Photographer 1 - 0 Ignorant Public

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groovyf

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Craig
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Just been down to a local park, as the sun was in the perfect position this evening.
I'm plodding around, taking shots of trees/landscapey stuff then go take a seat for a while, and pan around a little with camera just to see if anything grabs my interest through the lens, which it didn't...
Next thing I hear is: "Excuse me, can I ask you what you're doing?"
"Taking photos... of trees, and the landscape."
"Oh, it's just I saw you point the camera at those two girls, then round to those children playing over there. Don't you need a licence to take pictures in a public park, what with child protection an' all that?"
"I'm afraid I don't, no. I understand your concerns though. Would you like to see the pictures?"
"Yes, if I could."
So, I proceed to show her a few photos of trees with leaves almost glowing gold with the gorgeous angle of the sun on them. Beautiful polarised sky with high clouds. Good composition, etc"
"Oh, how nerdy", she says!

Could barely stop myself from laughing.

The thing that got me was asking if I need a licence. Paranoia somewhat!
 
did you ask them if whoever was in charge knew they were on release?!
 
lol haggis!
 
.
 
Being questioned like that would properly **** me off! Who does she think she is?.



edit: Please try keep the insults at least based on fact
 
:lol: so let me get this right, if you sit in the park and take pics of kids, you apparently need a licence and you are pressmably a paedophile, but if you just take pics of leaves, trees, skies, etc, you are nerdy? :bonk: You whats really annoying, if you sat there with an easel and a few tubes of paint instead of a camera, you would then be an artist and no one would question you :nuts:
 
I guess you could ask her what she was doing there and could she show some documentary evidence ;)

Trouble is, that sort of thing always catches you off guard. You really don't expect to be interrogated.

I had a similar thing with the court when I was doing jury service. I could take a phone in with me with higher megapixels than my dslr. But I couldn't even take the camera in even if I didn't use it.

Mad world isn't it.

Graham
 
Yv said:
:lol: so let me get this right, if you sit in the park and take pics of kids, you apparently need a licence and you are pressmably a paedophile, but if you just take pics of leaves, trees, skies, etc, you are nerdy? :bonk: You whats really annoying, if you sat there with an easel and a few tubes of paint instead of a camera, you would then be an artist and no one would question you :nuts:
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Well, yeah, but photography isn't art!

;) :naughty:
 
Well handled.

I think all the 'what an idiot' comments are unhelpful. The tabloid press are full of stories to frighten or titillate their readers; The fuss made about 'P****' stories is creating a genuine fear for some people. You have nicely demonstrated to this person that photographers are actually safe.

Given that rules/restrictions are often introduced in knee jerk response to the rubbish that the tabloids chase people with, I think sensible calm responses are what is needed.
 
who? said:
Given that rules/restrictions are often introduced in knee jerk response to the rubbish that the tabloids chase people with, I think sensible calm responses are what is needed.
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This is true. The majority of the general public only think what the Daily Mail tells them what to think so we shouldn't be surprised.


Steve.
 
There are paedophiles ( hopefully, none in park) There are Photographers ( You were there) There are normal members of the public (probably loads around) and then there are those that were starved of oxygen at birth ( you met one!!!! )
 
Bur what would have been her reaction if you had taken pictures of some of the children playing?

It is still perfectly legal to take pictures of children in public. You don't need to ask permission, you don't need to show anyone (not even a police officer) the images if questioned.

The paranoia generated by the press and then swallowed hook line and sinker by a large section of society is probably as much of a concern as the very rare instance of someone who takes pictures of children in everyday situations for some sort of sexual gratification.

There is a general misconception now amongst the public at large that you have to have permission to take their or anybody else's picture. Over the years I must have been in the background of thousands of other peoples photographs. Not one of them asked permission. Did someone sneak in a change in the law that I missed?

As a problem it is not going to go away. I took my kids to a local park and took pictures of my children on the swings etc. A mother made it very clear that she was very uncomfortable with my doing this and in the end grabbed her kids (who were not in a single photo) and stormed off.

A concerted, united, funded and properly marketed re-education of the general public is called for. The problem is that photographers can't even agree on which lens to use so I don't think we have a hope in hell of getting sufficient numbers to put their hands in their pockets to fund any sort of campaign to try to stop or hopefully reverse the years of damage done.

