The trouble with taking pictures…
Posted by Rex | Under Uncategorized Thursday Sep 24, 2009
While waiting for our bill at Joey Pepperoni Pizzeria earlier this evening, I decided to take photos outside the restaurant since the place has a good vantage point of Iloilo City’s busiest intersection. With a mini-tripod at hand, I was playing around with my camera’s settings trying to take 15-second exposures of the night traffic. My point-and-shoot had no manual controls so I had to experiment with different scene modes while tweaking what I can in the ISO and shutter speed settings.
While I snapped some shots of a group of policemen across the intersection, a man approached me from behind and asked if I was taking pictures of the policemen. Well, obviously, but I told him I was taking pictures of anything. Indeed, from a photographer’s point of view, it is very normal to be taking pictures of anything at any time. But this man asked me the same question again. Then another man came, then another. They kept asking me questions.
“What are you taking pictures of? The Policemen?” “Are you from the media?” “Where are you going to use your pictures?” “Are you a student?” “What are you going to do with your pictures?” “What are you taking pictures of?” [questions translated from Hiligaynon]
I tried to answer their questions.. “No, I’m not from the media… I have a flickr and a photoblog in the internet… I’m a student from UP [didn't bother to explain I work at the same time].. I take pictures of anything..” However, they just seemed to repeat their questions and they were now surrounding me.
Eventually they told me to turn off my camera which I promptly did sensing I was in trouble and they didn’t like me taking pictures. Seconds later, the convoy of Philippine President Gloria Arroyo passed right in front of us.
Okay, so apparently they were some undercover agents of the presidential security group and they were probably concerned I was a spy or I was hiding some dangerous weapon within the body of my point-and-shoot camera. Maybe at that moment, I was again a threat to national security.
That’s that. We brought home one slice of pizza and there’s no sign of these undercover agents following me. (or so I think). Nevertheless, it reminds me of a similar incident just three weeks ago.
At Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA)
We just arrived at the DMIA passenger terminal after a long journey that involved the longest U-turn of our lives. (We missed an exit along the Subic-Clark Expressway and the next exit was about 35 kilometers away!) We just unloaded our bags from our hired van and we were counting money and about to pay the driver when an LTO traffic officer in a brown uniform took note that our van was registered only for private use and was not authorized to be hired. He said our van was “colorum” (?). Since we were just beginning a trip that I have decided to thoroughly document, I took a picture of the traffic officer reprimanding the driver since I thought it was a memorable moment.
Seeing that I took his picture, the officer immediately asked me to approach him and asked what I took the picture for. (Again, from a photographer’s point of view, it is very normal to be taking pictures of anything at any time.) So I said I take pictures of anything but he didn’t believe me. He said I had an “intention” for taking the picture. Now both I and the driver were in trouble.
The officer asserted that I was not allowed to take pictures of officers like him (shows his ID) and that I must respect his right and ask for his permission first before taking his picture. Uh, okay. I am certain there was no such law in the Philippines or in the Magna Carta but this officer was already holding my arm in one hand and handcuffs on the other. He asked me to follow him into their office.
I was afraid, not of being jailed for violating a non-existent law, but of missing my flight to Kuala Lumpur and messing up the holiday mood of my seven companions. I thank God the officer never really placed the handcuffs on me and I didn’t have to follow him into their office. After some chilly moments, he let me go after I deleted the picture. As for the driver, we hope he just got a traffic ticket.
In the Cafeteria
Yet again I remember an instance in the university cafeteria when I was taking some photos of the trays where students were supposed to (but didn’t) place used eating utensils. An old lady approached me and introduced herself as the cafeteria concessionaire. “Excuse me, I am the concessionaire of this cafeteria, may I know why you are taking pictures? Where are you going to use them?”
The tone of her voice wasn’t very friendly, in fact it sounded hostile. I explained I was going to use the photos to illustrate that students don’t follow directions. I don’t remember if I actually did but that effectively diverted her resentment towards those who don’t place their used utensils in the proper place. I just had to endure a few minutes of her sermon.
In Chemistry Class
I was in my first year of university when I had my earliest memories of trouble stemming from my passion for taking pictures. It was in the chemistry laboratory. One group of my classmates left a beaker of hydrochloric acid (or was it sulfuric?) boiling above the bunsen burner until it gave off clouds of fume. The white fume filled the whole laboratory sending the entire class out into the hallway. Surely acidic fumes are very dangerous they could damage your respiratory lining.
Thinking it was a memorable moment worth remembering, I took out my camera which was then a portable Intel PC camera with a maximum resolution of 640×480 pixels. I started to take photos of the class in the hallway and our instructor, already upset about the lab incident, suddenly asked me, “What are you taking pictures for? Are you a reporter?!”
Conclusion of the matter
Again, I consider it normal for anyone to be taking pictures of anything at any time even for no clear purpose (unless of course if the picture is offensive or derogatory in nature). However, it seems that some people think others always have an “intention” for taking pictures. Unfortunately, as in the cases above, that intention can be presumed to be negative. Still, I can’t imagine what was in the mind of the traffic officer, the cafeteria concessionaire, and my chemistry instructor that upset them.
