TP: Photography not allowed?

How rediculous!!!! It's makes me so cross

We have a petition here in Australia (http://www.petitiononline.com/ausphoto/) so that we can try and make the polititions understand that most of us are just taking pictures for our benefit and usually the professionals among us are up front with organisors of events and have proper accreditation, it's those sneaky "up skirters" and the like that are giving us a bad name. We are trying to stop the legislators from making it law that there be camera free zones. Currently there are 4542 signatures ~ any Aussies out there please add your name!

Our camera club was out a few weeks ago taking night shots of a local shopping centre area. A stupid guard came out and told us we were not allowed to photograph there... our President told him where to go ~ very nicely and we ignored him. Along came his mate, another guard and together they told us to move on. Our Pres pressed the point that we were only taking pics of the mall and street and it was actually quite legal for us to do this and no, we wouldn't leave! They rang their boss and he spoke to our Pres and after a 2 min conversation all was ok and we were allowed to stay. Well, these 2 guards were peeed off that they they looked stupid so they went off and about 10 mins later the police arrived ~ couldn't believe it ~ so the up shot of that was that we weren't allowed to stand on the centre steps to take our pics and we really should move on, so we did! A bit further down the road we were set up again and would you believe it but another guard appears!!! "Oh great" was our reaction, "here we go again"! The experience couldn't have been more different. He asked what we were doing and who we were and then invited us all into the Town Hall to take as many pics as we wanted!!!! He could have given those other guards a lesson or 2 on PR!!!

Wow, that was long... sorry ~ catlady, I'm with you!!!

Your not paranoid catlady, they are out to get you !
You try to do someone a good turn and it 'bites you'
Makes you wish for the 'good old days' eh when people were assumed innocent until proven otherwise.
I was at a Go Kart track recently with someone karting. I had my camera and was practising panning on the fast moving carts. The owner came and stopped me because there were children driving the carts. I pointed out they had wacking great face helmets on and they could have been smurfs !
Determined not to go quietly, I announced myself to the 'massed' parents told them what I was doing and collected e-mail addresses for anyone who wanted a photo sending.

Roy

catlady wrote: What came back was a demand that I remove the photos as I didn't have their permission (" a licence") and they claimed I was infringing their copyright, and that of the Forestry Commission whose land the event took place on. I explained again that I was not selling. They then said no problem but I should get their "media accreditation"...they didn't say but I'm guessing there would be a cost to that.

Why not go back to them and ask for media accreditation (stating that the pics are still not for commercial use) and since one spin-off is that you are helping publicise an official event, something which they surely would welcome -- that if any charges are involved they should waive them. If you are not making money, why should they make money out of you. Also if there were other people taking snaps, ask what has happened to their pics.

Be very nice and see what they say.

If they insist on a charge, take down the pics from Smugmug, and start writing to newpapers and ringing talk shows. Also write to the MP covering the Forestry Commission and the local MP for the area.

badlydrawnroy wrote: Your not paranoid catlady, they are out to get you ! You try to do someone a good turn and it 'bites you' Makes you wish for the 'good old days' eh when people were assumed innocent until proven otherwise. I was at a Go Kart track recently with someone karting. I had my camera and was practising panning on the fast moving carts. The owner came and stopped me because there were children driving the carts. I pointed out they had wacking great face helmets on and they could have been smurfs ! Determined not to go quietly, I announced myself to the 'massed' parents told them what I was doing and collected e-mail addresses for anyone who wanted a photo sending. Roy

Roy - I totally agree with you it is madness but dont blame the circuit owners or officials they are only applying the Law in its current form - they can be closed down if people taking photographs of children do not sign on.
I am resident photographer at Wombwell kart track in yorkshire - but as long as you sign in there is not a problem - this is a completely different issue to the one that started the post - selling or showing photographs of motor race meetings in the UK has become very prohibitive and personally i just dont bother now - and yes the media accreditation is hard to come by or you have to pay a large fee for the right to sell display images!!!!

So....what? If you go out on a weekend to do some street photography, you have to run after each shot, and ask the people if they're happy with you showing us the pics?

(let's not forget that street shooting is often not about the individual, but about the whole setting and circumstance depicted)

I am in the USA and had a bad experience at a large shopping mall here. I wanted to capture candid shots of happy faced Holiday shoppers just before Christmas two years ago. I set myself up against a wall next to a column between two shops. I got off two shots when a burly security guard set upon me ordering me to stop immediately as no photography is allowed in the mall. He ejected me from the premises, hands on, while lecturing me on the way to the nearest exit that no mall in Madison Wisconsin permits photography.

It's not been tested legally here that I know of but there is an argument that mall shop owners object and their agencies do not allow their places to be photographed except by those hired.   

For me, it was a terrible insult to be physically ejected exactly like a drunk tossed out of a saloon. He said if I came back in that he would have me arrested by city police.

This was hammered out in ad nauseam another forum with final results that the malls have the right to exclude anyone they wish. Once ordered off, a re-entry is trespassing and a criminal offense that can be enforced by city police.

It does seem rather extreme. I am into Motorsport photography as well & I emailed a promoter once with similar questions. They basically said that as long as the pictures were not used for commercial reasons at all (that includes sale as well as using them for any other promotion or campaing) that it was OK to post them.

BUT, on my forum, we decided to create a year book of motorsport images, which would be for sale (I.E., to cover the cost of the book only, no profit). This time we went to the governing body of the particular category & they said no way or pay royalties. So, the book is now out of the question.

I to a degree, do accept that organisations & bodies do need to protect their image & their assests. They are in it to make money, so basically profiting from what they have established is out.

But where do you draw the line? The Australian Football League this year advised that only photographers from their agency could cover games (at a professional level). Cricket Australia have done something similar. Events such as the Australian Grand prix have mandated that lenses less the 200mm be used in public areas. To be honest, I dont think it will be long until all non accredited photography is banned from such events.