My photography encounter with law enforcement
Recently there’s been a number of well-publicized stories about photographers having run-ins with the police. In a number of different cases, photographers has been detained, questioned and in some cases threatened with arrest.
Here’s a couple of examples of recent cases, as reported on DWF.
I watched those videos on the weekend and must say that although the police did seem to push things a little far and were pretty harsh, in 2 of the video I watched, the photographers were – in my opinion – being pretty hard to get a long with and in one case, almost seemed to be looking for a fight (Um, I think I’m going to take a photo of some cops while I happen to have my friend with me video taping).
I’ve had a couple of discussions with people about this whole situation and agree with the concern many raise that often the law enforcement people seem to take things a little too far, a little too quickly.
So imagine my surprise when I had my own photographer/law enforcement encounter in San Jose yesterday this week. Here’s what unfolded….
I was walking along a downtown street with my camera over my shoulder, at this point really just walking, not really thinking about shooting. I crossed the street at a point where the light rail system runs, realizing as soon as I got to the other side that I probably shouldn’t have walked where I did. About 30 seconds later in my peripheral vision I saw a sheriff’s car stop, the deputy get out and I hear “Excuse me Sir”. “Oh boy”, I thought, “I’m going to get a jay-walking ticket”
Instead the officer says, “What are you taking pictures of?”. As my mind races, thinking about those harassment stories, I find myself becoming defensive saying ”Nothing Really. Just looking for interesting things to photograph. Haven’t taken many photos actually”. He gets closer and after a brief pause he says, “Well you might want to check out City Hall – it has won awards for architecture and it’s a really interesting spot to photograph”
Now I’m pretty much speechless until he asks, “What are you shooting” (gesturing at my camera), to which I mumble “D300”. Officer: ”What lens?” Me: “18 – 200”.
Well very quickly it was clear that he was a photographer who’s “real” job was a Deputy Sheriff. We chatted for about 10 minutes about studios, lighting etc, at which point he mentioned that he was still trying to learn more. So I told him about D-Town TV and our other pod casts, and he pulls out his pad to write down the name (I realized later than observers probably thought I was about to get a ticket).
Here’s where it gets even more interesting, from a small world perspective: I tell him all our pod casts are on Kelby TV.com to which he responds “Oh, I just bought a couple of Scott Kelby’s books and joined NAPP”.
We exchange business cards, he invites me to shoot as his studio next time I’m in town and I walk away thinking, “How cool was that!”
So thanks Deputy Sheriff Robert Eng for making my law enforcement encounter have a much different ending then I imagined when I heard “Excuse me Sir”
[...] inlägget hittar du här Mer Det här inlägget postades i Övrigt och har märkts med etiketterna cross, dave, foto, [...]
Great post, now if all officers were photographers, we would all have no encounters.
I’m glad to hear that your encounter with law enforcement was positive. I wish this were more common. My experience is different, although not as bad as some other people have had. I was approached after taking some pictures of a new hospital that was under construction at the University of Michigan. The campus security officer told me that I should have notified the security office that I would be taking pictures and I should be aware that taking pictures of ‘infrastructure’ required prior approval. He took my information but never insisted on seeing the pictures or anything like that. I later contacted the security office and received a nice reply telling me that the officer was in error and as long as I was on public property I could shoot any building on campus that I wanted without prior permission. I keep that e-mail handy on my iPhone as I shoot buildings on campus just in case I’m bothered again.
Great story. Nice that it turned out the way it did.
Very cool! That was a pleasant surprise indeed (both the read, for me and the encounter, for you)!
Ha! That must have had your heart going for a moment. How fun would that be in his shoes though. He must know the grief many photographers have encountered with law enforcement. Must be fun to approach people like you and make them squirm for a moment
I’m glad you didn’t spend the night in jail!
It surprises me how many folks in Boston are unaware that the MBTA (Mass Bay Transit Authority) does not allow photography on our subway system. It’s a security thing, but hey, the PUBLIC part of public transportation implies it would be okay to shoot…
Something not too different happened to me at the airport in Bangalore India. My photography bag was nearly bursting at the seams, and when it hit the metal detector belt all hell broke loose. My bag was moved to a large table in the “secure” area, and placed amid a sea of other bags that were intended to be manually checked. I waited to make it through the security because items on the belt were moving faster than the line of people, so that made me rather nervous while I kept an eye on the bag in case someone might snag it during my impending exit from the country.
