The hazards of photography....
I followed a link from Gothamist and read this article about photographer Simon Lund who was forced by a police officer to hand over his film to an irate mother. She believed Lund was taking photos of her child and the next thing he knew he was surrounded by other family members and some cops. The mother was yelling at the cops demanding that they make him turn over his film."
Eventually the cop told him "You should destroy your film right now, or give it to her. You've got to give up your film, or things are going to get much worse for you."
According to the Photographer's Bill of Rights, written by attorney Bert P. Krages (you can download it here) A photographer has the right to take photographs in public places. Additionaly, if you are in a public place a photographer has the right to take your photo without your consent. This of course does not apply to restrooms, doctor's offices, dressing rooms etc. However, if the photo is used for commercial purposes the photographer would need to get a release.
So Simon Lund was perfectly within his rights to take photos of rides in Coney Island, and this mother had no right to demand his film. Nevertheless, a police officer was able to convince Lund to hand over his film, a day of work, under a thinly veiled threat.
It's something I worry about because people get very nervous when they see the size of my camera. A few years ago I had just finished taking photos of the Verazanno Bridge When I walked toward a park because I noticed there was some activity. It turned out there was a pro-Bush rally going on and before I even got to the park I was stopped by two guys who had obviously seen my camera and wanted to know who I was and where was I "from". They thought I was "press" and I suppose by the way I dressed assumed I was also anti-Bush.
I've had other awkward encounters. A guy in a bar started screaming at me when I took some photos, a man came out and yelled at me when I took some photos of the stuff he was putting out on the street, and a woman on Brighton Beach screamed at me in Russian when I took some photos of her feeding some birds. None of these situtions involved the police, nor was my safety ever threatened, (although the guy in the bar was kind of scary. Perhaps he was a made guy.) but in the end, I did lose the work because I deleted the pictures.
This can be challenging for me because for the past few years, I see potential photographs where ever I go. The subway is an excellent place but I am really nervous to take photos there because if I do piss someone off, I am stuck on a train with them and I don't want to be involved in a scene. It's a shame because I often miss opportunities to take some great photos. I could take more but I'm often intimidated.
Tomorrow I am printing this PDF and I will carry it with me whenever I'm shooting.
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