RJBender
RFF Sponsoring Member
SergioGuerra said:
I've heard that it's not easy taking photos of strangers in Portugal. 🙁
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=173533&postcount=5
R.J.
RFF photgraphers' credentials
- Thread starter FrankS
- Start date
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I've heard that it's not easy taking photos of strangers in Portugal. 🙁
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=173533&postcount=5
R.J.
smiling gecko
pure dumb luck, my friend
in texas, the department of public safety issues press credentials...the two different times i worked as a news photog in texas (one was at a daily and the other a weekly) i took a state form filled out by the paper i worked for verifying my employment with them to their office, where they made a head & shoulders mug shot on polaroid, did a background check and mailed my card out in less than a week.
...there's also associated press, united press intl, and other big news gathering entities that issue their own credentials that have carry "instant" recognition and will open doors...
...if you are a budding photo-j type without any affilliation to a newspaper and want access at fire/crash/news sites where police are present you may still be able to get authorization to enter the area.
...a big factor is your attitude and your approach... wearing your camera(s) and carrying a notebook walk up to the first police officer you see from an angle he or she can see can see you from - don't just "pop up" it's stress time for everyone there - introduce yourself, offer a business card (they are soooo inexpensive these days & if you're halfway serious you need 'em) and ask to speak with the officer in charge (there's always one officer who is overseeing the site/situation).
...usually you will be directed to that person - unless ther's an overwhelming danger to the public - chances are the officer you just spoke with has told him/her you are on the way... when you get there repeat the introduction, offer another card, and explain something like "i'm just starting out and am trying to build a portfolio or i'm trying to gain experience doing freelance work"...be confidant, pleasant, keep good eye conduct and don't be pushy...
...more often than not, you'll be given access ...but you need to listen to and comply with their requirements for your presence there ...as a freelance photographer you don't have alot of empowerment from the first amendment...
...go for it...news work/reportage is interesting & challenging stuff...photograph with your heart, not just with your eyes...do be careful when you're on-site & don't get so wrapped up in the photography that you get hurt or cause anyone else to get hurt...oh yeah, learn the photojuournalist "back-peddle" so you can safely walk backwards and keep your camera going...
hasta la vista, adieu, dasvidanya,,fino al prossimo tempo, auf wiedersehen, and later y’all
kenneth
_______________________________________
"...patience and shuffle the cards" miguel cervantes
"nothing can be learned" herman hesse
"everybody knows everything" jack kerouac
"some memories are realities and better than anything" willa cather
" doo-wacka doo, wacka doo" roger miller
"we have met the enemy and they is us !" pogo
...there's also associated press, united press intl, and other big news gathering entities that issue their own credentials that have carry "instant" recognition and will open doors...
...if you are a budding photo-j type without any affilliation to a newspaper and want access at fire/crash/news sites where police are present you may still be able to get authorization to enter the area.
...a big factor is your attitude and your approach... wearing your camera(s) and carrying a notebook walk up to the first police officer you see from an angle he or she can see can see you from - don't just "pop up" it's stress time for everyone there - introduce yourself, offer a business card (they are soooo inexpensive these days & if you're halfway serious you need 'em) and ask to speak with the officer in charge (there's always one officer who is overseeing the site/situation).
...usually you will be directed to that person - unless ther's an overwhelming danger to the public - chances are the officer you just spoke with has told him/her you are on the way... when you get there repeat the introduction, offer another card, and explain something like "i'm just starting out and am trying to build a portfolio or i'm trying to gain experience doing freelance work"...be confidant, pleasant, keep good eye conduct and don't be pushy...
...more often than not, you'll be given access ...but you need to listen to and comply with their requirements for your presence there ...as a freelance photographer you don't have alot of empowerment from the first amendment...
