Photographer's Rights Protest NYC

[tim atherton]

Forward:

We have nothing to fear but fear itself. Photographer's Rights Protest: Sunday, June 6. 1 PM. Meeting at the info booth, main floor of Grand Central Terminal.

This will be a peaceful demonstration against the MTA's proposed Photography Ban, conducted in the spirit of Rosa Parks. We will simply ride through Manhattan with our cameras, taking as many photographs as we please, of whatever we please. This is a completely legal protest, as photography within the subway system has not yet been banned (even though the police seem to have been told otherwise). The proposed ban of photography in the subway system will only serve to compromise security instead of increasing it. Furthermore, it is "Too little too late", as key information about the subway system is easily available in numerous books, magazine articles, and websites.

Read the FAQ page for a lis of further points on why this proposed ban is, to state it simply, an incredibly dumb idea.

Come on time with your camera and if you choose to make one, a witty sign. The mere act of taking photos is protest enough in and of itself.

Total duration of this protest will be approximately 1 to 1.5 hours. However, you are encouraged to continuing photographing within the NYC subway system whenever you so desire, whether or not the ban is approved.

Routing will be as follows: 4/5/6 from GCT to 14th street. L cross town to 8th av. A/C/E to Penn Station Walk through penn station to 1/2/3/9 North to Times Square, 7 or S back to GCT End offical protest, perhaps by walking by MTA HQ at 347 madison av (right near GCT), to take some nice photos of the neighborhood and perhaps drop off a signed petition.

This is YOUR protest. make it as big as possible by spreading the word to as many NYC Photography and transit related web boards as possible. Notify media outlets. Spread the word in every direction you can imagine.

http://photographersrights.mtude.com/

[tim atherton]

PS - I think Bruce Davidson (author of "Subway" etc) among others was going to join in if he was in the city - so you can go along and rub shoulders with the photorati... :-)

[David A. Goldfarb]

I'd be there 11x14" in hand, if I was in town, but alas I'm out West at the moment.

[Jean-Louis Llech]

Tim,
Like many people here, I am against all kinds of restrictions against freedom.
Of course, I consider that photography restrictions are not the main threat against human rights, but that's not a reason to do nothing .
"When my neighbor from upstairs was arrested, he shouted, but I said nothing.
When my neighbor from downstairs was arrested, he too shouted, and I said nothing. When I was set under arrest, I shouted, but there was nobody else anymore to answer."
Nevertheless, I think it might be interesting for people like me, who don't live in the USA, to read this "MTA's proposed Photography Ban".
Where could I read this project ?

Thanks for all infos.
Support and greetings from France

[Alex Hawley]

Representing 25% of the Kansas Large Format Contingent, I offer my wholehearted support. This propsed ban can only be the result of some moron bureaucrats who don't understand what they are dealing with in the first place.

The slogan about criminalizing creativity is particularly fitting on the eve of the D-Day anniversary. It was only due to the creativity of some very young American GIs that the forces landed on Omaha Beach reversed a near disaster and carried the day.

NYC, of all places, should understand this and know better.

[RichSBV]

When I become Dictator, my first official act will be to make every single person is this country read Orwell's "1984"! And then I would resign and move to a free country... It's only amazing that he was 20 years off...

I truely wish I could be there to help. I spent a few years in those subways riding and photographing way back when. Now I live too far away...

Good luck!

[David A. Goldfarb]

It is a good sign that even the Republican mayor, Michael Bloomberg, is opposed to the ban.

[Alec Jones]

Since when is LF Photography using a tripod permitted w/o prior approval in the subway system?

[David A. Goldfarb]

Some of us do LF photography occasionally without a tripod. The restritictions are only against the tripod, not the camera.

[domenico Foschi]

Living in LA for me is a no no to partecipate, but we could do our part , by sending this thread to "whom may it concern" . This is another example of slow erosion of civil rights , taking advantage of the leverage that this " culture " of fear that has been so succesful achieving . I say to these people who create policies , why don't you ask to the photographers themselves an opinion and find out what really would make the environment safer? Just because we are targeted here and are reacting to the situation ( i really wish i could be there in N.Y.) doesn't mean we don't want a safe society . We know of equipment , techniques, way to shoot uncospicuously ... Photographers using tripods? I think that lawmaker have too much in their hands , and these laws can present a real threat to this nation's democracy, that we are still painstakingly trying to achieve .

[Diane Maher]

> The restritictions are only against the tripod, not the camera.

Next thing you know, they won't allow us to even take the tripod in a bag to the airport. On a different note, that's the one bag that you can bet the TSA will open every time, one which contains a tripod.

[David A. Goldfarb]

The tripod restriction isn't a security issue; it's a liability issue. You can take your tripod on a subway (just as you can carry baseball bats, swords, clubs, battering rams, Sawzalls, sledgehammers, axes, and what have you), but you can't set it up without a permit, for fear that someone will trip over it and sue you, the Metro Transit Authority, and the City of New York.