Sunday, August 05, 2007

So, who is winning?

The other night I went to the movies with my son and a few friends. We decided to grab a coffee afterwards. Now, I am rarely without a camera, and this particular evening I was carrying my trusty Ricoh GR Digital. Of all things, the escalators caught my eye and I thought I would grab a quick photograph of the geometry that presented itself.

Within moments, the security people arrived. A very friendly security guard told me I was not allowed to take photographs within the complex. I wonder if the same would be the case if I had been taking a snapshot of my friends. As it was I was pointing my lens downward at the escalators.

To me the whole thing is getting ridiculous. Where, when and with what you are able to take photographs these days is getting out of hand. I know the world is more frightened since pedophilia on the internet and 9/11, but perhaps by restricting our creative freedoms to this degree we should ask ourselves if maybe the pedophiles and the terrorists are winning. Me? I view no man as my enemy. I just want to take photographs.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have yet to be queried with my SLR film camera but am waiting for the day.Recently tried some night photography at Federation Square sunset at Docklands the week before & StKilda Rd Arts Centre last Saturday morning staff even said good morning.
I was not queried at all.
Private property intended as a public meeting place is still private in the eyes of its owners, but security is over the top & there are inconsistencies.Were you using your menacing monopod? Liked the slow exposure of the escalators, you can just see the definition of the steps.Obviously No flash used so what is the problem?
I am not deterred,pursuing me as an individual taking snaps to the end is just not worth their time.
They know this & the guard has to be seen doing his job but you still have your photo.
Regards Dave.

Anonymous said...

I have yet to be queried with my SLR film camera but am waiting for the day.Recently tried some night photography at Federation Square,sunset at Docklands the week before & StKilda Rd Arts Centre last Saturday morning,staff even said good morning.
I was not queried at all.
Private property intended as a public meeting place is still private in the eyes of its owners, but security is over the top & there are inconsistencies.Were you using your menacing monopod? Liked the slow exposure of the escalators, you can just see the definition of the steps.Obviously No flash used so what what is the problem?
I am not deterred,pursuing me as an individual taking snaps to the end is just not worth their time.
They know this & the guard has to be seen doing his job but you still have your photo.
Regards Dave.

Anonymous said...

I've recently had two 'incidents' where I was queried about taking pix, both at the Prahran Market on a Saturday. I went there because it is such a busy and interesting place, especially to take people interacting/shopping and the various produce also. I got some lovely shots. One of which involved a Wiggles carousel that held three littlies. The mother of one of them asked if I was going to show these on the internet after I had shown them to her (I told her I was testing my camera, cheeky me). The other involved a stupidity on my part, as I was taking pix of some wheatgrass and a man was standing very close to me, annoyingly so! So I just turned around and aimed the camera directly into his face...of course, he asked me not to do that as he was an important person! I didn't know who he was, but managed to get myself out of that sticky one. Never again, of course! Other than these two events, no-one has ever queried me, probably because I like to blend into the crowd and snap very quickly, before anyone has really noticed, looking just like a tourist! Boldness has magic in it!

Interesting design element to this pix, shelton. Nice one!

The Life, Times and Images of photographer, Shelton Muller

Images on this blog are copyright Shelton Muller