...go for it...news work/reportage is interesting & challenging stuff...photograph with your heart, not just with your eyes...do be careful when you're on-site & don't get so wrapped up in the photography that you get hurt or cause anyone else to get hurt...oh yeah, learn the photojuournalist "back-peddle" so you can safely walk backwards and keep your camera going...
hasta la vista, adieu, dasvidanya,,fino al prossimo tempo, auf wiedersehen, and later y’all
kenneth
_______________________________________
"...patience and shuffle the cards" miguel cervantes
"nothing can be learned" herman hesse
"everybody knows everything" jack kerouac
"some memories are realities and better than anything" willa cather
" doo-wacka doo, wacka doo" roger miller
"we have met the enemy and they is us !" pogo
Last edited:
vincentbenoit
télémétrique argentique
Well, I didn't find it particularly difficult... and I have no credentials whatsoever. 😉RJBender said:
Vincent
SergioGuerra
Well-known
Do you look like a turist? eheh
Actually I wonder If having a card saying I participate on a Photo Forum would help me explain in case I have a problem...
Actually I wonder If having a card saying I participate on a Photo Forum would help me explain in case I have a problem...
RJBender
RFF Sponsoring Member
vincentbenoit said:
What was Jon Claremont talking about here? 😕
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=173533&postcount=5
R.J.
Gabriel M.A.
My Red Dot Glows For You
Oh, I got my laugh of the day.PaulN said:
It's a noble thought that something as simple as aficionado photography would be a simple freedom, etc. etc. But I think most of us, sadly, are in sad agreement with Bobbo.
Nevertheless, it's a very valid thought, Frank. It may work if RFF were indeed an association, but it's not. We're a community, and Jorge is the holder to the deed of the cyberhood. Pretty simplistic way to put it, but it's one way considering the analogy that's been put forward.
And now, for something completely different...
T
tedwhite
Guest
I agree, George. Extemely bad taste. Another hotel could have been chosen as I hear there is more than one in New York City. At another hotel, sets could be doctored, camera angles chosen, etc., and moviegoers would never know.
In a previous life I, too, was a law enforcement officer (LEO) in California, and you are right about the amateur hanging around and after a time you conclude he's harmless and never causes trouble and always obeys orders. In our case it was the kid with the Yashicamat ("someday I want to be a real press photographer") who persisted and finally got there first in a hostage situation and made the front page of the San Diego Union.
After that coup, he had a real presscard.
Poor Yoko. "Oh, by the way, tomorrow we're going to re-enact your husband's murder...right where it happened. Hope you don't mind."
She didn't need that.
Ted
In a previous life I, too, was a law enforcement officer (LEO) in California, and you are right about the amateur hanging around and after a time you conclude he's harmless and never causes trouble and always obeys orders. In our case it was the kid with the Yashicamat ("someday I want to be a real press photographer") who persisted and finally got there first in a hostage situation and made the front page of the San Diego Union.
After that coup, he had a real presscard.
Poor Yoko. "Oh, by the way, tomorrow we're going to re-enact your husband's murder...right where it happened. Hope you don't mind."
She didn't need that.
Ted
RJBender
RFF Sponsoring Member
Here are a few sources:
$100 http://www.americanmedia.org/press_kit.php
Here's how to get press credentials from the New York Police Department:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/dcpi/presscred.html
$79.20 IFPO kit http://www.fzippererphoto.com/gldpress.html
$298 Agora Publishing http://archives.cjr.org/year/99/2/credentials.asp
$350 http://www.offshore-manual.com/PressPass.html
R.J.
$100 http://www.americanmedia.org/press_kit.php
Here's how to get press credentials from the New York Police Department:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/dcpi/presscred.html
$79.20 IFPO kit http://www.fzippererphoto.com/gldpress.html
$298 Agora Publishing http://archives.cjr.org/year/99/2/credentials.asp
$350 http://www.offshore-manual.com/PressPass.html
R.J.
pwnewport
portable image
AS a minister, a photographer, and a trained chaplain to first reposnders, I can tell you, first of all, that if you have not been "detailed" to a particular scene, then it has become increaingly difficult, since 9/11 credential or no, to get beyond the outer perimeter.
In many cases, even the best intentioned individuals are turned away because of concern that they will just get in the way of those whose job it is to respond constructively, emphatically, and expeditiously to catastrophe. That was the experience of many at Ground Zero. As time went on, even on day 0+1, it wsa very hard and incredibly time consuming to get "cleared" to where the news (and the photogs) were happening, and for good reason.
