Can you cut it as a top press tog and stay within the law?

[Grantsteve]

In reaction to the story which broke a few days ago about the togs who got nicked around the foot and mouth outbreak sites....

(for those who haven't seen it)

Foot-and-mouth photographers in court
9 September 2007

Two photographers arrested for breaching cordons during the recent foot-and-mouth restrictions have appeared in court.

Philip Hollis, 44, from Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, and James Purkiss face a maximum six month prison sentence and a £5000 fine under the Section 27 of the Animal Health Act for alleged offences on the 4th August this year.

Purkiss is also known by the name Jay Kaycappa, reports the BBC. His age has been reported variously as 32 or 37, and different media organisations give his home address as either Fareham or Swindon.

Both photographers’ cameras were seized following their arrest. They are accused of contravening a restriction notice put in place near Normandy, Surrey. The case was adjourned until the 26th September.

... my question is this - Can you cut it as a top rate press tog and earn a decent crust whilst keeping to the laws of the land, and whilst we're at it, retaining a sense of morality?

It could be something obvious like trespassing or something that could be considered less of a crime like jumping onto an open wireless internet connection to wire your images.

There are some obvious exceptions like the sports photographers who are 'invited' to cover events and press conferences / photo shoots and the like, but I dare say a lot of our front page images required some bending of some rules to get them there.

Discuss ...

(I should add I don't wish to point fingers at press photographers, but I think this is an interesting debate)

 

[pxl8]

Going back 20 years I worked in a lab with a guy who had previously been a pap. His moment of fame was the shots of Koo Stark after the news of her entanglement with a Royal became known. He was also famously arrested after being caught hiding in a bush inisde the grounds of Buckingham Palace along with another pap, Jason Frazer. My m8 who will remain anon. gave it up because he felt it was morally wrong. Jason Frazer is still a pap but is one of breed that works with the celebs who are looking for column inches.

My experience is that paps will have a complete lack of respect for any moral or legal reasons why they shouldn't do something or be somewhere, they want the shot and the money it could bring, failing that they will invent a story around some shots as well.

Of course that only applies to the paps who chase and harass for a shot. There is a gentler breed who will doorstep clubs, restaurants, etc. who make a good living without anything more than a bit of pushing and shoving with the other shooters. Dave Hogan, for example, was quite well known at one point and was one of the nicest blokes I ever met.

 

[ppp]

I think there are differing degrees, a bit of trespass or using a wireless connection to send pics is in a different scale for me to crossing a cordon for a crime scene/biological contamination. The entire livelyhood of the area is at stake if they hadn't been caught and had transferred foot and mouth all over the place.

 

[Ally]

I would not work as a pap personally, these guys just take the pi** and have no respect for anyone or anything. They are really not even photographers they are happy snappers? looking to get and close as posible to put a celeb in the pic. I think you could work as a press tog as stay within the law, but as one of my friends would say "rules are their to be broken"

 

[Byker28i]

The documentary on BBC1 following the Big Pictrue photographers was interesting. The pressures the guys were after just to get pictures was incredible, hence they'd go to any lengths.

But isn't it the people who buy these 'celebrity' mags who generate the interest hence the demand?

 

[DavidJColbran]

The man mentioned in the opening post - James Purkiss - is really giving photographers a bad name - recently he was found guilty of assulting Heather Mills;

http://www.epuk.org/News/663/photographer-sentenced-for-mills-mccartney-assaults

Personally, I think the answer is yes - you can stay within the law and cut it - however with more and more photographers out there, and an increasing demand by the media (and in turn the public) for sensational imagery, paps will go to ever more crazy lengths to get a shot.

I don't think this is restricted to just news / press photographers, I've heard storys from travel photographers of people being prepared to chop down a palm tree on a tropical beach after a photo shoot, so as to render their shot 'unique' !