Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
WHAT ARE THEY AFRAID OF ?
For a current video project, I need pictures of Police/ PCSOs, road sweepers, and a bus station.
The road sweepers themselves were quite happy to be filmed but their boss refused permission, saying I had to get prior authorisation from the Council ( which doesn't even employ them directly). Do they have some secret sweeping technique which could be analysed in stop motion ?
A bus station supervisor descended on me and said it was forbidden to take pictures of his bus station.
I can see why a bank might be a bit iffy about me taking pictures of their security cameras but my view is if something is in a place to which the public have access I should be able to photograph it.
The PCSOs in the street, on the other hand, were delightful and told me to take as much video as I wanted.
It's a funny old world.
The road sweepers themselves were quite happy to be filmed but their boss refused permission, saying I had to get prior authorisation from the Council ( which doesn't even employ them directly). Do they have some secret sweeping technique which could be analysed in stop motion ?
A bus station supervisor descended on me and said it was forbidden to take pictures of his bus station.
I can see why a bank might be a bit iffy about me taking pictures of their security cameras but my view is if something is in a place to which the public have access I should be able to photograph it.
The PCSOs in the street, on the other hand, were delightful and told me to take as much video as I wanted.
It's a funny old world.
Tags for Forum Posts: photography in public
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Do you think Princess Di had this option?
These people who told you that you could not film them are fools whose ignorance is on a par with tribesmen in Papua New Guinea.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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Pamish wrote about this problem here and what to do about it after I complained about being questioned by staff about photographing litter around the Harringay Green Lanes station. To be fair, I wasn't stopped from doing it and after I explained the person was very nice but I was amazed to even be questioned.
I take pictures in public places all the time including of betting shops, buses etc. I was prevented from taking a picture of my own child from a distance at a community playing field once because there were other children around (not in the picture)- that was really annoying, but I was too speechless to protest. As I said in another thread, this restriction on public photography was how it used to be in the Soviet Bloc countries (my grandad once lost some pics to a passing official who demanded his film because he snapped a railway station in Moscow), who'd have thought such a policy would end up here?
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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This madness seems to have descended upon us since the CCTV camera AND the digital camera came of age, particularly with eveyone owning the latter and it having video capacity. The more techological freedoms we're given by businesses selling these items en mass and cheaply, the more government works to complicate those freedoms with various laws. Then you get everyone else deciding to act as policeman! Snap away.
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Permalink Reply by Katey on
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I was a 'security threat' according to one very grumpy station official a couple of Sundays back when I snapped a pic just a couple of feet inside the entrance of Wood Green tube station. He told me in no uncertain terms that taking photos inside the station was 'not allowed without permission'. However he wasn't able to tell me where exactly the kids snapping pics of each other on the escalators had got their 'permission' from! I couldn't be bothered to argue so took my camera elsewhere ...The link to what Pamish said about this is really helpful - thanks Pamish!
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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Well, of course. you CAN get a permit to film / photograph on the Tube (From £35 )
" This is the application form for a student/non-professional permit. If you are not sure which permit to apply for, please click here to review the LU Film Office Permit Rates.
Please note this permit is only a permit to film or photograph. It does not allow you to publish or broadcast your photographs or films anywhere externally, including on the internet or in exhibitions.
If you wish to broadcast your material then all relevant material or footage must be submitted to the LU Film Office for approval. Licence to Publish contracts start at £150. "
A mere bagatelle, then :-)
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Blimey! - do you think they let you pay for it by oyster card? ... 'Swipe before you snap'! :)
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Permalink Reply by pamish on
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For those interested - at very short notice - there's a rally tonight , Hostile Reconnaissance, about the use of terror laws against journalists and others. 7pm at Friends' House. If you miss it, that link goes to a page of the London Photographers' branch of the NUJ. with lots of useful links and further discussions.
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