I was yelled at by staff a number of times on the CTA platforms in Chicago, and one (non-staff) fellow told me that he had seen another photographer get arrested earlier in the day.
So … yeah. I took a few pictures anyway.
Photography is a terrorist act and should constitute jail time and severe interrogation for anyone taking photographs in public spaces. Including, but not limited to, train stations, airports, bus stops, museums, churches, birthday parties, public/state parks, weddings, graduations, and/or mall parking lots.
Terrorists could use photographs (see: terrorgraphs) to do harmful acts of terrible terrorism in/on/around our countries thoroughly perfect transit systems.
George W. Bush was right when he signed into law the beautiful and flawless Patriot Act of 2001, we need more Government control. We NEED Executive Power to control the masses. Without the brilliance of the current Government we would all be allowed to take photographs of public spaces and that could lead to widespread hysteria, terrorism, and global warming.
My husband rocks, because he is my husband and because he defends the rights of artists everywhere.
This is where being tall and already “terrorist” looking comes in handy. I’ve been downtown, in public places, taking pictures (perhaps the huge camera helps too) and I can sense someone sideling up to me, I just stare the people down; and they say nothing (to my shock). This is happening all over the country. Paranoia. I think their time might better be spend watching the people jumping the turnstiles as they yell at you at the transit.
This is where not being tall and not being “terrorist” looking at all does not come in handy.
This is where being kind of tall and being somewhat “terrorist” looking comes in moderately handy.
This is where not being a photographer comes in handy.
This is where living in the country were no one cares comes in handy.
I think Ryan should sell fake, but official looking photography badges that we can show glorified security guards and tell them, “I’m with the RPGA* and we cleared this with HQ, here’s my badge” Trust me, a good badge always works.
*RPGA: Renegade Photographers Guild of America
Just print the Flickr Badge from Big Huge Labs; that looks official and all.
Good for you for sticking up for yourself. What a joke. This is also a great resource to keep on you:
Nice
About The Author
I'm a graphic designer and sometimes writer living in Anderson, South Carolina. I serve as the Design Director for NewSpring Church. I love Jesus, my wife, Levi's Jeans, good Tex-Mex, and 8oz glass bottle Coca-Cola Classic. On good days I love them roughly in that order. Email me.
MBTA, What’s So Scary About Photography?
Mon 08/06/07
I take a camera with me almost everyday. These are a few responses I’ve gotten lately from various individuals:
Ok, Chinatown fabric purveyor, it’s your store and if you don’t want me to take photos of your luxurious Asian-themed fabrics, that’s completely fine. I don’t particularly understand your fear of it, but I respect your wishes because you own the place and its contents. (And because you probably know David Lo-Pan.)
But the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority? I have been harassed by your employees on numerous occasions since my arrival in Boston. While I understand that these people are “just doing their jobs,” it is also abundantly clear to me that they don’t know what they’re talking about and you need to fix it.
Photography is not against the law. Photography in public spaces is protected by the U.S. Constitution (Freedom of Expression, the 1st Amendment) and the Massachusetts Constitution (Freedom of the Press, the 16th Amendment, which doesn’t provide criteria for “the press”). These rights are obviously protected by law as civil rights, and any attempt to stop me from exercising them is a violation of my civil rights. The MBTA does not own the property it operates on, it merely manages it. It’s public space, and I am free to excercise my civil rights on said public space how I see fit.
(Before someone jumps on some Patriot Act, Post 9/11, threat of terrorism thing – If one were looking for a terrorism starter-kit, the MBTA posts 3D BLUEPRINTS OF EACH STATION [PDF] on their website. I’d wager that’s a slightly bigger threat to transit security than me snapping photos of my wife with a plastic toy camera.)
In my four weeks of consistent train travel, I’ve never seen a signage prohibiting photography in MBTA stations or trains. Searching for “photography” or “photography policy” on MBTA’s website yields minimal results – mainly pages related to procuring commercial permits for filming/sampling. There is no official policy for non-commercial photography in any MBTA literature on the web, in print, or in the stations and trains. The MBTA workforce is enforcing a non-existent policy.However, thanks to the consistent pressure of local photographer Jason Desjardins and the local ACLU, the MBTA’s hand has been forced to draft a policy in writing. It would make too much sense to post that policy on the MBTA site, so you have to visit the MBTA Transit Police site to download the MBTA Photography Policy [PDF]. I now carry it me on a daily basis. It’s a gem, especially this part:
While the bit about “picture(s) do not pose a security or safety threat” is completely subjective and left to the whims of MBTA employees, as long as I have a photo ID and I’m not using lights and tripods, I’m not to be bothered.
MBTA, please do all the Boston-area and tourist photographers a favor by uploading your new policy to your website and educating your employees about it. And photographers, know your rights and don’t back down when someone is trampling on your civil rights.