcement, it could even be an opportunity to network a little bit. If you're
going to do a lot of shooting in a particular locality, it can't
hurt to send a friendly, but polite letter beforehand to the chief of police
introducing yourself. If they have a public affairs office, offer to do
some pro bono work for them. The gains in the long run will offset the
initial loss by far.At the very least,
have a copy - or several - of this PDF with you.http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm (UK and NSW links at
bottom)You're a photographer.
Make photographs.Darin HeinzMelbourne, Florida
USASee my photographs
online at http://www.photo.net/photos/DarinHeinz/
You snooze, you lose. Get
messages ASAP with AutoCheck
in the all-new Yahoo! Mail
Beta.
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