Sunday, July 1, 2007

Would you like to step out of the truck to discuss it?



We were shooting in front of a bar across the street from the Giants ball park last week when a cop came up to the truck.

Cop:What are you doing?
Me:Taking pictures
Cop:What for?
Me:Myself.
Cop: Well you are disturbing some people by taking their picture.
Me: I have a constitutuional right to take photographs on the street.
Cop: Would you like to step out of the truck to discuss it?
Me: Not so much

We drove away and went to Chinatown hoping for a warmer reception.

5 comments:

Erich Morton said...

Did you use the new rig?

Robert Holmgren said...

I'm guessing the cop isn't moonlighting by teaching constitutional law classes.

sidnarthur said...

how do you put up with it and keep doing what you do? Have you heard that there might be a law passed requiring that all photographers get permits and insurance for any photography on NYC public property?

ThomasBroening said...

There was another level to it which I felt just complicated the story. We had passed by the bar across from the ballpaark a couple times. A security guard who worked at the bar came out and said he didn;t want to be photographed. ( I don't think he was even in the shot) I gave him my best ACLU speech and we agreed to disagree. The next time around I see a traffic/meter maid point to us, talk into her radio and then out pops the cop. So the security guard and cop were buds.

I heard about the need to shoot with a permit in NYC. Does that mean Diane Arbus would need a permit? Robert Frank?Winogrand?

Rob Prideaux said...

This episode is MUCH more like the last time I remember cop vs. Broening. So I guess it's different with security guards over cops, yeah?