Your Political Rights as a Photographer

[IChing]

The Photographer's Right - A Downloadable Flyer

Your Rights When You Are Stopped or Confronted for Photography

The right to take photographs is under assault now more than ever. People are being stopped, harassed, and even intimidated into handing over their personal property simply because they were taking photographs of subjects that made other people uncomfortable. Recent examples have included photographing industrial plants, bridges, and bus stations. For the most part, attempts to restrict photography are based on misguided fears about the supposed dangers that unrestricted photography presents to society.

Ironically, unrestricted photography by private citizens has played an integral role in protecting the freedom, security, and well-being of all Americans. Photography in the United States has contributed to improvements in civil rights, curbed abusive child labor practices, and provided important information in investigating crimes. These images have not always been pretty and often have offended the sensibilities of governmental and commercial interests who had vested interests in a status quo that was adverse to most other people.

Photography has not contributed to a decline in public safety or economic vitality in the United States. When people think back on the acts of terrorism that have occurred over the last forty years, none have depended on or even involved photography. Restrictions on photography would not have prevented any of these acts. Similarly, some corporations have a history of abusing the rights of photographers under the guise of protecting their trade secrets. These claims are almost always meritless because entities are required to keep trade secrets from public view if they want to protect them. Trade secret laws do not give anyone the right to restrain photographers from taking photographs in public places.

The Photographer's Right is a downloadable guide that is loosely based on the ACLU's Bust Card and the Know Your Rights flyer. It may be downloaded and printed out using Adobe Acrobat Reader. You may make copies and carry them your wallet, pocket, or camera bag to give you quick access to your rights and obligations concerning confrontations over photography. You may distribute the guide to others ,provided that such distribution is not done for commercial gain and credit is given to the author.


The author:
Bert Krages
is an attorney who concentrates on environmental, intellectual property, and education issues. Prior to entering the legal profession, Mr. Krages was an environmental engineer. Recognized nationally as an advocate of the right to take photographs in public places, he also teaches photography and sells images through a stock agency. In addition to photography, he enjoys outdoor activities such as fly-fishing and hiking.

from a link:http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm
download handbook
http://www.krages.com/The%20Photographers%20Right.pdb

[wli]

1. most of the time this is to suppress the images

... and it can be thwarted by rapidly transmitting the images; all they can do is grab the equipment. It can probably be set up with a digital camera, a cellphone, and a J2EE app or similar. Or for low-quality images, a cellphone and a J2EE app.

[Nite Owl]

2. Thanks

I have friends who are professional phototographers and sent this to them.

[Richard Steele]

3. THANK YOU for this. Saving it.

Of course, your "legal rights" only matter in COURT, Months or years after your property was STOLEN by someone with a badge.

wli's advice is probably the most useful: Constantly transmitting the images to a remote location is the best way to keep them from being confiscated.

[Touchdown]

4. Can you post this in the Photography group?

It would be helpful to the 2 dozen DU photographers in that forum.:hi:

[IChing]

5. Yeah, will do

[DELUSIONAL]

6. The link is incorrect

http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm

http://www.krages.com/ThePhotographersRight.pdf

The file is a pdf NOT pdb -- I'd never heardof a .pdb file . ..

Good information -- thanks for posting this.