In a thread not too long ago (may have been on another forum) a photographer proudly proclaimed he would beat the living daylights out of anybody taking pictures of his kids. Even photographers are part of this nonsense.

I wish I could put a backing track to a post :) 'Suspicious minds' would seem like a good choice.

John
 
The general public's paranoia is often only equalled by their ignorance.
If you have a large obvious camera (slr) you are immediately flagged as a "dodgy character" whereas, nobody realises nearly everybody has a phone with a camera in it.
Also, it is conveniently forgotten that the large majority of abusers are actually family menbers who are known to the victim! They are rarely a complete stranger.
Papers like the Sun delight in stirring people up into a froth over "naming and shaming" paedophiles in YOUR area. Then they react in shock n horror at the massive cost of protecting them from the rampant vigilateism that this stirs up!
 
I'd have not been so polite I'm afraid!
 
Would it have made a difference if it was me, a 16 year old?

To someone who is about 60?

Do you think they would have come over and questioned me?
 
You guys and gals need to be careful out there. Thieves are very clever. Thankfully this person did not have a friend or friends run up behind you and grab your camera whilst you were showing the pictures.

There are police officers out there to protect the public and self elected people like your inquisitor are potentially dangerous.
 
Handled better than I would've. Though saying that, she possibly thinks she was right to question you now that you've shown her your shots. (Of course, she was well within her rights to ask you).

I probably would've either just started laughing at her, or done something more juvenile like taking her picture. Then telling her that I'm documenting these dodgy characters that have been seen playing with young kids.
 
..and what is it about parks? Is it the whole tabloid marketing that peadophiles hang round in parks? I ask because if you sit on a busy beach and take pics no one seems to notice or be overly bothered, and last year on a particularly hot day, I was walking along the southbank in London. There is fountain that is on a timer and you can run in and out of it - parents had toddlers stripped to nappies and were taking pics, as were other people, tourists, myself, etc - no one batted an eyelid that near naked kids were running about in the centre of london with all and sundry pointing cameras of every shape and size at them. :shrug:
 
groovyf said:
Don't you need a licence to take pictures in a public park, what with child protection an' all that?"
"I'm afraid I don't, no. I understand your concerns though. Would you like to see the pictures?"
Click to expand...

Well done for playing this hysterical situation so calmly. :clap:

Here 'Nerd' comment was most likely a defensive reaction after she realised just exactly how unnecessary her actions were. Pedophiles exist unfortunately, but they do not exist in the volume that the media convey.

awp said:
welcome to 2009 - sad isn't it? :(
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Pathetic is more like it.

IMO, You can guarantee that a license to take photographs in public places will surface in the next few years though, maybe a little longer but I'd confidently bet my life on it.

policewarning.jpg
 
DropDead said:
Would it have made a difference if it was me, a 16 year old?

To someone who is about 60?

Do you think they would have come over and questioned me?
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I think that they would never come and question someone that age.

I'm in my early 20s, and have had no one coming up to me to question, whilst there have been a couple of people, in their 30s and 40s that i've heard of near me being questioned.. Crazy..

I think peoples idea of paedophiles is anyone over 30, and with a camera. Still, if i was a parent, i see why they're asking the questions. If i had kids, i wouldn't want other people taking photos of them without my consent.
 
DropDead said:
Would it have made a difference if it was me, a 16 year old?

To someone who is about 60?

Do you think they would have come over and questioned me?
Click to expand...


They would not have cared about you probably, I'm in the same boat and it makes photography a lot easier! Oh, and if an adult comes up to you and calls you a perve you could always come back saying that they were looking at you so therefore they are a perve... :D
 
It’s a sad state of affairs when you can’t go and take pictures in your local park without being questioned, but then that does reflect the fears common in the public today. Personally I don’t think she was wrong to ask provided she did so in a polite manner and I think you handled the situation commendably.
 
i find it funny how if i was a peadophile why would i take a giant camera out to take pictures of kids and risk getting spotted, i would take a camera phone or a smalle pocket cam to take the insest pictures so no one would suspect a thing. also why would i spend thousands of pounds on camera equipment for a dirty habbit.

just to be clear, im not a peadophile im 15 years old and this is what i would do if i was a peadophile.
 
your obviously much more polite than i am.
"no i'm not taking pictures of kids.
no i' dont have to have a licence to shoot in a public place.
now f*** off and bother someone else you t***"

is what i would LIKE to say.
although i probably wouldnt .
well , not using those EXACT words.
 