Finally after I passed through another detector, I was flagged to a table where a security officer speaking nearly indecipherable Engiish asked me to open my bag so he could examine the contents. As I removed the Canon body, various L glass lenses, CF card reader, portable hard drive, and more he coveted each item with delighted look in his eye. To my surprise, he started asking me about sensor size, F stop, and other technical details. At one point he even opened up my waterproof Gepe CF card case and asked about the size of my cards and how many RAW images I could shoot on one.
I felt lucky that it was a friendly encounter, and happy that I wouldn’t be delayed at the gate after all.
And he didn’t recognize you!? One day he’ll tell his friends the story of how he met Dave Cross.
@Lauren – Just this morning, Fox 25 News Boston interviewed an MBTA (subway) officer that said the MBTA is actually *encouraging* photography on trains given the recent success of apprehending weirdos via twitter posts. I think they intended to say camera phone photography, but didn’t specify to that level of detail in the interview. See: http://bit.ly/ac6AaJ
Its a good thing you weren’t armed with one of those dangerous Tripods. I think they are covered by the new proposed long gun carry ban going through the state legislature.
I had a similar encounter with TSA at BWI (Baltimore/Washington International). It was my first air trip with my 400mm 2.8 IS – the thing is a bazooka. It was stuffed in my full sized Lowepro NatureTrekker with little room around it for a couple extras. I placed my gear on the conveyor belt, passed through the checkpoint and was watching the exit port of the conveyor belt like a hawk.
It spit out the trays before the 400mm but then I saw the conveyor back up, then forward, back and then forward again. The two agents studied the screen with a serious glance, whispered to each other and then moved to the next set of bags. As my 400 was spit out of the exit a TSA agent started walking in my direction. I figured that I would need to have a manual bag check or secondary screening but he said ‘Four hundred millimeter?’. I sighed a sigh of relief and we chatted about photography while I put my shoes on, tucked my laptop back in its case and otherwise got myself together. It was a very enjoyable conversation and I wish we had longer to talk.
Strangely on the way back (Orlando airport) I ran into a man who gave me his name but I cannot remember it. He had a big hand working with Kodak during the film years. We talked about the shuttle launch (I was in Florida covering that), film, the decision to end Kodachrome, etc. I gave him my card but never heard from him.
-John
Love to hear stories like that…had a cop pull over by me one night shooting lightning, figured he was going to give me grief and he just wanted to tell me where he thought the good stuff might be
Everyone loves a happy ending. I can’t recall a police officer ever giving me a hard time about photography. It seems that most of the officers I’ve encounted had better priorities. Security guards, on the other hand, can leave a bad impression on their guests.
Good post, glad to hear things went in a positive direction. I’ve never had any negative experiences myself, I hear more unhappy stories about private security guards than police though.
[...] can check out how the story ends over at Dave’s blog. Back [...]
Seems to be Murphy’s law at work. Good cops harassed by poor photographers. Good photographers harassed by poor cops. Would that we could all keep our professions professional.
As a photographer, NAPP member, attorney who has represented the police, and card carrying ACLU member, I support Anthony Graber but also think that we — as photographers — need to “police” those in our own profession who intentionally go out of their way to provoke a negative police response. We each need to be as much an ambassador for our profession as Dave and Robert Eng are for theirs.
Nice story Dave.
[...] Cross, a senior developer at the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, told him of nothing in particular, according to the story on his site. [...]
Superb!!! makes a real nice change to hear something like this Dave and yeah, wait till he watches D-Town and then PSUser TV and sees you there along with Scott; a BIG OMG moment…lol
All the best to you,
Glyn
Nice twist on a cop tale. I’ve seen a few of those videos, where the guy is out to to provoke, but equally so I’ve seen some where the photographer is simply standing their ground.
