Soap Box Corner

I would like to draw your attention to an article in The Sunday Times (7.03.10), entitled 'The Shooting Party's Over', which outlines how photography in public spaces is coming under increasing threat from officialdom. Inevitably, the police - implementing the new rules and guidelines - receive most of the flak, but rather than place the blame on hard working and under-valued officers performing an all ready difficult job, its probably fairer to widen the debate to try and understand why photography is suddenly seen as such an threat. From this starting point, maybe there is some common ground that will help resolve some of the issues and keep photography possible in public spaces.

Do read the article if possible and do be aware of the issues - if you are a photographer, amateur or professional, you should understand the issues so that a) you don't make a situation worse if stopped & challenged and b) start campaigning to reverse this nonsense. The article in The Sunday Times highlights some of the classic, iconic photographs that just won't be possible to recreate in the future, but the rationale for not accepting this situation goes beyond creative picture making and historical documentation and embraces issues central to our civil liberties.