You can't take pictures here.

[arcadian]

After I had taken quite a few pictures of the Romanian embassy, I was across the street outside the Turkish embassy when this guy came out and told me to stop taking pictures of the Romanian embassy. When somebody tells me to stop taking pictures, I take their picture. Note to Romanian embassy guy: Your jurisdiction ends about 6 feet behind you in this shot. Don't try to give me orders or you'll be looking at an international incident and bad press for your country's diplomatic corps.

This is really starting to become a more prevalent problem. Everyday, photographer's rights are being infringed upon by the police, security guards and random citizens who think they know the law and try to enforce it. In almost every incident where it's happened to me the person telling me to stop taking pictures tries to use 9/11 as a trump card to destroy basic civil rights. It's time we take the country back from the authoritarians.

[billyoc]

1. I remember when the NYPD thought they could stop people from taking pictures in the subway!

Dumbasses.

[TomInTib]

5. That was hilarious.

A friend of mine was on the platform when a group of college kids approached. "Hey, aren't you (name omitted)? Will you pose with us?"

She was cited, too.

[mopinko]

21. chicago transit authority does not allow pictures.

because no one has sued them yet.

[Stephanie]

31. I rode my bike up to the George Washington Bridge last summer

I stopped under the bridge by the little lighthouse and took out my phone. There is a security guard there at all times now. He jumped out of his truck and came over saying, "did you just take a picture?" I hadn't. "Well you can't take pictures here." Um, okay.

I am sick of living in a police state. It's infuriating.

[billyoc]

32. The courts threw that nonsense out already, I heard.

It's disgusting.

[Book Lover]

2. What city did you take this pic in?

And thank you for posting the shot!

[arcadian]

4. D.C. on Embassy Row

Sheridan circle.

[Book Lover]

6. Interesting

I just may have to try this soon in the city I live near (SF) and see what happens. I take pictures w/ my cell phone during the week when I'm at work, but I don't shoot anything "controversial." That may have to change...

[Hissyspit]

22. Reminiscent of Michael Moore scene in "Fahrenheit 9/11"

[arcadian]

27. Actually, what happened in these pictures reminded me of that.

Across the street at the Turkish embassy there was an armed guard who I thought was Turkish. But then I noticed that his uniform had the "Great Seal" on one of the patches. I thought he was State Department, Department of Diplomatic Security, but he was actually DHS Secret Service just like F911. I asked him why American personnel were guard foreign embassies and he just said "mutual agreement".

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

3. funny, looks like a picture, there

I guess you can then.

[arcadian]

9. He doesn't want anybody to know about the enormous antenna sticking out of the roof.

Collecting signals intelligence. I think I'm the first one to spot it. :rofl:

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

25. subtle

very subtle

[conscious evolution]

30. What a kludge

I wonder how there efforts to listen in on PBS are going.Think they have cracked Barneys secret code yet?

[lonestarnot]

7. Hey! Fuck you raised fist dude!

[monmouth]

8. Where the hell does he think he is? Romania?????...n/t

[The_Commonist]

10. Photographer's rights...

Here's a link to a pdf about photographer's rights.
I carry a copy of this with me, although I've never had to use it.

http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm

[annabanana]

29. Thanks for that link. . everyone should have a copy!. . . . n/t

[rsmith6621]

11. Try Photographing Around Airports

I submit aviation relate images to USA Today and a couple of aviation related magazines and almost everytime I go to shoot along a road that borders the runway I am detained..questioned....investigated before they finally say...YOUR GOOD...thanks you for your time and carry on.....If it wasn't for my credentials I would be asked to leave....

Seven years after 9/11 and we haven't fixed much....Yes they re stepping on our rights more everyday....01202009 can't come quick enough.

[arcadian]

12. I've been told to stop taking pics many times.

If the person isn't a real cop I usually ignore them. If they are a cop, I talk to them but tell them that I really don't have to if I didn't want to. If I'm on private property, I usually stop, incidentally, even on private property nobody can tell you to stop taking pictures. They can tell you to leave the property and that is all.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. When the minutemen had their big convention here

A group of us went to welcome them. We gathered in a parking lot across the street from the venue where the minutemen were meeting. I stood up on a retaining wall next to the sidewalk and took some pictures of the building as the 60 second men were arriving at their gathering. A guy who was not in a uniform came over and told me to get down and stop taking pictures. I said no. He asked me again. I said sorry but you don't get to tell me what to do. The guy said yes I do because I work for the owner of that building (where the gathering was) and he asked me to come over here and make sure no one was taking any pictures. I said just cause he owns that building across the street doesn't give him jurisdiction over this sidewalk. Guy said well he owns this building too. I said he doesn't own this sidewalk.

So I kept taking pictures. A bunch of my friends came over and told him to buzz off and he went away, muttering something about calling 911. We shouted "To report WHAT?! A woman standing on a wall taking pictures?"

[Ian David]

14. Maybe he was afraid you were Dracula? n/t

[Ian David]

15. Photoshop a torch or a pitchfork into his hand!

[knitter4democracy]

16. Same thing happened to us at the Soviet Embassy when I was a kid.

The guards got a bit nasty about us taking pictures. I remember my brothers and I had fun trying to find all the "hidden" cameras (two per bush? really?).

[arcadian]

18. Are you talking about the embassy on Wisconsin Ave?

Or the old one on 16th street? The Wisconsin Ave. embassy has been the site of many shenanigans. The US built a tunnel under the embassy(I'm still trying to figure out which house that was) and it's also where the CIA tried out Acoustic Kitty.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,550122,00.html#article_continue

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB54/st27.pdf

[knitter4democracy]

19. I think the old one. It was in the early 80s.

We had too much fun standing there laughing at the rusted out kids' playset in the yard and looking at the many, many cameras.

[CrispyQ]

17. And yet they take countless pics of us as we go about our day.

At traffic lights, ATMs, many government buildings, retail shops, the list goes on.

[tbyg52]

20. Get with the program!

One set of rules for "them," another set for "us." *Now* do you understand?! :sarcasm:

[puebloknot]

23. Greg Palast had a major problem over taking pictures are New Orleans ...

... after Katrina. I seem to recall there was actually a legal proceeding, but I'm not sure.

[DemoTex]

24. Well .. that calls for a little Dorothy Parker riff:

Life is a season of unending joy
A medley of extemporanea
Love is a song that can never go wrong
And I am the queen of Romania.

Dorothy Parker

[rucky]

26. I didn't think Romanians even showed up in photographs

though I could see how flash photography may disturb them.

[jtrockville]

28. Expect more of this, as public spaces disappear (LINK)

http://www.nowpublic.com/photography_banned_downtown_silver_spring_maryland