Whatever they were thinking, incidents like these will not stop me from taking pictures of anything, whether it be the plain blue sky, a blank wall, or any random frame from the flurry of everyday life. I love taking pictures and it’s all worth the trouble so far.
However, it might be time to review those stealth photography techniques.
*I have the feeling this post will be detected, crawled, and perhaps recorded by intelligence spiders.
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Not everyone can understand how an artist works
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Haha Maybe those persons thought you’ll use the pictures in such a way that would be displeasing to them. I too love to take pictures but more on natures…
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Keep on taking pictures, Rex!
That traffic officer is indeed dumb and arrogant. Pardon me of my words, I just don’t like those kind of public servants. It’s like they were not trained and educated well…
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Rex, if you’re here in North America, you HAVE to be AWARE of an Act, called PRIVACY ACT. This entails the RIGHT of an individual (person or owner of) for privacy. Meaning, one’s privacy is respected at all times, especially in public places and without prior permission (of taking photos), one is INVADING someones privacy. Thus, one is charge of breaking the law. That act is very tricky and at times, I have to maneuver around it when I’m taking pictures especially in a public place. This is how I do it here:
1.) ALWAYS ask verbal consent if one is allowed to take picture(s). At least, you have someone to blame for if reprimanded. Be ready to explain reasons why. Then, maneuver around it if needed (i.e. I’m taking pictures of myself or a friend in the mall. That’s allowed, but if you’re taking pictures of the mall’s surroundings/structures, then it’s a BIG no-no. Unless, one has prior authority, one is strictly prohibited from taking pictures inside the mall/shopping centre). Security guards in malls keep an eye on prying cameras!
2) Taking pictures of foods in a restaurant. Same thing, ask prior permission and make sure, no one is in the picture aside from food. If someone’s face is included, blurr the face. That will save you from lawsuits later. Especially if you post/publish the photo. Most times, I ask the person involved if it’s alright with them. And, most times, they don’t care. I got to be pro-active to avoid mishaps later. Don’t assume that it’s your food and you pay for it and that gives you all the right what to do with it (including taking pictures of them).
3. An expressed apology sometimes does the trick. At times, we forget about the PRIVACY Act because we get excited. A simple sorry and offer to delete the photo will be sufficient.
Like you, Rex, I have countless bad encounters here in Canada & US. Lots of people or store owners says NO for my intentions and sometimes they’re rude. Just don’t take it personally, save you from stress. ALWAYS BE MINDFUL OF THE PRIVACY ACT.
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Rex Reply:
October 29th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Thanks for the warning sir. Here in the Philippines, it should be wrong to take a photo of someone in their own home or office, but in public places? I think it is implied that public places can offer no privacy.
The media takes a lot of photos and videos of crowds in public places and I’m sure they don’t ask permission from every single person appearing on their media. That would need an unreasonable amount of effort on the part of photographers.
If this trend continues, cameras in the near future should have an auto face-blur feature on top of the existing face-detection.
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Sometimes taking pictures can have you in big trouble. Just drop lies or stuff. Like what I did last Aklan day. Only one photog was allowed but I told them I was a freelance photog and I may submit some pics to local papers. hehe. And so without even asking who I was, I was there shooting. All I did was ask the police if I can shoot. A photojourn once told me to ask first and shoot later. And don’t shoot people that do not give their consent to you. hehe. but its not really the law, its just photo ethics. And I agree with what you said, public places will always be places where you can freely shoot. police have no authority to tell you what to do. maybe some of the guards and police here are trained in North Korea. haha
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IMHO, Lee’s comments above are unfounded. When we are in banks, malls, casinos or other kinds of establishments, we are being watched the whole time by big-brother style security cameras. Where’s the PRIVACY ACT in that? There’s nothing intrusive in the liberties of others when you’re just taking pictures or videos of anything in public places, or commercial places visited by public consumers. It’s only in banks or similar establishments where security is a serious consideration – these are the places where it’s understandable that you’re not allowed to take pictures of. They can only kick you out – but they cannot sue you. There is no national nor municipal law mandating the use of cameras inside commercial establishments, but there are only policies and regulations upheld by such establishments.
Rex, you’re absolutely doing a good job by taking pictures of anything anywhere. Actually, I also want to do the same thing. I want to take pictures of erring law enforcement operatives not following the rule of law. I want to journalize good and bad life experiences and once-in-a-lifetime scenes. I want to capture them, tag them, describe them and publish them whenever I see fit. I can exercise my rights, privileges and freedom freely, as long as I do not intrude on the liberties of others.
Let us be strong. We can always argue our way out. If they put the heat on us, ***let’s throw the heat back*** at them. What’s it to them if they ask us? I can tell them blatantly, “YES, I do have something in mind with these pictures I’m taking. Do you have a problem with that? Do you want me to send your name to the media or the PCIJ? WTF is your problem?”
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