Let Freedom Ring?
It’s against the law to photograph certain things, at certain times, in certain places. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently reported that a photograph of an election ballot in a mayoral race—showing the name of local rookie hockey player T.J. Oshie written in by a fan—posted on fan website is evidence of a class-four election offense in Missouri. The perpetrator, if found, could be sentenced to up to a year’s jail time and fined up to $2,500 because in Missouri, as in a number of other states, photographing and displaying a vote is illegal.
County election official Rich A. Chrismer said, "You can’t violate something as sacred as the ballot." The photo was posted anonymously and so no legal action has been taken, at least so far. But it does make you wonder what else it’s illegal to photograph, and why?
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It appears more an more subjects are becoming if not illegal, then very difficult to shoot. With paranoia kept high by the last US administration, taking a photo of your girlfriend in front of a building may have security officers breathing down you neck in seconds. I fear its only going to get worse for photographers around the world - the UK is following suit with some pretty grim legislation. Maybe we should all become nature photographers - flowers can't sue!
My husband and I are both professional photographers. A few years ago we were working on and creating an Oilfield Industrial art collection.
While driving, my husband spotted a line up of train cars at a petrochemical plant and was impressed with the appeal the scene offered. He began photographing from the road side, and with in minutes a security guard from the plant approached him, and advised him that he could NOT take photographs.
Later the same day my husband returned to our studio location, & he recieved a phone call from the police. The guard at the plant had recorded my husbands liscence plate, and filed a complaint with the RCMP.
After we explained to the police that we owned and operated a very well known studio in our city and my husband explained in detail why he was taking the photographs. We agreed to never use the images and they police felt assured that there would be no need to pursue the issue further.
The concern here in a nutshell was security.
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