I am very often wearing a camera when I'm moving round and about in the
city. And I'm not doing that in order to look smart - on the contrary;
a guy with a camera tends to look rather stupid in most cases. No, I
carry a camera because I am actually photographing things. And I do
that because of some urge I have inside of me. Something to do with
"capturing the moment", or "framing the fascinations of life".
But
sometimes I am faced with problems doing just that. There have been
incidents where individuals in the street approach me demanding of me
not to take their picture and asking me to identify myself.
Now,
I am generally a polite kind of man, and I do not wish to offend anyone
or make anyone feel uncomfortable with what I'm doing - so in these
cases I just tell people the rules about photographing in public, and
after that agreeing to erase the particular photo on which the
individual appears.
That is if I'm approached in a normal and polite fashion.
But
at two occasions I have been abused by people who had apparently got
the idea in their head that I was breaking a law or something. At these
occasions I was shouted at and threatened - to which I could only
respond with total unwillingness to do as told. One of them threatened
me not only with destroying my camera, but also with kicking my head
in. And then I was given the ultimate option - "Deliver your camera or
I'll call the cops". At that time I could only tell the guy that I
thought that was the only good suggestion I'd heard from him. Should I
give him the number?
At that point he backed out in a cloud of four-letter words.
Maybe it would be a good idea to clarify what's right and what's wrong in these matters?
I am talking about Danish law, but could as well be talking about the way things are in most countries.
1. In a public place I am free to photograph anything I want. No limitations.
2.
In a place owned either privately or by some public organisation or
company but with general access for the public, I can photograph
anything I like - until told otherwise by the owner or the owner's
representative.
3. I am not allowed to photograph specifically
what's happening in a private place not generally accessible by the
public - even though I am standing in a public place.
4. I am not allowed to photograph anything on privately owned property without permission.
5.
I can publish anything that I am allowed to photograph - with certain
limitations. The court can give me an order not to photograph specific
individuals if the court decide so.
These are the rules - but
then there are ethic concerns. When I photograph, say a street, and
people appear on the photo as a part of the street-life, I have no
problems. But I would never photograph specific people, making them the
main part of the photo - and recognizable - without asking in advance.
I am cautious when publishing not to include children, since I know a
lot of people have an issue with that. And for good reasons, too.
These
are my personal rules - or rather guide-lines. Which I will be willing
to clarify any time and any place when asked politely. And I would also
like to add, that the fact that my camera is large and very visible
doesn't make me more suspicious - on the contrary. It's the small
camera-phones that could be used suspiciously - not my big, huge chunk
of a camera.