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Is permission needed?

::paul1972
12/23/07 3:14 PM GMT
It may seem like an obvious answer to this, but are we allowed to photograph any building we like? Of course, unless it’s an M.O.D. or some sort of other official government building etc, do we have the right to take pics of it? On my first photography trip to London this year I was happily snapping away at my favourite building, the BT tower, when a chap came running over to me waving his I.D. badge yelling “excuse me sir, excuse me sir”. He in fact was head of security at the tower and politely pointed out that it’s not permitted for photos to be taken of the tower due to the fact it’s still not a publicly listed building (or something like that bla bla bla….) ok, fair enough, so, there I was, a naughty boy with wrist slapped! Also, I would ask the same about private dwellings. Does anyone have the right to just come up and take photos of our houses? For instance, I recently went back to my childhood home in London, and wanted to get some pics of what it’s like now. Out of courtesy, I actually knocked the door and explained who I was and asked if they minded if I took some photos. And after all, a middle aged bloke loitering around a residential street with a digital camera in hand could look slightly suspect!!! So I got to take the pics, but sadly they didn’t offer me a guided tour – bah humbugs! I feel it’s better to ask permission first, but I bet on my next trip to London, if I ask first they will say no, where as if I don’t ask I bet nobody says anything! So, what do you do? Would appreciate your comments and views on this and also if you’ve had any issues with security etc.

Paul :)
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Drink triple, see double, act single!!!

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::Pixleslie
12/23/07 4:30 PM GMT
You handled it very well, IMHO, Paul.

I've been chased out of Union Station in Washington, DC, and away from the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company's neo-gothic palace in Pittsburgh by security guards operating on private property. They had the right to do that because I was on private property, period, and even then, if I'd shown your resolve and worked up the food chain, I might have had the positive results you brought to be.

This Oregon lawyer's site has a useful, concise explanation of US law, a link to a more in-depth resource, and links to info on the situation in the UK and Australia: Krages

As far as photographing government buildings goes, if you're in the U.S. you're entitled to photograph whatever your camera can capture from a public street.

But it gets interesting when it's government property but under the care of the private sector. We had a local situation where a private developer was operating part of a county-owned shopping and restaurant district. The developer's security guards were energetically rousting people for taking routine snapshots, bullying them, snatching their cameras, et ridiculous cetera. The county put a stop to it since it was contrary to the purpose of using tax money to fund the developer's activities -- to draw people into the district and have them enjoy it enough to return and spend more money.

In my own rousts, both guards were overbearing from the second they approached me and growled huge untruths about the law, though they might not have known what they were saying was patently false. I didn't try going over their heads because I thought it would eat up too much of my shooting time (morning light) and just moved off, but there will be other occasions, I'm sure.

EDIT More useful resources:

An Andrew Kantor column on the subject

A National Press Photographers Association memo (the link to the full PDF version of the memo is in the text at the bottom of the article on it)
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“A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know.” Diane Arbus
&philcUK
12/23/07 7:09 PM GMT
I don’t know how much it costs or how easy they are to obtain but many big cities have offices that can issue permits to photograph around the city - especially if you are using items that are regarded as 'pro' equipment such as tripods. As for the BT tower, I would have thought that providing you weren’t actually on their land you should be able to photograph it with impunity (it’s not exactly a subtle or discreet structure) but you may have made the guards day and sent him home with a big satisfied smile that he averted some crisis or other - failing that – tell him you’re a shareholder and you’ll do as you damn well please :-)
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A smart bomb is only as clever as the idiot that tells it what to do
+Samatar
12/24/07 2:54 AM GMT
You can photograph any building you like as long as it isn't a snapshot ;-)
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-Everyone is entitled to my opinion- rescope.com.au
&KEIFER
12/28/07 8:52 AM GMT
Photographers Rights .. Your Rights When Stopped or Confronted for Photography

... Seems to me .. there are other related threads in the Photography forum .. some posted by ME, even

With the whole "anti-terrorist thang", the renta-cops working security for most buildings will shoot first and ask questions later .. and be fully supported in doing so



can't say I blame the authorities .. photographers and their "take only photos, leave only footprints" mantra ...

pfffffffft!

;)
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˜”*°•.•°*”˜˜”*°•@•°*”˜˜”*°•.•°*”˜˜”*°•.•°*”˜˜”*°•@•°*”˜˜”*°•.•°*”˜˜”*°•.•°*”˜˜”*°•@•°*”˜˜”*°•.•°*”˜
::m0rnstar
12/31/07 3:37 PM GMT
I was helping my son take photos of the Library of Congress building (for a school project of ALL THINGS) in DC and got "no-no"'d by a rent-a-cop..... Now I have the PDF printed out and copied and it's going into our camera bags... Good question Paul! ~Mary~
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Thanks to all the great Caedesians for your help and kind advice. Please visit my Image Gallery

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