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Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Vol. 1 No. 41
After several months, the U.S. Department of Transportation responded to the American Civil Liberties Union inquiry regarding the alleged "no photography" outside DOT (Federal) buildings. In the response, the DOT apologized for their security staff routinely informing people that they cannot photograph the outside of the agency's building from nearby public places. The response goes on to state, "we are not aware of any law that imposes such a rule, and we do not believe DOT has the authority to impose such a rule."
Noteworthy is the Federal agency's inclusion of a Special Security Bulletin of the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Protective Service dated November 10, 2004. While this specific document covers properties in the National Capital Region, I would tend to believe the Federal policy towards photography of Federal properties from public places would be consistent with this document, regardless of the region. I am actively searching for policies that are geographically-specific. I'll post whatever I come across.
This bulletin, titled Photography of Federally Owned and Leased Facilities, goes on to direct security staff to conduct a field interview to confirm the individual (photographer) is not engaged in criminal activities. The bulletin directs staff to conduct all contact with the public, to include photographers, in a professional but polite manner. If the field interview does not yield any criminal/terrorist activity, the photography should be permitted to proceed unimpeded.
A pdf of this document, which I have already placed a hard copy in my camera bag, is available here.
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Sunday, January 4, 2009
December 21, 2008 Penn Station, New York - Photographer Duane Kerzic was arrested by Amtrak Police for making a photograph on the platform and failing to follow a Police Officer's direction to erase the captured image. Mr. Kerzic was detained (handcuffed) and issued a Criminal Court Summons for Criminal Trespass. According to Wikipedia, the Amtrak Police are a railroad police agency that acts as the security and law enforcement agency of Amtrak, a passenger train system in the United States. Amtrak Police have full police officer powers in the State of New York. As a result of the attack on the World Trade Center, bans on photograph in public places such as bridges, tunnels, airports and train stations are all too common.
While crossing the Triboro-RFK Bridge this past weekend while headed up to Harriman State Park, I spotted the "No Photography Allowed" signage while entering the on-ramp at Hoyt Avenue in Queens. This brought back memories from the summer of 2004 when I was photographing a spectacular sunset in Astoria Park, with the Triboro Bridge framing the City skyline. As I was making some pretty nice exposures, I was approached by a TBTA (Bridge) Officer questioning my activities. It was a bit unnerving since she kept her hand on her weapon as she approached. Since I had numerous dealings with law enforcement (on the right side of things), I quickly and politely advised the officer that I was not a threat and merely photographing the sunset. My approach must have put here at ease since she relaxed her stance and advised me of the ban on bridge photography.
In my discussion with the officer, I told her I thought the ban only applied while traveling on the bridge. She replied that it was prohibited to photograph the bridge from the immediate area surrounding the bridge. I told here it would be pretty difficult to photograph a skyline of Manhattan without a bridge somewhere in the frame. She agreed and ended with "I don't make the rules."
The MTA in 2005 proposed a ban on photography in the subways and buses, which was strongly apposed by the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA.ORG) and numerous other groups. The MTA Board quickly dropped the measure when the opposition was joined by the NYPD and Mayor Bloomberg.
Is there a "War on Photography?" There's even a blog dedicated to the subject. Attorney Bert P. Krages II has published a pamphlet titled "The Photographer's Right - Your Rights and Remedies When Stopped or Confronted for Photography." In the pamphlet he states, there are not many legal restrictions on what can be photographed in the public view. He notes that neither the Patriot Act nor the Homeland Security Act have any provisions that restrict photography.
What should you do if you're confronted? First and foremost, do not become hostile. Remain calm and advise the officer that you were unaware of any photography ban. Do not continue photographing and ask if you a free to leave. As Attorney Krages points out, and I can attest to, most confrontations can be defused by being courteous and respectful. Use good judgement and don't allow an event to escalate into violence. Make sure to print out a few copies and keep them in you camera bag in case you are ever confronted over photography.
Let me know what you think and leave a comment.
