People have gone insane...

[wastelanded]

If you had an F-2 instead , you could wield it like a morningstar to fend him off if needed

I like this image very much, but I think you'd be up before the beak for murder. I dropped my F2 on my foot years ago, and broke three of my toes.

 

[Topsy]

I rarely take photos of any people, but whenever I try to compose an image in public someone, or multiple people, are bound to walk into the frame. (This, I noticed when on holidays, does not happen as much in Italy. People seem to see a camera and respect that you're trying to take a picture and will sometimes even stop other people from walking into the frame.)

In general though I don't feel like there is such an issue with strangers but wanting to be on photos over here. As of now.

They should be worried about their privacy in private.

Indeed. And yet no one seems to mind their appliances potentially watching and listening 24/7.

 

[AgBr]

Here's a concise statement of photographers' rights by an attorney/photographer. I try to keep a copy of it in my various camera bags.

http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm

Here's a proper pdf of the above http://www.krages.com/ThePhotographersRight.pdf

Note that this info is for the US, the site does furnish links to other countries.

Here's a link to info from the ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-righ...ou-are-stopped-or-detained-taking-photographs

Great post! Thanks for sharing these links!

So sorry to hear of the scary experience made by the OP and many others here. Quite apart from the obvious nut cases you'll inevitably meet, and the fact that it is always a good idea to stay polite on both sides of the camera, I think that solid, reliable information about photographers' rights and obligations is crucial. I am not a lawyer, but I think that rules vary widely from one country to another, including definitions of e.g. public vs. private places. Especially for travelling photographers, it would be fantastic to have the most important rules in force in a broad range of countries in English.

 

[Harry Stevens]

I was verbally attacked while sitting on a bench outside a shop by a angry shop owner who rushed out and accused me of taking photographs of her shop,I was in fact on a public bench adjusting my Rolleicord and having a water break before getting ready to move on, I told her to f**k off then took her picture and told her this is England not North Korea so f**k off back in your shop where your business begins and ends. Picture came out nice considering I had not adjusted for the right exposure setting.

 

[cooltouch]

#1. I should have told him to go pound sand and not show him anything.
#2. If I'd had my film Leica, I could have just said to go F$%k himself.

These are my default reactions to this sort of behavior anymore.

 

[cooltouch]

Here too there is a trend (contrary to legislation) that people even in the media consider just photographing people, yet even as part of a scene as inappropriate or even illegal.

Unles those in the media are the ones doing the photography, of course.

 

[~andi]

Indeed. And yet no one seems to mind their appliances potentially watching and listening 24/7.

Yes, that's crazy. And its not only potential but a reality now with those "loudspeakers" or dolls for kids where an ELIZA algorithm gives them advice. Who in their right mind would use something like that and even pay for it? It can't get more stupid than that. General public is not known to be smart, but can they be that far out? Seems they can...

OTOH the system is probably self correcting. There's strong conjecture that most technologically evolved civilisations might self-destruct eventually.

Andi

 

[AgX]

Unles those in the media are the ones doing the photography, of course.

Yes, at least TV stations for a long time did not bother with privacy rights.
It is also strange that here a great fuss is now made on these rights, the same time museums do not bother at least when the photographs were taken abroad. A two-class privacy society...

 

[Vaughn]

I don't shoot in urban areas at night.

Too easy to accidentally capture a drug deal, and end up with a gun shoved in your face.

- Leigh

Happened to my photo teacher/mentor in Oakland -- he accidently photographed a pimp paying off a cop (he did not know what was going down). Got himself thrown in jail and only a connection with the mayor got him out safely.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

I was metering a scene once, using a Master II and Invercone, and got a ration of crap from some idiot who thought it was a cellphone camera. I listened politely, then pointed out the 4x5 sitting on a tripod three feet away, which (apparently) the idiot had not noticed.

 

[cooltouch]

OK, I gotta ask -- did the guy say what he had against cell phones? As ubiquitous as they are these days, he must be a basket case!

 

[mynewcolour]

The situation that comes to mind:

Mt Etna (smoking) in the distance and in the midground a gathering of a dozen African migrants. They sat, stood and rested on a white marble fountain (devoid of water). Bright morning light, but shadows cast from city buildings.

I wasn't quick enough, a hand went over the lens.

"no foto"

It's sad that photography is sometimes dangerous for the subject.

There are stories that need telling.

 

[BrianShaw]

I was verbally attacked while sitting on a bench outside a shop by a angry shop owner who rushed out and accused me of taking photographs of her shop,I was in fact on a public bench adjusting my Rolleicord and having a water break before getting ready to move on, I told her to f**k off then took her picture and told her this is England not North Korea so f**k off back in your shop where your business begins and ends. Picture came out nice considering I had not adjusted for the right exposure setting.

I had same experience except it was a town crier and I used Soviet Union as the comparison. Sad fact is that I really was just adjusting my Rolleicord... so mo picture for me.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

OK, I gotta ask -- did the guy say what he had against cell phones? As ubiquitous as they are these days, he must be a basket case!

