I took the above photograph last week. I subsequently spoke to the photographer in the picture - she works for a company specialising in architecture photography, she was spending all day taking time lapse shots of the City of London. The 0ther two figures are Community Wardens, this was the third time that day she had been asked to prove her identity and give an account of what she was doing.
Last Saturday I walked around unchallenged taking shots with my G9 camera. Unfortunately the images were not as good as I desired, so Tuesday afternoon I retraced my steps in the hope of achieving better results.
But things were different, three times I was challenged by security staff. I knew the reason, even before they spoke.
"You've stopped me because I'm using a ******?""Yes".
What had made me such a security risk?
The photos taken were, above passengers waiting to board a London Underground train, and below part of the River Thames flood control barrier at sunset.
The difference between Saturday and Tuesday - as with the young photographer - I was using a tripod!A hand-held G9 camera, no problem. A G9 attached to a tripod, judging from security personnel reaction it becomes as threatening as a weapon of mass destruction.
Reading various message boards and forums it can be seen photographers are increasingly being harassed by the police and security staff, particularly if they are using tripods.
Its still not against the law in the UK to photograph in public - well in theory, in practice its a different story.