Fortunately you met the right cop! He’ll be boasting about it next week when he’s had a look at NAPP more closely!
Great uplifting story Dave. I would love to write about this on my sites. I can’t find your email so please contact me. I pretty much have your side but it will be great to get a quote from Officer Eng for my article.
You lucky dog! I envy you!
Now seriously I wish that at least half of law enforcement should be that understanding and I think private guards are worst then police.
Keep up with the good work and thank you for sharing.
Nice to hear some of the good stories instead of the bad. Props to San Jose Sheriffs!
I have had both good and bad encounters with security while carrying my camera. I was detained for a little while at Frankfurt airport for taking a photo (I didn’t see any no photography signs anywhere). I was very compliant, and they let me go after I deleted the photo I took.
I have been stopped by a cop in Manhattan while I was just passing by – I was like, umm.. I didn’t even take a picture, so what does he want. He just wanted to check out my 7D because he wanted to get one some day
And at Times Square, I asked one of the cops to pose for me, and he did.
So, it depends on luck and your attitude.
I had a similar situation recently:
I’ve gone by train through a beautiful countryside at dusk and tried to make some wide angle shots throught the window, so I pressed the objective against it to reduce reflections from the light in the train on the glass, when the conductor came in.
He just ask’s what I’m doing and I explained, than he smiled and said: „Of course, we can make something possible“, went away and dimmed down the light in the whole wagon for me.
I took some shots when we passed over a bridge and afterwards we talked 20 minutes about photography, and he told much about trains and trainspotting. Very nice guy.
This is a great example of how typical every-day life usually is. We all hear about the bad stories because they are spread very fast. We rarely hear about the nice stories where people are just decent human beings. If something bad happens, there is a story. What’s the saying? “If it bleeds, it leads.” The stories about the nice things that happen are rarely published in the news unless they need some filler piece.
Thanks Dave for sharing a nice story and proving that there are decent people left in this world (both you and Deputy Sheriff Robert Eng).
I grew up behind the iron curtain during the cold war and living with restrictions was ubiquitous. However, some stories that happen in the country I live in today (the same as you do Dave), make me wonder how big or little the difference really is.
It is too bad that the fear of our time leads to many new ridiculous restrictions. This may bring people, who have to enforce these restrictions, in conflict with their own common sense. A story like yours Dave proves that there is still hope in the air. I mean hope for more common sense everywhere.
I too had a similar incident with Deputy Sheriff Robert Eng just a short two weeks ago. Similar feeling too, “what did I do wrong now SHOCK!” It went straight trough me!! He asked me after opening his passenger side window with a smile, what I was shooting.
A minute later after I let my defenses down, we had such a nice short talk about photography.
The power of kindness. !
Thank you Deputy Sheriff Robert Eng !
Dave, the difference between your encounter and the videos you posted with this is, you passed the “attutude” test. The others didn’t. They were looking to provoke, you were just walking by. Your innocence helped you, as did your manner. I helps that you are CANADIAN, and just in general a mannerly guy.
I was stopped on the Capitol steps for having a tripod. The Capitol policeman and I got to talking, and he let me be me for a few minutes. Once we got to know each other, he invited me into the Capitol with my tripod and gave me a personal tour for 90 minutes, allowing me to photograph things the public doesn’t normally see, such as the roof of the Capitol. I shot the sunset that night from behind the American flag in front of the dome on the roof! All because I passed the attitude test first, and was kind to him as a person. Coming off as high and mighty gets you nothing but trouble even when you are technically in the right. Being a jerk usually gets you treated as such. Being reasonable usually affords you some leeway and understanding.
[...] a senior developer for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. As he describes it in his blog, he was shooting casual photos near the Santa Clara Valley Light Rail System when he was [...]
you were blessed when Deputy Eng stopped you …..
I just hope you realize you have made a friend for life…. I know him personally and I can tell you he is an exceptional person.
… very cool… too bad he didn’t recognize you. He could have told all his friends he met someone who knows Matt Kloskowski!!!
big smile!!!
Dave, I will be watching the interstate for the next Canadien trip home! Watch it in SC!
I had a blast at PSW!
Investigator Ken Toney