The Eagle Has Landed . . . On Me.

These two posting I made on my personal Facebook a couple of days ago. Thought I'd share the image and the psotings as part of the entire story. Granted the law will be different where you may be, but this is the way it was, and is, here in my hometown.

Reprise on "Photographer's Rights" posting from the other day...addendum and pix follow.

Ran into a situation this morning at the scene of an accident that I've never encountered in 40+ years of taking photographs. While taking of couple of pix from the inside of my vehicle of an accident on a city street while I was in a parking lot next to the street at a distance of two to two hundred and fifty feet, I noticed a member of the FD was taking pix of me also. I thought they were taking pix of the buildings behind me so I drove out of what I thought was their focus and over next to the camera holder, still over 100 feet from the scene of the accident. Law Enforcement as well as FD personnel were on the scene , however this was the only member that spoke to me. Immediately they walked to my window and wanted to who I was, and what affiliation I had with the media. I gave them my name and told them I was simply a private citizen taking pictures as a point of interest, totally amateur and not for profit. Then they demanded I stop (which I already had) and informed me I didn't have any permission to take their photograph. I informed them (as best I know it) and with respect that as I was in a public place and not impeding them in their activities (which at the time was simply standing around watching the tow truck operator hook up to one of the damaged vehicles from the two vehicle accident, and I was not breaking any laws and had every right to take photographs in a public place in this particular situation. As this conversation was going on, the FD member was increasingly strident that I was in the wrong and all the while was taking my photograph as well as the back of my vehicle ( ostensibly to document my license plate) and I told her she also had every right to take my photograph in that same public place without my permission. Like I said, it was a unique experience but I maintained a tone of civility as well as respect for the FD member and attempted to explain the law pertaining to this situation best as I know it. No one else in either the FD or LEO approached me or interacted in any way. As an aside I generally don't take photographs when asked not to as I did in this very situation also even though I have the legal right to do so. Personally I respect FD and LEO personnel for the jobs they do and would never post or publish any image that would put them in an unfavorable light. If anything I've always taken those images of either agency with the idea of showing what a positive aspect they are to the citizenry...so I was a little taken aback by this individuals actions a well as their confrontational attitude.

Again as I see it, I and any photographer has the right to photograph in public places under the law without asking prior permission. If I'm wrong, and I'm talking about this particular situation as I am well aware there are legal exceptions to this general rule, I'll stand corrected. But until that time, I'll continue to exercise my rights as a law abiding citizen under the existing laws as they now sit on the books.

"Cheese"

https://www.aclu.org/free-speech/know-your-rights-photographers

Tonight I downloaded the pix in question just to see if there was anything usable in the accident coverage. As you can see the first two pix are basically very generic and non-specific as to people, it was just the accident as I was trying to capture. Of course the third pic shows the state of mind of the person I had the interchange. I didn't realize "The Eagle Was Flying" at me until I downloaded these three pix, uncropped and unedited. All the while I thought she had just taken pix of me as I was taking pix of the accident scene. Not till tonight did I realize the extent of "Pretty is as Pretty Does."