He thought I was taking pictures of him and his family; I was holding the incident meter up to get a reading for the scene I was photographing. And yes, I sensed a good deal of private agenda at work there. He was a real Lombard ("Lots of money but a right dickhe@d") by all indications. The 4x5 was pointed away from him and his brood of advertisements for retroactive vasectomies.

 

[Toffle]

And yet no one seems to mind their appliances potentially watching and listening 24/7.

Those damned microwave ovens!

 

[Old-N-Feeble]

Indeed. And yet no one seems to mind their appliances potentially watching and listening 24/7.

My only 'smart' appliance is a television and it's not connected to the web. My computer has no camera or microphone attached. I have no true need for a cell phone so I don't have one. My digital camera is too old to worry about anyone hacking into it (no wifi or bluetooth). I live in a rural area with old style (not 'smart') electric power meters.

 

[removed account4]

Those damned microwave ovens!

i know ...
but i think it was TELLING when some former head of some sort of agency
involved with "stuff" was interviewed and said point blank that he taped over
the camera lens on his computer, phone, iPad, chrome book &c because it can
easily be activated to be a passive camera. back in the day when mix-tapes were
king people often used a pair of headphones as a microphone ... i don't unplug my modem
anymore, but i probably should.

 

[Topsy]

I live in a rural area with old style (not 'smart') electric power meters.

Hang on, are there electric power meters that listen too now a days?

I just realized I'll be buying an old phone later this year. Our whole country is being forced to switch to VOIP (even the few regions with no cellphone coverage or internet connection. Some people are simply being taken away their phones!). I'll get a converter that hopefully won't listen to me but there's no way I'll have a phone without a physical switch that disconnects it plugged in to the internet 24/7.. Which will be fun as we only have our modern switched on when we need it.

Sorry for being so OT.


A bit more on topic though, I do think photographers would profit it they'd show more respect for others again, and not constantly be so entitled. I just noticed that actually I find most photographers I see on the streets very unsympathetic and sometimes nearly a bit revolting* in their ways.
In do hope I don't cone across like this too to others!

*this might be a bit exaggerated

 

[Tony Egan]

I have posted in another forum about my experiences with puffed up security guards, being tailgated, almost knocked off my bicycle etc etc.
But sometimes you can have wonderful encounters with people. The group in the attached photo saw me shooting something else and seemed impressed with my style, poise and gear!! (yes, it was a Leica m6) Anyway, they badgered me to take their photos and struck a few poses. We had a good laugh, exchanged emails and I promised to send a copy. They were on their way back from the casino. So perhaps they'd had a win or maybe just decided life was enjoyable and to share the spirit. I've also had a few nice encounters with kids interested in looking under the dark cloth when I've been shooting 5x7 or 8x10 in busy public spaces. Always checked with the parents first of course but that has led to many pleasant interactions with strangers young and old.

 

[LeftCoastKid]

Hang on, are there electric power meters that listen too now a days?

snip...

A bit more on topic though, I do think photographers would profit it they'd show more respect for others again, and not constantly be so entitled. I just noticed that actually I find most photographers I see on the streets very unsympathetic and sometimes nearly a bit revolting* in their ways.
In do hope I don't cone across like this too to others!

*this might be a bit exaggerated

I've never had, in some 30+ years of being behind a camera, an unpleasant encounter with the "subjects" I've photographed. Most are readily obliging, some are curious as to what I find interesting, and for many, it becomes the pretext for an involved discussion about photography (how long have I been shooting, what films, where to buy film, what type of camera(s), where to shoot locally, etc); and when I've got the digital with me, I always offer to email a copy (or copies) as soon as I can. Where I have had issues, however, and more times than I care to count, has been with the self-important monkeys employed as security guards. Whether it's a matter of being overzealous in the execution of their job, an ignorance of the law, or personal predisposition to being an a*****e, I've no idea, but these folks, on many occasions been the bane of my photographic pursuits.

 

[TheTrailTog]

reminds me of some of this

Dead Link Removed

A great read. I had no idea about that part of photographic history.

 

[Steve Bellayr]

He has absolutely no legal right to talk to you or impede your movements. If a individual acts aggressive towards you, you should not speak with him but call the police and state so to the individual. State "I have called 911." State to the operator that you are being threatened. You be the complainant. Walk to a separate location. If he follows then he is definitely acting in a threatening manner.

 

[BrianShaw]

Maybe CDM will be as lucky as me... I've only been confronted while photographing twice in 3-score years. Once was easily resolved by apologizing and the second (mentioned above) involved barking back at the aggressive drunk.

 

[ic-racer]

The last time I was aggressively approached was by someone in a jogging outfit while I was photographing in a wooded park. He insisted my 8x10 photograph was going to be a bad picture and was upset I was taking the picture. "[with disgust] Are you taking a picture of the parking lot?"

 

[pentaxuser]

Happened to my photo teacher/mentor in Oakland -- he accidently photographed a pimp paying off a cop (he did not know what was going down). Got himself thrown in jail and only a connection with the mayor got him out safely.

What happened to the photographic evidence he had of the felony and indeed what was the outcome for the criminals?

Thanks

pentaxuser