Image © Ron Tear 2007 - Used with permission

Powers of Stop and Search (UK)

Unfortunately in the current age of tabloid press and moral panic there is an enemy under every bed. In fact if the press are to be believed the general public is composed solely of sinister people we are to all to fear and distrust (for our own good and their circulation...).

Sadly for photography the collateral damage of this culture of paranoia has been a certainty in the eyes of many of the public that any photographer in any public place is either a paedophile or a terrorist. It would seem in the eyes of the angry mob that there is no possible other motive for taking pictures in public places. The magazines heavily illustrated with photographs tell them this so it must be true. Right?

Part 1 – Covert Public Photography

I was recently sent an interesting article by one of my readers who is employed within the UK’s Ministry Of Justice (MOJ) directorate. The article in question was from the excellent magazine Justice Of The Peace and detailed a recent legal of great relevance to the photography world. This was the case of Murray (By his litigation friends) v. Express Newspapers and Another.

The reason young Murray’s case was brought by his litigation friends and not by Murray himself was simple. At the time the case came to court Murray was just over one year old. The case that Murray’s litigation friends brought was against a photographic agency and a photographer. His litigation friends were his parents. They did what any good parents do which was protect their child. I can only commend their apparent motives in pursuing the case. However the implications if they won troubled me greatly.

Photojournalism Resources

If you are interested in photojournalism and documentary photography then there are some sites well worth a visit. For example check out how Pulitzer prize winning photojournalist John Kaplan's students tackled the art of telling important stories with images. There's lots of terrific stuff to read and impactful images on the http://www.internationaljournalism.com/ site.