Banning photography in the street!!

[Mary]

I have just had this email forwarded to me from the Guild of British Camera Technicians (of which I am a member). Some of you may find it interesting and shocking.

Dear Member

The UK Government is about to propose restrictions on photography in public
places which could make street photography and documentary photography
against the law. These proposed changes to the law could result in
photographers having to apply for ID cards in order to take pictures in a
public places.

The consequences of these proposed restrictions to the fields of documentary
and street photography could be hugely damaging, potentially wiping out an
entire area of photographic practice and certainly provoking suspicion
around people simply carrying out their profession or hobby. The number of
iconic photographers whose work would have been severely challenged by these
moves is endless. With such limitations and procedures placed on them
photographers such as Diane Arbus, Walker Evans, Garry Winogrand, Ed Ruscha,
Brassai, Robert Frank, Cartier-Bresson, Bill Brandt, Stephen Shore and
William Eggleston would perhaps not have been able to make the work for
which they are now internationally recognised.

A petition has been lodged on the UK government's website which you can sign
if you would like to voice your concerns about these proposals. Go to:
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Photography/ to sign the petition.

Kind regards

[straycat]

Got any more details on the restrictions?

[Princess Fi]

Let's see them try to enforce that one!

Do you think this would cover tourists taking photographs? If so the postcard takings are going to go through the roof... or people will just take photos anyway with no real ramification...

(sorry, I'm a cynic)

[Shodan]

Ok, lets SAY this law goes through.

For summer I go visit my parents in Cornwall. I take the day off to go to Newquay as its nice and sunny. I and everyone else there are on holiday and have our cameras. What are the police going to do about virtually everyone there who has a camera? I'm thinking lack of police support and lack of police interest to enforce this silly law.

Just can't see how they could enforce such a law, especially over such a trivial matter.

[Mary]

Ok, lets SAY this law goes through.

For summer I go visit my parents in Cornwall. I take the day off to go to Newquay as its nice and sunny. I and everyone else there are on holiday and have our cameras. What are the police going to do about virtually everyone there who has a camera? I'm thinking lack of police support and lack of police interest to enforce this silly law.

Just can't see how they could enforce such a law, especially over such a trivial matter.

Seems daft doesn't it?

I am trying to get some more info about what the proposed restrictions are.

M

[Dreadful Scathe]

Seems daft doesn't it?

seems ? SEEMS ? Its mental. Why don't we all just walk around with our heads down, pay our taxes and don't answer back to anyone in authority

I've just had a thought, 10 years from now when this is a full police state they're going to use my posts on here to lock me up....er...

GO TONY. Bring on ID cards, I have nothing to hide. Put all my data in that country wide database , if my DNA appears at a crime scene , i wont question the fact that the technology is rubbish, ill be more than happy to answer your questions in a darkened room for 28 days under the terrorism act. Like I said, I have nothing to hide. Please revoke my ID card and prevent me from living my life if you feel otherwise. I trust you Tony. I trust you.

[Chef]

My first thought is WHY? What harmful practice are they trying to prevent? Paedophiles taking photos of children in the street? Robbers taking pictures of banks? Animal rights protesters taking pictures of research staff? Anti hunt protesters taking pictures of people hunting illegally? Traffic wardens taking pictures of parked cars?

It seems like only law abiding people will take any notice of this law while those people that are up to no good will carry on as normal.

Does it mean that all the CCTV cameras will be illegal as well?

Didn't think so?

This sounds so incredibly daft I just have to suspect that it is a wind up while experience of other things that the goverment has done means that I can't dismiss it entirely.

[clevedonboy]

Erm - the power of the internet strikes again. The only references i can find to this are the petition and some rather nasty gossip style sites. There are no links to official statements.

The trouble with the Downing St petition site is that anyone with a bee in their bonnet can start a petition about real or imagined issues.

The concept of policing any such initiative makes road pricing seem like a cakewalk. As a keen photographer I'm not bothered at all by what seems to be attention seeking bluster.

[TurboTomato]

Totally un-policeable IMO. How on earth do you stop people taking pictures on their mobile phones?

Can't see it going through tbh.

[Dreadful Scathe]

er...I think its a joke. You're not all taking this seriously are you ?

[David Bailey]

The UK Government is about to propose restrictions on photography in public places which could make street photography and documentary photography against the law.

