No more photography allowed ?

Of course Rob is correct that this is fiction, But what troubles me is that this petition has made its way on to quiet a lot of forums and the rumour and myth has spread, This itself i feel is dangerous as people will start believing it.

There are already laws and guidelines for photography that if you follow you should have no problems, Basically its about being sensible and if in doubt find out more before you carry out your hobby, Best advice i can give is avoid taking photo’s of anything security sensitive and do not take any photo’s on the Railway system(unless given permission to) and obviously do not put yourself at risk to get a photo.

The Railway Magazine has been running a campaign against this for a while now, under the heading of ‘Iron Curtain Britain’. There is NO official ban on taking photographs on or next to railway property, written permission is not required if the pictures are for private use. There are guidelines for this on the British Transport Police’s own website, but I gather that many officials are either ignorant of it, or choose to ignore it.
It is advised that at a manned station that you inform an official of your presence and intentions and make sure that you know your rights.
The stupid thing is that, if there are suspicious types lurking with intent, its probably the experienced railway enthusiast that would spot this, the station staff being too busy with their duties.
It’s not a new thing, when I was a kid I was jumped on by the ‘SS’ at Langar for taking a picture of a Shackleton that was parked next to a public road, must have been a highly secret piece of kit to warrant such a public parking place.
The most laughable was being caught taking pictures of withdrawn trolleybuses at Derby Bus Depot in the mid 60’s, ‘Herr’ inspector insisted that he confiscate our cameras in order to remove the film, we may have been only 15 at the time, but threatened to shove the cameras up his backside, in no uncertain terms, at which point he went off to fetch the police and we tested the accelaration of our racing bikes.

Of course Rob is correct that this is fiction, But what troubles me is that this petition has made its way on to quiet a lot of forums and the rumour and myth has spread, This itself i feel is dangerous as people will start believing it.

There are already laws and guidelines for photography that if you follow you should have no problems, Basically its about being sensible and if in doubt find out more before you carry out your hobby, Best advice i can give is avoid taking photo’s of anything security sensitive and do not take any photo’s on the Railway system(unless given permission to) and obviously do not put yourself at risk to get a photo.

It’s complete rubbish.

The Government have not indicated any such plan whatsoever.

It’s got something to do with a private club and their members only – and clearly they don’t have the power to affect the general public.

I have been been inundated with requests for details regarding the petition I have started at the Number 10 e-petition site. Linked here – http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Photography/. I have NOT said that a bill is in preparation, or that legislation is being prepared, but am referring to the ID cards proposed by various bodies which will serve to create an ‘uber class’ of photographer, and restrict the use of cameras by normal citizens. These cards will only further the suspicion and misunderstandings that many photographers already suffer.

The above quote is direct from the petitioners website. He would be better petitioning the clubs concerned.

He says “bodies”, but they’re not public bodies, merely some private institutions without any public remit whatsover.

You might need a magnifying glass to read some of the small print (I can’t be bothered myself), even at 640×480 on a 21″ screen.

I chuckled at the suggestion that everyone with a camera should carry this as a laminated card: –

You are reminded that under UK law, there are no restrictions on taking photographs in a public place or on photography of individuals, whether they are adults or minors. There is no right to privacy in a public place, although photographers are of course subject to the usual libel laws in the same way as any other citizen and should observe them. Equipment or film may not be confiscated, or images deleted by any person or officer unless a warrant for such action is issued. Any attempt without a warrant is considered assault under UK law.

But, of course, it’s entirely accurate.

Click Here for a full explanation of your rights as a photographer in the UK.

OK guys, now it’s getting serious ……

There are a number of moves promoting the requirement of ‘ID’ cards to allow photographers to operate in a public place.

It is a fundamental right of a UK citizen to use a camera in a public place, indeed there is no right to privacy when in a public place.

These moves have developed from paranoia and only promote suspicion towards genuine people following their hobby or profession.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Photography/

Just pretend you are a Japanese tourist and everything will be OK. But seriously if this is true then it means the “terrorists” have won.

By terrorists I mean the real ones – not people of Middle Eastern origin but the completely uncontrollable public servants.

😀