Now, I'm talking about situations that are much more dire than those which most of the prior posts contemplate. But I want to suggest that in some situations a bogus credential could actually get one in more trouble than one might wish. Those in command at even the most routine, if that's the right word, automobile accident scene, for instance, would be abruptly put off by civilians walking around with weak credentials wishing to take pictures.
For my part, as a chaplain, I would not be well disposed towards those who would bend the misfortunes of others to their own ends, and it's hard to see how picture taking passes that test. Yes, there might be secondary or tertiary benefits down the raod, as it were, to great street photograhy in these instances, but the days are mostly gone when a potographer can pull a Weegee and get pics of the vics before the cops arrive. Give it up.
A lot of people "in command" think that the whole country is inside the perimeter since 9/11 and they react accordingly. They, in the word of an old song,, "are more to be pitied than censored." Though I think compassion is more in order than pity. These folks, and maybe some of you, have bought into the fearmongering fomented by the powers and principalities of the present age. Part of our work, IMHO, as image makers is to stand against those dark influences.
In many cases, even the best intentioned individuals are turned away because of concern that they will just get in the way of those whose job it is to respond constructively, emphatically, and expeditiously to catastrophe. That was the experience of many at Ground Zero. As time went on, even on day 0+1, it wsa very hard and incredibly time consuming to get "cleared" to where the news (and the photogs) were happening, and for good reason.
Now, I'm talking about situations that are much more dire than those which most of the prior posts contemplate. But I want to suggest that in some situations a bogus credential could actually get one in more trouble than one might wish. Those in command at even the most routine, if that's the right word, automobile accident scene, for instance, would be abruptly put off by civilians walking around with weak credentials wishing to take pictures.
For my part, as a chaplain, I would not be well disposed towards those who would bend the misfortunes of others to their own ends, and it's hard to see how picture taking passes that test. Yes, there might be secondary or tertiary benefits down the raod, as it were, to great street photograhy in these instances, but the days are mostly gone when a potographer can pull a Weegee and get pics of the vics before the cops arrive. Give it up.
A lot of people "in command" think that the whole country is inside the perimeter since 9/11 and they react accordingly. They, in the word of an old song,, "are more to be pitied than censored." Though I think compassion is more in order than pity. These folks, and maybe some of you, have bought into the fearmongering fomented by the powers and principalities of the present age. Part of our work, IMHO, as image makers is to stand against those dark influences.
chmeyer
Member
creds and credibility
creds and credibility
I think it would be a great idea to have a RFF membership card, not a credential, but something that might identify us, for instance to sponsors for special discounts and such.
Using anything, even a legitamate press credential, to argue Constitutional rights with law enforcement or emergency officials will only increase blood pressures and might even get a hot-headed photographer a seat in a police cruiser.
It's best to always have some sort of ID or business/ membership cards to help establish who you are, but it's also a good idea to not challenge the authority of a police officer's direct order.
Complaints call always be filed with a supervisor later if you want to chase that windmill.
Chris
creds and credibility
I think it would be a great idea to have a RFF membership card, not a credential, but something that might identify us, for instance to sponsors for special discounts and such.
Using anything, even a legitamate press credential, to argue Constitutional rights with law enforcement or emergency officials will only increase blood pressures and might even get a hot-headed photographer a seat in a police cruiser.
It's best to always have some sort of ID or business/ membership cards to help establish who you are, but it's also a good idea to not challenge the authority of a police officer's direct order.
Complaints call always be filed with a supervisor later if you want to chase that windmill.
Chris
dmr
Registered Abuser
RJBender said:
Hmmmm ... flaming liberals need not apply. LOL! 🙂
That's very, uh, American of them. 🙂
Quite legitimate, but I'm far from qualifying.
Not even close, since business and marketroids need not apply. 🙂
$pendy, huh?
Free trips?
Hotel rooms?
Airfare?
Travel expenses?
Hey! 🙂
$pendy and no longer available.
Oh well ... 🙂
RJBender
RFF Sponsoring Member
Well, you could start with a local newspaper as a freelance photographer. Just tell the editor, "you don't even have to pay me, just give me some business cards."
R.J.
R.J.
RJBender
RFF Sponsoring Member
... and there's eBay
Blackburn(ed):How Acquire Use Press Credentials Workbook $25
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6554103325
R.J.
