Is it a crime to take pictures?

rudytolentino · 01-24-2010, 01:22 AM

'The photographers say police are intimidating people with cameras in tactics to target possible terrorists.
Last week the European Court of Human Rights ruled the power to stop people without suspicion was indiscriminate.
The government is appealing, saying it is vital to make cities a hostile place for any possible attacker.

The government is appealing against that ruling and the power remains in force in the meantime.'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8476318.stm

edwardgo · 01-24-2010, 01:55 AM

I think we should do the same here, i don't think our government is aware of this. Wonder what they will do...hhmm

Roland R. Roldan · 01-28-2010, 07:22 PM

I think this will be implemented here as long as photographers just dont wag-their-tongue (puro satsat). I dream of a day when a photographer or group of photographers in the Senate or Congress (or even out of Congress premises) asked a lawmaker to make a bill about this form of harrassment.

Royginald_Fortaleza · 01-28-2010, 07:44 PM

Count us in ....

. . .

Carlo Claudio · 02-06-2010, 11:35 PM

Depending on the situation, sometimes it is a crime (not photography per se, but actions under espionage, invasion of privacy, etc.) ...that said, most territories do not allow illegal searches and seizures e.g. warrantless arrests, searches, etc. Mere suspicion is not enough for a search. You cannot be charged on mere suspicion. You are charged based on evidence. Barring a warrant, the crime (what ever it is) has to be ongoing and is visible & was witnessed by the police/citizen. Many countries, the Philippines included, make it hard for the law enforcers to fabricate a charge and prove it so that part should not be a problem. The problem photographers would be facing is getting good images of public and certain private places where photography is controlled for security reasons or otherwise. That is now the discretion and prerogative of the enforcers to weed out the terrorists/criminals from the normal photographer/tourist/media practitioner. Of course, it is arbitrary and each case is different. In my experience, if you bring a lot of gear, they don't bug you. If you use a simple looking camera, they don't give you any problems as well. But if you have 1 SLR/Video camera and 1 rather large general purpose lens, they check you out. If they are trying to get you to pay for a permit, anybody with a halfway decent looking camera gets stopped. That in my opinion (for a public place) is a crime!

Nonoy_Ativo · 03-20-2010, 11:49 PM

I have a funny story.

2 weeks ago I went to Harbor Square (beside CCP) on a Saturday night to take some shots at the harbor. I did this after eating dinner there, I felt it was only fair that I patronize their concessionaires since I will be doing some shooting practice there. I went to the harbor area, set up my tripod and clicked away while passers-by looked and even asked me questions about what I was doing. Then I moved to main quadrangle to take pictures of the stalls and the shops. The sikyu approached and said it was not allowed. Then I asked what about the others (who had P&S cams) why aren't you telling them its not allowed to take pictures. The guard, in a confused state, started shooing the people away. Then he realized there were just too many of them and most were not paying any attention to him so he went back to me and repeatedly told me what I was doing was not allowed. So I asked why is he telling just me. The guard said because I had a tripod and a "big camera" and what I was doing looked professional and I was shooting the logos of the restos in the area. Now this really pissed me off because obviously the guard did not know what he was doing. So I asked for his Supervisor. In a short while 3 security guards were upon me all insisting they were just following rules. I engaged them in a debate over the rules and they all had conflicting answers. I then cited the foreigners being allowed to shoot with their "big cameras" (some had DSLRs) then the Supervisor made the comment that really blew my top "we allow only the foreigners to take pictures". I was an inch close to cursing him and told him if there was anyone who had the right to take pictures here it was us Pinoys. Suffice it to say I lost all my passion and desire to shoot that night, took down all their names and decided to call the management of Harbor Square to verify if their instructions to their security guards are indeed exactly what these morons were telling me.

They have not been answering and I will be going there next week to give their bosses a piece of my mind.

I can respect being told that taking pictures is not allowed but at the very least they should understand why they are disallowing it in the first place.

Nothing kills a great photography opportunity like these narrow-minded security guards.

'',)

paolo navarrete · 03-21-2010, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nonoy_Ativo

"we allow only the foreigners to take pictures"

oh my god.

id love to see how they'd treat a celebrity with a big ass camera like R. GOMEZ or RYAN A. or whoever if they were in your shoes, they might even ask if they could have their pic with that celeb and his/her camera.

tell the management that they have an excellent local policy based upon bigotry. look for photos in their office of their lovely place/facilities and ask them who shot the pics? foreign or local? digicam or dslr? that place should be boycotted. what the guard said was a very big insult.

why just the foreigners? so that they can invite other foreigners to go there and take more pictures to promote their place? can't we locals do the same?

Jovit_Morando · 03-21-2010, 12:20 AM

Couple of weeks ago, I was at Starbucks Harbor Sq. and I witnessed the same thing. Some nursing students were taking pictures of themselves with one of them using a DSLR. One of the guards approached the photographer and asked them if they have a permit. When they answered in the negative, the guard prohibited them from having their kodak moments.

Hope they realize that they will lose customers if they continue their act.

Nonoy_Ativo · 03-21-2010, 12:23 AM

Well, I am still giving them the benefit of the "daw" '',)

Am thinking that the guards misunderstood an instruction and they simply could not process the image of a photographer with a tripod and a "big" camera versus the P&S ones other people were carrying around. The comment of the Supervisor I think was a result of him grasping at straws to justify their earlier act of prohibiting me from shooting. He was just blabbering there and I don't think he was thinking when he said what he said. Still, it was an irresponsible statement and I won't let that pass.

ralphjavier · 03-21-2010, 01:12 AM

should google earth/map be also suspected on act of terrorism?. they almost have all the pictures and locations of everything private or public in Earth..

haha.. just messin around.. XD