Photographers Gone Wild!

bmattock

bmattock

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To be honest, apart from the BS they were talking I think the security guards were being quite pleasant. Not the little Hitler types I have on occasion run into over here.
 
This is getting ridicuous. What those SGs are doing is illegal. It's possible that they were instructed to behave this way, but it's also possible that the SGs were making behavioral decisions on their own, as they often do in matters like this. I have to commend these photographers for being prepared, standing their ground (figuratively and litterally), and conducting themselves in a mature and respectable manner. I hate to say it, but this is probably going to be the only way that this garbage is ever going to stop. If we don't take the initiative, no one will. And then everyone will be under the impression that WHATEVER a SG tells you, is right, and they can make up their own laws.

Similar incidents might have to be set up in other cities until things begin to change. I'm in Milwaukee, WI, and so far I've not been harrassed in this manner. I do tend to be cautious and conservative when photographing around banks (yes, there is a US Bank on the street I often shoot on), but I really shouldn't have to walk around in constant paranoia whenever I get my camera close to the building!
 
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MickH said:
To be honest, apart from the BS they were talking I think the security guards were being quite pleasant. Not the little Hitler types I have on occasion run into over here.
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You're right. I'm sure some of that was due to the mature behaviour and knowledge that the photographers had, the willingness to actually call the police themselves, and the fact that they were secure enough with their rights to actually videotape the incident.
 
I have the local police number programmed into my cell phone (as well as 911) and on a few occasions when "threatened" with arrest I tell them to hit "send" and offer to hand them the phone. They never do. They have no right to touch you either if you're on public property. If you get photos of THAT then contact an attorney. Sue!
 
Al Kaplan said:
I have the local police number programmed into my cell phone (as well as 911) and on a few occasions when "threatened" with arrest I tell them to hit "send" and offer to hand them the phone.
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Great suggestion, Al. I'll do that myself.
 
I recall travelling in Spain during Francisco Franco's dictatorial regime where many bldgs could not be photographed. Makes me sick to my stomach these thing happen here in the USA.
 
anyone ever try taking a photograph outside of a scientology building?
I live next door to one..as in boston brownstone kind of next door....like 3 inches away and took a photo of my sister outside my apartment and within 30 seconds I was converged upon by 10 crazy people yelling at me that my camera was violating their rights.
 
Great stuff. I didn't watch the videos, but the SG's seem to just be telling them they can't photograph the building. Did they continue to photograph the building? It didn't seem like it from the transcripts and the photos. I say get a bunch of photographers and start photographing and don't stop photographing. Even while they are saying you can't. Otherwise the SG's got what they wanted.

/
 
This was done in Omaha a while back and I posted the video here. It generated a very ho-hum response here, IIRC. Same scenario, highrise bank building, private security.
 
dmr said:
This was done in Omaha a while back and I posted the video here. It generated a very ho-hum response here, IIRC. Same scenario, highrise bank building, private security.
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I remember your post. FNB of Omaha, right? My dad used to work there, I used to live in LaVista. Long time ago.
 
Hopefully, those things will change. The infamous Patriot Act gave rise and legitimacy to this kind of behavior and only megalomaniacs get off on this type of power trips.

That, and stupid middle management supervising security agents.

But only the stupid ones.
 
tmfabian said:
anyone ever try taking a photograph outside of a scientology building?
I live next door to one..as in boston brownstone kind of next door....like 3 inches away and took a photo of my sister outside my apartment and within 30 seconds I was converged upon by 10 crazy people yelling at me that my camera was violating their rights.
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This story reminded me of a picture I had taken last year. I wondered why the bike cops were near there. I guess I was lucky nobody complained...

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I was in Downtown LA this morning with two cameras and spent a few hours walking around & shooting...I never have really been harrassed from anyone while doing this as long as I'm on Public Property...
I did see this today and it's been a long time since I've seen it...
I was walking by a Bank of America building and when I looked down there in the sidewalk was a plaque stating that I was on Private Property...indeed I was further into the sidewalk that I was no longer on the Public Sidewalk but on Bank Property...
I was fine since I wasn't shooting the bank building BUT had I been I would have just needed to walk about ten feet and I would be back on Public Land...

As others have already stated...as long as you're on Public Property they can't stop you...
 
bmattock said:
I remember your post. FNB of Omaha, right?
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Uh-huh, and I daresay it's one of the most photographed buildings in the area. I have a few shots of it in my gallery. No, I've never been hassled.

My dad used to work there, I used to live in LaVista. Long time ago.
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I usually pass through the west edge of LaVista (I-80) on the way in to work. There is phenomenal growth in that area! I've been meaning to shoot the fairly new convention center there, but just haven't got around to it. Maybe I will get told I can't photograph it. :)
 
Yesterday I was with my niece at a mall, in a small Bebe's female clothing store. My niece went to a dressing room to try on a wonderful blouse, and I pulled my Panasonic DMC-TZ5 with its Leica zoom lens out of my shirt pocket, intending to grab a shot of her in front of a large mirror when she came back out. The young, snobby, bitchy female store manager saw that, stuck her nose in the air, and snottily said, "You cannot take pictures in our stores!" "F__k you, bitch", I uttered silently. The manager then walked behind me and ended up 25 feet away to assist another customer, so when my niece came out I pulled the TZ5 back out of my pocket, set automatic flash to 'off', set the ISO to 400, held the camera in front of my belt buckle, and grabbed the attached image. Even though my niece is trying on inexpensive jewelry (hoping to purchase a piece that would go with her new blouse), it looks like she is undergoing an eye exam! You never know what your lens is going to capture--the joy of photography!
 

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@tbm.. you missed a wonderful opportunity to ask that the manageress show you everything in the shop in every size and colour combination, then after your niece had worked her way through the lot (and no doubt had lots of fun) you could have taken great pleasure in explaining to Bebe's rep the reason why you were not going to buy any of it.
 
bmattock said:
A group of photographers in LA finally decided enough was enough...

http://blogdowntown.com/2009/01/3988-photographers-rights-protest-makes-for-good

http://discarted.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/wasting-breath-with-us-bank-towers-security-team/

http://www.flickr.com/groups/laprotest/discuss/72157612607836979/

http://allnarfedup.com/2009/01/19/encounters-at-the-photographers-rights-protest-in-la/

Ha! Fun, fun, fun.
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What is bothering me about this whole thing is that apparently the police were called numerous times, by both sides, and couldn't be bothered to show up. Aren't harassment and intimidation crimes anymore?
 
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