Blackburn(ed):How Acquire Use Press Credentials Workbook $25
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6554103325
R.J.
ClaremontPhoto
Jon Claremont
Portuguese cities are fine for photograhing people at work and leisure. On the whole. Of course some people will indicate "No" with their body language.
And small places where you are known, even if only for a few days or even a few hours, are fine too. By the time you've walked round a village, had a coffee or beer and left the camera in full view, and then start snapping you're OK. You fit in a bit.
Beaches are OK only if they are full of Brit or German tourists. Portuguese people on beaches do not like being included in photographs, even in the background, and they will call the police. It happens every year in Algarve and the Cascais/Estoril coast.
And small places where you are known, even if only for a few days or even a few hours, are fine too. By the time you've walked round a village, had a coffee or beer and left the camera in full view, and then start snapping you're OK. You fit in a bit.
Beaches are OK only if they are full of Brit or German tourists. Portuguese people on beaches do not like being included in photographs, even in the background, and they will call the police. It happens every year in Algarve and the Cascais/Estoril coast.
SergioGuerra
Well-known
Hi Jon!
Do you live in Portugal for a long time? I like Alentejo very much... have been there a lot on vacations ehe (to "Terena" in the northeast of Alentejo and also to the coast line)
Personaly I only had a problem with police at a shopping mall, because I was taking photos of a store (I needed to so I could legalise the store architecture project) and a couple guys that were sitting in front of it went and called the security. Ofc they couldnt do anything because I had the authorization, and was working in there ehehehe
But I wonder what is the portuguese specific law about this subject... I might try to know something more about it.
Having some kind of card/credential would be nice for the stranger that you happen to meet on the road and gets suspitious and comes ask you who you are. If you have some kind of a photographic ID they might accept that you wont be doing some "weird porn stuff" with their photo.
Sergio
Do you live in Portugal for a long time? I like Alentejo very much... have been there a lot on vacations ehe (to "Terena" in the northeast of Alentejo and also to the coast line)
Personaly I only had a problem with police at a shopping mall, because I was taking photos of a store (I needed to so I could legalise the store architecture project) and a couple guys that were sitting in front of it went and called the security. Ofc they couldnt do anything because I had the authorization, and was working in there ehehehe
But I wonder what is the portuguese specific law about this subject... I might try to know something more about it.
Having some kind of card/credential would be nice for the stranger that you happen to meet on the road and gets suspitious and comes ask you who you are. If you have some kind of a photographic ID they might accept that you wont be doing some "weird porn stuff" with their photo.
Sergio
ClaremontPhoto
Jon Claremont
There is some sort of Portuguese privacy law, although I don't know the detail. That's why car number plates on the tv news and in the newspapers are always pixelated.
If anybody ever asks what I'm doing I tell them "I'm a photographer" and that usually seems enough. My neighbours usually add "It's ok he's British" which seems to completely satisfy them. Why?
If anybody ever asks what I'm doing I tell them "I'm a photographer" and that usually seems enough. My neighbours usually add "It's ok he's British" which seems to completely satisfy them. Why?
vincentbenoit
télémétrique argentique
He was talking about taking dodgy pictures on the beach... I'm talking about photographing people in the street (check out my website and you'll see what I mean).RJBender said:
Vincent
vincentbenoit
télémétrique argentique
And rightly so, if you ask me.Jon Claremont said:
Vincent
ClaremontPhoto
Jon Claremont
No not dodgy pictures.
Your wife takes a photo of you, and somebody 50 metres away who may or may not be in the picture objects to it.
Your wife takes a photo of you, and somebody 50 metres away who may or may not be in the picture objects to it.
smiling gecko
pure dumb luck, my friend
what follows is partly about photography & partly about law enforcement & partly about life.
...and the beat goes on...chmeyer is right about what may happen if you get pushy or argumentative with a police officer, you may end up in cuffs riding around in a cruiser back seat until his or her shift is over.
...you might have a better understanding of their job by doing a "ride along" with one of your local police/constable/deputy (something that can be arranged either easliy or not at all depending where you live, local regulations,etc,etc,etc and more etc).
...by spending some time with one of them, you may or may not, - it does depend on alot of things - come away with new insights about their job, the world and perhaps, yourself..
