More than 2,000 photographers demonstrate against police using terrorism laws to prevent photography in public places
via the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jan/23/photographers-protest-stop-search-terrorism-police
More than 2,000 photographers demonstrate against police using terrorism laws to prevent photography in public places
As more than 1500 photographers are expected to gather in Trafalgar Square tomorrow, I thought it would be interesting to contact a few of the authorities that are responsible for policing the square.
First up was the Squares Management team at the Greater London Authority. It manages both Trafalgar Square and also Parliament Square. After being put on hold, a member of the team told BJP that Greater London Authority was unaware of the ‘gathering’ as it as ‘not an authorised event.’
Italy’s Berlusconi regime, already known around the world as an enemy of free speech and popular access to the tools of communication, has now floated a proposal to require Italians to get an…
floated a proposal to require Italians to get an “uploader’s license” in order to put any “moving pictures” on the Internet. The government claims that this is required as part of the EU’s product placement disclosure rules, which is about as ridiculous assertion as I’ve heard this month.
Boston cops are using the Massachusetts electronic surveillance laws to arrest and prosecute citizens who use their cellular phones to record abusive arrests. Though they haven’t been success…
“One of the officers asked me whether my phone had audio recording capabilities,” Glik, 33, said recently of the incident, which took place in October 2007. Glik acknowledged that it did, and then, he said, “my phone was seized, and I was arrested.”
The charge? Illegal electronic surveillance.
Nygard, a sportswear line based in Canada, is suing for copyright infringement after an uninvited reporter covered its grand opening in Manhattan.
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/business/media/11nygard.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
In its complaint filed in a United States District Court, Nygard said that it had invited only a few members of the media who had to sign an agreement “limiting their right to record the event.”
Henry Porter: The inept policing of public space is preventing reporters and photographers from going about their lawful business
via the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/henryporter/2010/jan/07/police-photography-public-space
Over 300 of Britain’s best-known photographers have signed a letter to protest against the use of terror laws to stop and search by police and the officious regiment of police community support officers (PCSOs). The letter comes after news that a photographer belonging to the NUJ – Andrew Handley of MK News in Milton Keynes – received £5,000 after being unlawfully held for taking pictures of a car accident.
The reason was because the image showed Arenas at a game, pretending to shoot some teammates. They were laughing. But now that Arenas has been suspended indefinitely for allegedly pulling out a real gun during a locker room dispute, the image presents a publicity problem for the NBA.
Link: PDNPulse: Money Talks: Getty Salutes NBA Order to Take Down Photo
Great to see a newspaper fighting for its rights, especially when so many news organizations are just fighting for their survival. John Tully, a photographer for the Midland Daily News in Midland, Michigan, USA, was standing on a public roadway while covering a breaking fire at a Dow Corning (wiki) plant when he was approached first by Dow Corning security personnel and then by Midland Police officers at the end of October, 2009.
Link: Police/companies cannot confiscate cameras for “homeland security” issues | dvafoto
Reports are circulating today that Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen has been sentenced to six years in prison by the Chinese government for having produced “Leaving Fear Behind,” a fi…
Reports are circulating today that Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen has been sentenced to six years in prison by the Chinese government for having produced “Leaving Fear Behind,” a film about the plight of Tibetan refugees.
I was disappointed to see a post from my friend Andertho on Flickr this morning regarding a photography ban that is in place at the Exhibition Hall of the Capitol Vistor Center in Washington DC. Of all places that ought to allow photography, Government (remember that old “by the people, for the people thingy?) ought to be the most open of all.
On Christmas Day, police in the U.K. rounded up tourists taking photos of the royal family at Sandringham church and confiscated their cameras. At The Independent, Dominic Lawson’s dismay sub…
On Christmas Day, police in the U.K. rounded up tourists taking photos of the royal family at Sandringham church and confiscated their cameras. At The Independent, Dominic Lawson’s dismay subsides to confusion: Britain’s police are “descending into obvious madness,”
We posted earlier in the month on how England’s Royal Family is trying to prohibit photographs taken of them on their estates. The problem in recent months has been that the Royals felt their…
Link: http://discarted.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/police-quash-fan-photos-of-royals/
fans’ cameras were seized by police as the Queen Elizabeth and other family members made their way to church on Sunday
(Image: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, at far left, in a photo from his Facebook profile, via NYT.) Update: See related post here, with discussion of how TSA directives may affect in-flight internet an…
As we boarded, the flight attendants announced that all passengers would be prohibited from getting out of their seats (for instance, to go to the toilet) or from using any electronic devices (phones, laptops, games) or having anything on their laps (even a book or a blanket) during the last hour of the flight
travel photographer
Link: http://thetravelphotographer.blogspot.com/2009/12/pov-new-luggage-rules-for-photogs.html
The new regulations include restrictive hand baggage allowances for all passengers flying into all US airports, and have now been reduced to only one item of hand baggage.
It turns out that the situation is hardly clear at this point and after 3 Months we still have no idea if photos are allowed as originally suggested by Orr or not. What we do have are a series of week after week after week non-answers coming back from Starbucks marketing. Below are all of the responses filtered out from Starbucks which read like typical corporate doublespeak and delay tactics, with no official answer from Starbucks and no official answer anywhere near in sight
another fine example of police officers overreaching to justify trying to prohibit a legal activity
Los Angeles-based photographer Scott Nathan recently had a paid ad he created for Facebook taken down because it was deemed “either irrelevant or inappropriate.” The photograph of Katy Perry in question was shot for Too Faced Cosmetics and has appeared in in-store displays internationally.
Link: PDNPulse: Facebook Pulls Photographer’s “Inappropriate” Ad
