I disagree with you here... just because it's important to one set of people doesn't make it fair to another... like only taking pictures of the worst things and one of the good things of a particular subject, etc etc. Journalists have been doing that since the beginning of cameras. Not saying that your example guy did that with the containers of consumption or whatever as I've never seen his stuff or this series, but politics is usually not truth. One man's art is another man's trash, but the law applies to all men.
Speaking about the original topic: I never want to break the law, and it's probably never "worth it" in the ultimate sense as it's probably even more challenging to get a good shot *without* having to break any laws.
Having said all of that, however: I definitely think some laws are really stupid, like the "no tripods on the sidewalk" laws in NYC, which is where I live. Say the law wasn't there... how many crazy people with tripods clogging up the sidewalks would there really be? Would we all get in breakdance battles with the b-boys to claim turf? How many head spins can I do on concrete if I haven't practiced it recently? I pay my taxes, and sidewalks are a public space. Private backyards and barns, etc are different entirely and I would at least ask before going there.
(funny story, I saw someone last week carrying a medium size tripod in midtown by the Empire State building with a pink Casio $150 point and shoot screwed into the top... maybe there ARE armies of tripodists who can't wait to clog the sidewalks if it wasn't for that stupid law... :P )
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