Yeah, this sounds a little dodgy to me. It's probably an attempt to promote the guy's website - cynical old me, huh?

The trouble with the Downing St petition site is that anyone with a bee in their bonnet can start a petition about real or imagined issues.

I read a classic spoof:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to nip round this weekend and give me a hand put me new windows in and paint the bog."

Having said that, I'll rep the first person to start a Ceroc petition - drinking water, DJ policy, I don't care...

[Dreadful Scathe]

Its not a joke as such - see here. Sounds like it's all because 2 photographers annoyed a official rugby photographer when they were taking pictures in a park and he called a Child Protection Officer as it was children playing. Sounds like someone taking advantage of paedophile paranoia to make money to me.

[Dreadful Scathe]

Having said that, I'll rep the first person to start a Ceroc petition - drinking water, DJ policy, I don't care...

Actually, I fancy starting a petition on. "We the undersigned agree that tracking cars and charging for road use is a good idea if it leads to safer roads. As long as money raised in charges is used purely to improve the public transport system."

[Mary]

Its not a joke as such - see here. Sounds like it's all because 2 photographers annoyed a official rugby photographer when they were taking pictures in a park and he called a Child Protection Officer as it was children playing. Sounds like someone taking advantage of paedophile paranoia to make money to me.

Thanks for finding that DS. I have forwarded the link to the GBCT. Sounds like it could be a bit of a storm in a teacup. I certainly hope so.

M

[Lynn]

Actually, I fancy starting a petition on. "We the undersigned agree that tracking cars and charging for road use is a good idea if it leads to safer roads. As long as money raised in charges is used purely to improve the public transport system."

I got an email yesterday urging me to sign this petition - not sure when it was started or if it has the same closing date as the 'say no' one (which is today isn't it?) A little confusing as initially I thought it was another email about the 'say no to road charges' one.

[Brian Doolan]

seems ? SEEMS ? Its mental. Why don't we all just walk around with our heads down, pay our taxes and don't answer back to anyone in authority

I've just had a thought, 10 years from now when this is a full police state they're going to use my posts on here to lock me up....er...

GO TONY. Bring on ID cards, I have nothing to hide. Put all my data in that country wide database , if my DNA appears at a crime scene , i wont question the fact that the technology is rubbish, ill be more than happy to answer your questions in a darkened room for 28 days under the terrorism act. Like I said, I have nothing to hide. Please revoke my ID card and prevent me from living my life if you feel otherwise. I trust you Tony. I trust you.

I know DS was making a spoof remark on Blair's vision of a police state but what if a government really did want to exercise absolute control over us, it wouldn't try to do it immediately, it would be done in stages, as is happening now, so we wouldn't notice our losses of rights, freedoms and privacy, bit by bit, drip by drip until it was too late to do anything .......


I didn't pay much attention when I first heard about it on TV.
A man with a beard was saying that the colours were disappearing,
that we'd lost heliotrope. What's heliotrope anyway?

A government spokesman said: "Trust us, it's for the good of you all".

The colours that went first were ones most people wouldn't miss:
bisque, chartreuse, asure, russet.
Artists complained but the rest of us didn't notice the difference.

What a fuss about nothing. As the government said,
what were people doing with these strange colours anyway?
Why couldn't they use normal colours like decent citizens?

When orange went I began to worry. Now it was affecting me.
What harm had orange ever done?
I never thought it would go so far, not in this country.

I started going on the protest marches, but it was too late by then.

Now everything is shades of grey.

Dull. Predictable.

Safe.

The government is happy.

[Lynn]

When orange went I began to worry. Now it was affecting me.
What harm had orange ever done?
I never thought it would go so far, not in this country.

I started going on the protest marches, but it was too late by then.

Funny enough we do have marches linked to the amount of Orange about here on a regular basis....

[David Bailey]

Funny enough we do have marches linked to the amount of Orange about here on a regular basis....

Hmmm, I just thought - do you have specific colours for Ceroc marketing material in NI?

[Lynn]

Actually, I fancy starting a petition on. "We the undersigned agree that tracking cars and charging for road use is a good idea if it leads to safer roads. As long as money raised in charges is used purely to improve the public transport system."

Only 1,500 odd signatures so far - but its open till 7/11/07 - wonder how many signatures they'll get?

[Lynn]

Hmmm, I just thought - do you have specific colours for Ceroc marketing material in NI?

Nope. Orange all over the place.