...most people understand it's a tough job and yeah, it is their choice of occupation and some of them abuse their positions (so do some ceo/cfo types, doctors, lawyers, bankers, realtors, politicians and assorted others we place or have to place our trust in...those that do abuse their power eventually are caught and punished.
...you almost never hear about the good things they do that aren't exactly in their job description... like the flat tires they change for someones mother/grandparents/daughters/etc in the rain with traffic inches away, guiding lost out-of-towners towards their destinations instead of just giving "turn left here and then turn right there" sort of directions...paying for an elderly man or womans dinner anonymously...giving you a 'warning" and not a ticket...pulling up next to you and pointing out you left your coffee cup/ soda/sunglglasses/briefcase on the roof of your car before you drive off...volunteer work in their community...for most of them they are always on duty - it's a mindset.
almost time to jump off my soap box - not in hyde park in london or the commons in boston - just here in central texas...i do get carried away sometimes.
last thoughts here with a thank you for reading through my rambling:
(1)...for 99.9% of them, 99.9% of their motivation for getting up everyday, dressing, strapping on the usually still-moist-from-yesterdays-sweat body armour, buckling on a ten or twelve pound duty belt, and picking or dropping off their kid(s) at school or soccer/band/football practice, a spouse at work/laundry/etc/etc/etc before or after their shift is their commitment to making the world a better place.
(2)...and everybody has a bad day.
hasta la vista, adieu, dasvidanya, fino al prossimo tempo, auf wiedersehen & later y’all
kenneth
__________________________________
"...patience and shuffle the cards" miguel cervantes
"nothing can be learned" herman hesse
"everybody knows everything" jack kerouac
"some memories are realities and better than anything" willa cather
" doo-wacka doo, wacka doo" roger miller
"we have see the enemy and they is us !" walt kelly (pogo)
" a mans' cartilage is his fate" phillip roth
...and the beat goes on...chmeyer is right about what may happen if you get pushy or argumentative with a police officer, you may end up in cuffs riding around in a cruiser back seat until his or her shift is over.
...you might have a better understanding of their job by doing a "ride along" with one of your local police/constable/deputy (something that can be arranged either easliy or not at all depending where you live, local regulations,etc,etc,etc and more etc).
...by spending some time with one of them, you may or may not, - it does depend on alot of things - come away with new insights about their job, the world and perhaps, yourself..
...most people understand it's a tough job and yeah, it is their choice of occupation and some of them abuse their positions (so do some ceo/cfo types, doctors, lawyers, bankers, realtors, politicians and assorted others we place or have to place our trust in...those that do abuse their power eventually are caught and punished.
...you almost never hear about the good things they do that aren't exactly in their job description... like the flat tires they change for someones mother/grandparents/daughters/etc in the rain with traffic inches away, guiding lost out-of-towners towards their destinations instead of just giving "turn left here and then turn right there" sort of directions...paying for an elderly man or womans dinner anonymously...giving you a 'warning" and not a ticket...pulling up next to you and pointing out you left your coffee cup/ soda/sunglglasses/briefcase on the roof of your car before you drive off...volunteer work in their community...for most of them they are always on duty - it's a mindset.
almost time to jump off my soap box - not in hyde park in london or the commons in boston - just here in central texas...i do get carried away sometimes.
last thoughts here with a thank you for reading through my rambling:
(1)...for 99.9% of them, 99.9% of their motivation for getting up everyday, dressing, strapping on the usually still-moist-from-yesterdays-sweat body armour, buckling on a ten or twelve pound duty belt, and picking or dropping off their kid(s) at school or soccer/band/football practice, a spouse at work/laundry/etc/etc/etc before or after their shift is their commitment to making the world a better place.
(2)...and everybody has a bad day.
hasta la vista, adieu, dasvidanya, fino al prossimo tempo, auf wiedersehen & later y’all
kenneth
__________________________________
"...patience and shuffle the cards" miguel cervantes
"nothing can be learned" herman hesse
"everybody knows everything" jack kerouac
"some memories are realities and better than anything" willa cather
" doo-wacka doo, wacka doo" roger miller
"we have see the enemy and they is us !" walt kelly (pogo)
" a mans' cartilage is his fate" phillip roth
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