Keep calm and carry on

Photographers.  It may be a particular weakness in our psychology but we do like to categorize.  You have your landscape, your portrait, your commercial, your corporate, your sports, your macro, your PR, your panoramic, your stock, your wedding, your aerial, your fashion, your nature, your still life and your wild life photographers.  I like to consider myself - if I can presume to make such a consideration at all - above all else, a street photographer.

From my very first interest in photography I became intrigued, excited by and then besotted with street photographers and their art.  From Cartier-Bresson to Erwitt, Klein to Meyerowitz I was fascinated by the enigmatic frames caught by their Leica rangefinders.  As is my character, I read what I could, biographies, reviews and monographs, all to learn as much as possible about their craft.

It didn't take me long before I'd lost my initial inhibitions and made my way out onto the streets of Glasgow with my camera to put skills to the test.  After only a few short months shooting on the streets I had my first brush with over-zealous authority and in recent weeks, in our increasingly paranoid society, I've been thinking back to this time.

I'm sure, by now, most photographers who read this blog will be aware of the Metropolitan Police's "Thousands of people take photos every day..." anti-terrorism campaign.  For those who aren't familiar with it, you can see the poster here.

Though at this time specific to London, the poster has caused a marked unrest increasing to outright anger and concern from the photographic community in the United Kingdom.  Though, I'm sure worst case scenario, the obvious worry on photographers' minds is that innocently shooting in the street could lead to, well, a mistaken shooting in the street.  We only need to think back to the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes in 2005 to see that mistakes can happen when hysteria or paranoia take over.

The most worrying aspect of the campaign is its lack of detailed advice to the public.  There is a vague suggestion of what may be considered odd, but this can surely be misconstrued - quite wildly - by a public terrified at the thought of another terrorist attack.  The average Joe Bloggs in the street is sure to find it difficult to decide what constitutes odd behaviour when a photographer is in the street.  How do you accurately distinguish between a hobbyist and a terrorist?  Skin colour?  Dress?  The waters are already muddy before delving deep within.

Terrorists and terrorism exist solely to disrupt the way of life it disapproves of.  In the worst days of World War II, the government distributed posters bearing the legend "Keep Calm and Carry On", a sentiment that seems to have been forgotten in recent years.  A country with more CCTV coverage than anywhere  else in Europe and an allegedly over-reactive Police "service" pulling photographers aside for stop-and-searches; those in charge need to snap awake and realise that Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning not as a template.  The day we experience the Ministry of Love, I'm getting out of here.

Comments

[Luke F]

What a cynical view you have on the government's anti-terrorism posters Neil! I do agree that the new campaign is a little strident, but my personal experience has shown that the Met are vigilant but relaxed when it comes to policing photography.

An easy rule of thumb seems to be - would you take a photograph of it? So, millions of people photograph Big Ben, but it seems less likely that you'd want to take a picture of some grim building (that happens to contain an important government office). I know there's a counter argument relating to artistic freedoms etc., but in most cases it's the best option.

Also - I would definitely agree that there are too many CCTV cameras here in London (I heard one wonderful quote saying that China was envious of our coverage).

The general attitude among Londoners is one of grudging acceptance of increased surveillance as we have to live and work here. I don't think you need to worry too much about a society of sneaks where we're all complicit in trying to turn in our local hobbyists.

Glad to see you're keeping busy.

[Neil]

While I appreciate the view that my opinions on the Met's poster campaign may seem cynical, I think they are worth considering and were written to that end. While you may be right that we won't all be rushing to our local Police stations to turn in the local hobbyist, if you warn the public that photography is something of a concern, then - for instance - we should be equally concerned about the hundreds of thousands of Londoners with backpacks. It's somewhat limiting to suggest that while tourist hotspots are fair game to photograph, making a photograph of an anonymous stone building somewhere in a non-descript area of London should automatically arouse the suspicisions of others on the basis that it might contain a government office. Many street or documentary photographers will spend little time photographing Big Ben or the Tower of London but will frequently be found in grim streets across the country making photographs of the life going on within. It's my opinion that there is too much latitude for mistaking motives or overreaction in the message given in the poster, especially given the recent changes - or percieved changes - in public freedoms since early 2001. The throw away comment regarding the CCTV in London made me smile though. I think it's equally important we try to keep some sense of humour amidst it all.

I hope you are well.