Restricting street photography in the Boston area

One of the joys of a camera phone is that it's easy to take photos while pretending you're texting, and it's easy to send them off to the interwebs before deleting them if you do get caught.

Uh...so I've heard.

I put together a photo walk for tomorrow (everyone is welcome to join) and I wonder how a gaggle of clicksters will be received.

I remember a column from Boston.com's old DigitalMass site called Hot Spots where the columnist warns about taking pictures in South Station without a permit.

You also covered the issue of MBTA Photography about a year ago.

Ugh, can we talk about the T's ridiculous policy?

No photographs on a service provided by the states tax dollars... hmm, something's wrong there. I also never understood why the T employees might not have a care for anything else in the world (cough **service** cough), but the minute they spot a camera everyone within distance says something. A conspiracy to keep the general public from seeing the disarray that the system is in? Or to finger out bad employees?

I heard of story's of MBTA cops confiscating cameras at the request of T employees, and even employees threatening to call police for using a camera. As far as I can find there's no law under Massachusetts books baring people from taking pictures in public place. I heard once confiscated, good luck getting it back too.

Anyone else heard of these stories? Anyone fight back on this intimidation?

I told a T driver to go screw once and he threatened to kick me off the train. I let him know if he see's it posted anywhere where I can read, or sows me the law on the mass books, it I'll stop, otherwise I'll take pictures if I want to of a public transit service funded by my and other citizens tax dollars.

As long as you are on public property there is absolutely nothing anyone can do about you taking a photo of a publicly visible building.

Go here:

http://www.krages.com/ThePhotographersRight.pdf

Print this and carry it around. Then next time a rent-a-cop or whoever hassles you, give it to them... and if you are in a public space, take their photo for good measure.

Just got an idea,

Any painters want to set up shop and start painting an MBTA station?

I'm wondering if sketching/painting falls under their same policy, and just how they would react to that, since it's comparable to photography. My guess is they wouldn't even bat an eye, which shows how dumb this policy is.

Anyone have the T's policy in writting btw?

... please download it.

http://h1.ripway.com/cohnjoyne/ThePhotographersRig...

A couple of years ago I almost got myself arrested for taking a photo of the Christmas tree in Ogilvy Transportation Center in Chicago. That's just nuts.

I have yet to be approached by any policeman or security guard while taking photos here in Boston. There are certain installations where photography would be prohibited: those where national security interests are at stake (e.g., military and nuclear installations). Usually, no one bothers me when I shoot pictures...as long as I don't point the camera in someone's face (which I don't).

It is the subway that tends to be a bit more problematic in that regard for the photographer. For decades, it has been difficult to phtograph the T while on their property; nevertheless, I've been riding the trains for over 30 years, and have gotten more then a few pictures off during the time without incident. (This was before the security cameras were installed...which now makes it far easier for the T personnel to monitor what is going on in the stations--and far easier to catch people photographing their stations.). During the past couple of months, the employees have been more strident when it comes to enforcing the no photography edict, even though the requirement for needing a photo permit has been lifted (it was lifed in July). I found at least 2 employees who have asked me to desist from taking pictures without having a permit. The first time it happened, the official told me I couldn't shoot pictures without a permit; after asking him how to get one, he was kind enough to tell me, and that was the end of the matter (this occurred before the T ended their policy requiring photo permits for photographers this past July.). The last time, the encounter was a bit nastier then usual. Let's just say it could have been a dicey scene...had either of us wanted to escalate the matter. I just got through shooting a picture of one of the Blue Line trains at Government Center when one of the station officials yelled to me "No PICTURES!" I waved him off, then disappeared. Mind you, I wasn't using a flash...he just managed to see me. Fortunately, he didn't follow me, but the fact he yelled this order was a bit unnerving. This had never happened to me before--and I've been taking pictures in the subway since I was 11 years old, in 1973. In that stretch of time, until this year, I had only been approached once by a T employee and told it wasn't allowed with a permit. My father was with me at the time. We waited until the official was gone...and then shot the picture we were looking for. Presently, it's as if no one has bothered to tell the inspectors and other station personnel that there is no longer a permit rule in effect for those photographers like me who like to shoot pictures of the stations and the rolling stock. Since this summer, I've seen other instances of persons asked to desist from taking pictures, even private photos using flash, on the Green Line, after the T changed its rules regarding photography on the T.

One instance was particularly poignant. A (lacrosse?) team from Virginia was on a D line (Riverside) Green Line trolley, taking pictures with a flash, when the motorman (a woman) asked them to desist. They shot another picture with the flash, and the motorman got impatient, threatening to kick them off the train. The woman involved sheepishly put their camera away. They had been taking pictures of themselves, using the trolley as the backdrop for the pictures...The flash is tough for the drivers: they rely on a dark backgroud to run the trains properly. You have to consider...they look into a relatively dark tunnel and the bright light of the strobe interferes with their sight--a situation that can cause death if they miss a track crew or other employee who might be out on the tracks or at a switch. No doubt, the women didn't realize they could get their shots without having to use the flash on their camera (and thus avoid the attention they got from the motorman). Still...the incident left a sick feeling in my stomach. It was too sharp, especially considering they were from out of state.

Taking pictures of construction sites is different again. The construction companies intentionally hide their sites, for a legal reason: There is precedent in the OSHA administrative rulings that states that if a photographer photographs a construction site and catches an OSHA violation from the street, the contractor then becomes liable for the violation...but if the site is shielded from public view and the photographer gets a shot of a violation, the contracter then has no legal liability. They're trying to keep the photographer from getting the shot. What the legalities would be if the security guard tries to prevent the shot...I cannot tell you.