Are photographers really a threat?

What is it with photographers these days? Are they really all terrorists, or does everyone just think they are? Since 9/11, there has been an increasing war on photography. Photographers have been harrassed, questioned, detained, arrested or worse, and declared to be unwelcome. We've been repeatedly told to watch out for photographers, especially suspicious ones. Clearly any terrorist is going to first photograph his target, so vigilance is required.

Except that it's nonsense. The 9/11 terrorists didn't photograph anything. Nor did the London transport bombers, the Madrid bombers, or the liquid bombers arrested in 2006. Timothy McVeigh didn't photograph the Oklahoma City Federal Building. The Unabomber didn't photograph anything; neither did shoe-bomber Richard Reid. Photographs aren't being found amongst the papers of Palestinian suicide bombers. The IRA wasn't known for its photography. Even those manufactured terrorist plots that the US government likes to talk about -- the Ft. Dix terrorists, the JFK airport bombers, the Miami 7, the Lackawanna 6 -- no photography.

Given that real terrorists, and even wannabe terrorists, don't seem to photograph anything, why is it such pervasive conventional wisdom that terrorists photograph their targets? Why are our fears so great that we have no choice but to be suspicious of any photographer?

Because it's a movie-plot threat. A movie-plot threat is a specific threat, vivid in our minds like the plot of a movie...Terrorists taking pictures is a quintessential detail in any good movie. Of course it makes sense that terrorists will take pictures of their targets. They have to do reconnaissance, don't they? We need 45 minutes of television action before the actual terrorist attack -- 90 minutes if it's a movie -- and a photography scene is just perfect. It's our movie-plot terrorists that are photographers, even if the real-world ones are not...

...Of course, it's far easier to explain the problem than it is to fix it. Because we're a species of storytellers, we find movie-plot threats uniquely compelling. A single vivid scenario will do more to convince people that photographers might be terrorists than all the data I can muster to demonstrate that they're not.

Fear aside, there aren't many legal restrictions on what you can photograph from a public place that's already in public view. If you're harassed, it's almost certainly a law enforcement official, public or private, acting way beyond his authority. There's nothing in any post-9/11 law that restricts your right to photograph.

This is worth fighting...Don't cede your right to photograph in public. Don't propagate the terrorist photographer story. Remind them that prohibiting photography was something we used to ridicule about the USSR.

The first time I read this a few months ago, I didn't save it. Then I read a story about photographers getting kicked out of Union Station in D.C. and I dug up this article again to make sure I hadn't imagined it.

When I was on leave in Romania last year, I took a photo near the American embassy and shortly after, got stopped by some cops who made me delete the picture and told me not to take any more. I might have gotten into more trouble but I had my embassy badge and my diplomatic passport with me.

But if I had been a terrorist and not a tourist, unless I was a really stupid terrorist I would not wander the streets near an American embassy with a gigantic black obvious camera dangling from my shoulder. I would not even carry a camera. What for? Over a year later, I still remember the embassy's street layout, the type and locations of the barriers in front of the entrance, where the police station was, and which direction would be best for running away.

I don't need a photo to remember ANY of that. So why would a terrorist? All the information they need they can get by just taking a stroll down the street or in some cases, by checking out the embassy's own website. (coughoslocough)

So like I said, unless you're dealing with a reeeaallllyy stupid terrorist, you're probably not going to catch him by detaining everybody carrying a camera. So quit picking on photographers!


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And now, for a photography funny! I can't remember where I got this though:


How to Shoot (Photographs) Like A Terrorist

With several cases of photographers being harassed by authorities, a new UK campaign against “suspicious” photographers, and even a whole magazine (or one issue) devoted to the supposed crime of photography, a thought popped in my head - if you want to be a famous photographer, you should get yourself arrested.

That’s why I’ve come up with these 4 tips to help you get attention from authorities. They all overlap a bit, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that these tips work.

Bring the largest camera (or lens) you have: We all know that terrorists want attention - that’s why they plant bombs wreak as much havoc as they can. They want people to notice them so they can get their message heard. This means that terrorists don’t want to bring around small, inconspicuous cameras - they don’t attract any attention. If you want to look like a terrorist, bring out the biggest hunks of plastic, metal, and glass that scream out “I’m a photographer terrorist.”

Focus on famous landmarks: The more famous your subject target is, the more attention it gets. Shooting a famous landmark - one that probably 435,629 other people are shooting - helps feed the terrorist’s need for attention. What differentiates the terrorist from all those other people (aside from the fact that he wants to blow this place to high heavens), is the fact that he uses the largest, most sophisticated, and (most importantly) most attention-grabbing camera in his arsenal.

Spend a lot of time composing your shots: We all know that terrorists are meticulous planners. They’re such sticklers for perfection, in fact, that even their surveillance photos have to be gorgeous. Even if they’re only marking “the location of CCTV cameras,” they have to do this in such a way that the light falls on the CCTV camera perfectly. Otherwise, their photos will be rejected by their bosses.

Be obvious… be very obvious: I’ll say it yet again - terrorists want attention. Make it very clear that you have a camera (a large camera helps) and that you intend to use it. If you need props or a supporting cast - think assistants holding reflectors, lights, and bags of equipment - bring them with you. If you make it very obvious that you’re a serious photographer terrorist, then you will get attention.