I don't understand the attitude and aggression of some of the posters in his thread. The member of the public seems to have asked, in a polite way, what the OP was doing, which with the current media coverage seems reasonable. He replied politely, she left a bit more educated about photography and both could get on with enjoying their day.
 
Excusing the fact the she clearly got her facts wrong about a license, I don't think there was a great deal wrong with what she asked. If I am in the park, I am careful at what I shoot at for invoking the same comment from the uninformed public.

I walked around the biggest public park in Cardiff yesterday, with my heavily pregnant wife for 2 hours, it was rammed, took loads of shots and no-one asked me a thing.

Surely, we should all use common sense (and not react), the uninformed public will always point the finger and actually its reactions like yours that will actually help fix the the perception.
 
Oo err. What would she have said if she'd spotted me taking pictures of sheep yesterday? :nuts:
 
Yet another thread of paranoid photographers:( At least your not jumping about in disgust at being labelled a pedophile purely based on a women pulling her face (contender for most paranoid thread of the year on TP) but at least this women spoke..

Why oh why does someone pulling there face or asking you a question get turned into an "I have been called a pedophile" thread..
 
akr said:
I don't understand the attitude and aggression of some of the posters in his thread. The member of the public seems to have asked, in a polite way, what the OP was doing, which with the current media coverage seems reasonable. He replied politely, she left a bit more educated about photography and both could get on with enjoying their day.
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Do you think this member of the public would have been polite if she was asked what she was doing..?? I think not.
BTW.. I'm not sure how I would react.. I can be very calm yet assertive but can also be very bolshy and rude.??

As mentioned above, educating the public is the only way. A simple front page of The Sun saying "Public photography is NOT an offence" or something similar with The Sun's usual puns.!! Until this happens we are, unfortunately, going to be hassled and tarred with the same 'peodo' brush..:bonk::cuckoo:
 
I might have said:

"Do you have children?"
"Yes, why"
"Have you ever taken photos of them for family albums?"
"Well, yes"
"Do you have a license?"
"No, but..."
"There you go then...."
 
akr said:
I don't understand the attitude and aggression of some of the posters in his thread. The member of the public seems to have asked, in a polite way, what the OP was doing, which with the current media coverage seems reasonable. He replied politely, she left a bit more educated about photography and both could get on with enjoying their day.
Click to expand...

He replied politely and was still called a nerd, can't really see any bad attitudes or aggression in this thread.

KIPAX said:
Yet another thread of paranoid photographers:( At least your not jumping about in disgust at being labelled a pedophile purely based on a women pulling her face (contender for most paranoid thread of the year on TP) but at least this women spoke..

Why oh why does someone pulling there face or asking you a question get turned into an "I have been called a pedophile" thread..
Click to expand...

Haven't you just started your on paranoid thread. :shrug:

Oh parody hmmm :thinking:
 
Not sure I agree marcel. We don't need to be flipant - just answer her question and move on. I can see there is an education sentiment in your response, but the those who seemingly want to ask questions will probably just get even more irritated by the tone, which they would probably consider sarcastic!
 
VinnyB said:
Do you think this member of the public would have been polite if she was asked what she was doing..?? I think not.
BTW.. I'm not sure how I would react.. I can be very calm yet assertive but can also be very bolshy and rude.??

As mentioned above, educating the public is the only way. A simple front page of The Sun saying "Public photography is NOT an offence" or something similar with The Sun's usual puns.!! Until this happens we are, unfortunately, going to be hassled and tarred with the same 'peodo' brush..:bonk::cuckoo:
Click to expand...

Depends what the member of public was doing...but I know what you mean. The point I was trying to make is that I think the OP handled it well and others in this thread are suggesting they would have told the person in question to go away in a, shall we say, less polite way.

I await the Sun campaign!
 
foggy4ever said:
He replied politely and was still called a nerd, can't really see any bad attitudes or aggression in this thread.

Fair point, although the OP did not seem too offended by the comment and said he laughed so I assumed it was all in good humour.
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I have already printed my own license. I show it whenever needed. It even got me into a tower at a park .... coz I had a license.

Print your own ... have fun

I also have a license to think about naked women :-)

Its very worn
 
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