LOOK BUT DON'T PHOTOGRAPH!
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The question of civil liberties comes up when stock photographers ponder the consequences of photographing in public. What are the limits? This question has to be answered by both photographers and security units that are now being formed to protect us. Two recent news articles show how photographers attempting to take pictures were thwarted by security police. Whether you find the following to be positive or negative will help define where you stand regards the trend toward stricter regulations.
Incident #1. Last June 2002, a couple of amateur photographers, one from Philadelphia and the other a native of Finland were arrested, and handcuffed, for taking pictures of the Sunoco gasoline refinery, in South Philadelphia. The city of Philadelphia eventually admitted that the arrests were a mistake and compensated the American, William P. Madeira, with a $2,500 settlement. The city has failed to compensate the other photographer, a visiting Finn, Jonas Lunquist, who has returned home to Helsinki.. The American Civil Liberties Union, in behalf of Lundquist, has filed a federal lawsuit alleging false arrest. Stephen Presser, of the ACLU, was quoted as saying, "This is another example of how Sept. 11th has warped America's sense of justice."
Incident #2. In January 2003, Mike Marty and his wife, Kathleen, of Madison, Wisconsin, were returning home from a vacation in Minnesota. Marty, an amateur photographer, was impressed by the billowing white smokestacks against a cold blue sky of the Flint Hills Resources refinery south of Minneapolis/St. Paul Minnesota. After Marty took some pictures of the smokestacks of the refinery, two security guards, dressed in black, followed the Marty's vehicle and then stopped them, questioned them, and eventually gave Marty the choice to give them the film and allow the refinery pictures to be destroyed, or his vehicle license plate number would be reported to the FBI for possible investigation.
Marty, having just graduated from college in Madison, reluctantly handed over the camera film, not wanting a brush with the FBI on his academic resume. The security people promised to return the film, minus the refinery photos.
A QUESTION OF BALANCE
No doubt, in times of danger, we should all be alert. Photographs may seem innocent documents to a peace-loving society, but in times when terrorism is in the forefront, certain photos can be of special use to the enemy.
Now comes the question of common sense and a balance between vigilance and civil liberties. Should police in Philadelphia handcuff two amateur photographers, or the Minnesota security staff trail the vehicle of a young couple and suspect them for just taking some scenic photos of a refinery.?
Or would the handcuff-happy Philadelphia police, or the Minnesota security guards in their stealth-black uniforms, be more advised to do their homework and learn that if anyone wants to see a photo of the Sunoco refinery, they can go to the Sunoco website:
>http://www.sunocoinc.com/aboutsunoco/refinery_tour/refinery_tour_1a.htm<
And to see photos of the Minneapolis/St Paul refinery:
>http://www.fhr.com/Minnesota/history.asp<
Rohn Engh is director of PhotoSource International and publisher of PhotoStockNotes. Pine Lake Farm, 1910 35th Road, Osceola, WI 54020 USA E-mail: info@photosource.com Fax: 1 715 248 7394
Web site: www.photosource.com
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