FW: Columnist writes about Federal guards stopping photographer

[Brian K]

Boy, my typing really suffers after a Martini.....

[JW Dewdney]

Isn't it time to just do away with the whole 'dept of homeland security' thing? I think it's served it's purpose. The dog and pony show is over, folks.

It's all just so ridiculous. If anyone wanted to get a picture of a federal building - all they'd have to do is google it.

I mean - for crying out loud. There's even VERY detailed images of US military bases on google earth - and, before then, on whatever google earth was called (forgot) - even shortly after 9/11...

I don't want to get on another political rant - but CLEARLY - it's all been about trying to scare people, create a diversion from REAL problems perhaps, but if they were actually sincere about what they were doing - they wouldn't leave such glaring holes where there REALLY shouldn't be any.

IF they were serious about what they told us.

end rant.

[Kirk Gittings]

If you voted for Bush/Cheney, you have no right to complain. They talk about preserving freedom--in reality, they hate freedom. Sorry to respond to politics into a photo forum, but your second amendment rights are history...

I have no love for these morons, but this problem long predated 911. I was run off of photographing federal buildings in DC 20 years ago for security reasons.

[JW Dewdney]

hear hear Kirk - but with all these more recent harrassment stories I've been hearing in the forums - it seems like it's extended to the most banal of subjects (bridges, other buildings, etc etc..). I've even been harrassed by security people doing commercial jobs - and it was their bosses who hired me to do the work. It's ridiculous sometimes. In most of these cases, their was a failure to inform security -or perhaps the security was a little down on their english reading comprehension - I don't know... but it does happen here.

[Michael Jones]

Out steps a security guard who asks me what I'm doing. I tell him I'm photographing the smoke coming out of the chimney because I like the way it looks in the snow covered environment. He then asks me for ID. I tell him that I don't have to show him, but as a courtesy I will. He acknowledges that I dodn't have to show him, but says that he appreciates that I did. He then tells me about another location that might be of interest to me... Apparently this guy knew the law, still needed to check me out and did so in a courteous manner.

While I agree with many of the thoughts in this thread about erosion of freedom and liberty, I found the above approach works better that to cite constitutional amendments that may or may not be applicable to the person whose job it is to protect something. It's similar to telling off the waiter in your power mode so he can spit in your food as he or she "corrects" it for you. As Brian pointed out in one of his posted stories, it can be very easy to get shot and as most of us photograph alone, who's to tell our side?

Mike