Most Photographers Aren't Terrorists, but Some Terrorists are Photographers

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I've been reading a lot of information on forums and webpages of recent action against photographers taking pictures in public places.  It seems that many security guards and police departments feel obligated to stop and even search people taking photographs in certain areas or of innocent things, like tourist attractions. Evidently, the situation is worsening. There are now websites devoted to fighting against "harassment" of innocent people taking pictures.  Some, when taking pictures, are wearing T-shirts stating things like, "I'm a photographer, not a terrorist."

As I read these various sources of information, I, too, feel a bit of aggravation toward people in power that abuse it. However, I'm trying to remain logical and reasonable about this issue. There are two sides to every story.

So far, I've only been stopped once while taking a picture from a public location.  It was by a security guard at a major chemical company.  I had stopped my car on the side of the road just outside a fence surrounding their factory. I was within a few feet of the main entrance of the factory, but blocking no one, nor causing any road hazard. The sun was setting and I wanted to take some generic pictures of back-lit smoke ascending from one of their smokestacks.  It had a cool-looking purple glow that I thought was unusual and very photogenic.

About the time I started taking pictures, a pickup truck drove up, slid to a stop, and a security guard jumped out. With a frown on his face, he asked me why I was photographing the factory.  Being that I was on a public road and taking pictures from a non-private place, I was clearly breaking no laws.  I could have simply told him to go jump in the lake and kept snapping pictures. However, I tried to put myself in his shoes. I thought to myself, "If I were a security guard, and some guy had a zoom lens taking pictures of a factory I was assigned to guard, how would I feel about it?"  This is not a religious blog, but I also remembered a bible principle that states, "An answer when mild turns away rage."  I think that applied pretty well, in this instance.

I decided to answer mildly, and said something to the effect, "I'm a professional photographer taking pictures of the sunset shining through the smoke from the stack over there."  I then showed him a couple of pictures on the camera's LCD monitor.  "Who do you represent," he asked?  I told him I work for myself as a freelance photographer, and showed him a business card.  He visibly relaxed, and told me that he was charged with protecting other people and his employer's property and took his job seriously. He wanted to make sure I wasn't someone with bad intentions. He told me to be careful not to get run over, got in his truck, and left.

Now, thinking back on that situation, I have gone over in my mind various other ways I could have handled things.  I could have reacted like some do and refused to give him any information. I could have even taunted him or questioned his authority, like some of these websites seem to recommend. Most likely, the results would have been bad.  He might have been a hot-head and punched me in the face or broken my camera. He might have called the police, telling them that there was a suspicious man taking surveillance pictures of his employer's chemical factory, with the resulting mad rush of multiple police cars and a take-down of my innocent bodies, camera and flesh.

This whole issue is a very inflammatory one. However, where there is no fuel, the fire goes out. Most of the time, people in real or imagined positions of authority will respond with kindness when treated with kindness.  There are surely proper times to "stand up for our rights" and push issues to the extreme.  However, while photographing a picture of a tourist attraction or purple smoke is fun, and could even be profitable, it certainly isn't worth a punch in the face, broken camera, or police record. I'm not saying that we shouldn't stand up for our rights as photographers.  I'm merely opining that there are better ways to handle it than challenging the authority of another person simply doing his job.  Many people don't react well to direct challenges, as evidenced by some of the photographers I read about.

In 99.9% of the cases mentioned in the links I provided above, all the photographer needed to do was answer the simple question of why he/she is taking pictures.  Is that such a big deal?  Does a question like that require a photographer to go sullen and refuse to treat another person with respect.  I think not!  There are always special cases and circumstances where this may not apply.  However, in the majority of cases, allowing the security guard or officer to "feel important" by responding to them in a reasonable way, is quite disarming.  No one wins an argument!

I'm not saying that we should let angry people walk all over us, take our personal property, or force us to delete perfectly legal pictures.  I'm merely saying that there are better ways to handle the majority of these confrontations than getting into a fruitless argument with the authority figure.  Simply stating your reason for being there, displaying a few pictures, and showing a business card or press pass will usually completely disarm the tension.  In most cases, you'll be able to go right on taking pictures after assuring the person that you are not a pervert or terrorist.  In other cases, maybe the confrontation is simply not worth it, and one could move on, coming back at a different time for the pictures.  We, as photographers, can make phone calls to authorities if our rights are being violated, and usually will get support from them.

In a world so full of violence, terrorism, and anger we must realize that the government, police, and even security guards are under a lot of pressure, just like we are. So, the next time a person feels threatened by your perfectly legal photograph making, simply be kind, and most of the time kindness will be returned.  Acting like a jerk merely causes the authority figure to reciprocate.  Remember the title of this article, "Most Photographers Aren't Terrorists, but Some Terrorists are Photographers." This is a real fact in today's world! Sullenly refusing to answer perfectly reasonable questions is awfully suspicious. How would you react if one of your kids or spouse did that? 

Keep on capturing time...
Darrell Young