The Crackdown is Coming
Weird. A whole bunch of stories on photographers getting harassed for taking pictures hit the blogs this week:
- Two FBI agents just showed up at my door… (I think I’m being investigated) [via Thomas Hawk]
- Almost Arrested for Taking Photos at Union Station
- Shooting with Permits (and hey…isn’t that Julia Roberts?) (no threat of arrest, but a good explanation on why you should secure permits)
A few weeks back there was a video on Flickr (quiet, all you haters) showing some UK blokes getting harassed by law enforcement. I’ve fortunately never had a run in with the law yet. I think all of these of these have decent endings that one can gleam advice from. Namely, when confronted, be calm, if asked to leave, do so.
Probably also a good time to print out the Photographer’s Rights PDF and stuff it in the ol’ camera bag.
3 comments
All the recent activity regarding the harassment of photographers is disturbing. I guess it’s a sign of the times we are living in, but it still makes one uneasy in the normal course of creating images.
The more we hear about these issues and how they’re resolved the better.
I couldn’t agree more. The biggest thing, IMHO, is to stay professional. In any situation with law enforcement, the moment you start to “educate” them on what your rights are is usually when things go from bad to worse.
All of these situations seemed to end peacefully because the photographers maintained their composure and didn’t become confrontational. They calmly explained what were doing and why they thought they could; they didn’t seek conflict.
Hey there…add another blogger who found you via Scott Kelby! (by virtue of the Kelby bump!) It does seem that maintaining professionalism and a calm composure wins the day. I had a situation occur myself in dealing with airport security a while back, and had shared the experience on my blog. Feel free to peruse it here
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