© 2008 by Mason ResnickI'm numbering 'em now...
Monday, June 30, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Justice by non-sequitor
Last year, Miami-based photographer Carlos Miller was arrested while photographing police, charged with disobeying a police order, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. A jury found Miller not guilty of the first two charges, but did convict him of "resisting arrest without violence," which sounds to me like a slap on the wrist. The prosecutor asked for 3 months probation.
Apparently the judge read the jury's verdict differently, and threw the book at Miller, sentencing him to a year of probation, 100 hours of community service, an anger management class (which the judge should probably be taking) and $540.50 in court costs. Then the judge went on to reveal his true bias, apparently telling Miller he should visit Arlington National Cemetary, where the "real hearoes" who fought for our freedom are buried. Now that's what I call justice by non-sequitor!
I really hope Carlos Miller will appeal the sentencing decision and get it overturned by a non-biased judge. If this judement is allowed to stand, it sets a legal precedent that could potentially be used against photojournalists and street photographers nationwide.
As one of the commenters in Carlos's blog--an ex cop--writes:
"I hope you prevail. I, for one, am tired of hearing the endless lament of “how difficult their job is.” As an ex-cop, I know all too well how many of them relish their “difficult” job. Thank God camera phones and amateur video are more pervasive nowadays. These are the best tools a free society has to insure our public servants endeavor to “protect and serve” rather than kicking the sh*! out of anyone they please."
Apparently the judge read the jury's verdict differently, and threw the book at Miller, sentencing him to a year of probation, 100 hours of community service, an anger management class (which the judge should probably be taking) and $540.50 in court costs. Then the judge went on to reveal his true bias, apparently telling Miller he should visit Arlington National Cemetary, where the "real hearoes" who fought for our freedom are buried. Now that's what I call justice by non-sequitor!
I really hope Carlos Miller will appeal the sentencing decision and get it overturned by a non-biased judge. If this judement is allowed to stand, it sets a legal precedent that could potentially be used against photojournalists and street photographers nationwide.
As one of the commenters in Carlos's blog--an ex cop--writes:
"I hope you prevail. I, for one, am tired of hearing the endless lament of “how difficult their job is.” As an ex-cop, I know all too well how many of them relish their “difficult” job. Thank God camera phones and amateur video are more pervasive nowadays. These are the best tools a free society has to insure our public servants endeavor to “protect and serve” rather than kicking the sh*! out of anyone they please."
Friday, June 20, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Random NYC street shot
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Justice is served
A street photographer is someone who photographs people in public places, looking for human interest, irony and humor becauase an inner muse compels them to. A paparazzo is someone who photographs celebrities and other public personalities in ways that will embarrass them and tries to sell those pictures for a lot of money.
I love street photography and support street photographers worldwide. Can't say the same for paparazzi. Now it turns out a paparazzo who got his foot run over by Britney Spears and sued her for damages has lost his case. The D.A. wrote "the only way the victim's foot could have been [run over] was by the victim placing it in that location." Of course he was standing there to get a salable shot.
Read the details.
I love street photography and support street photographers worldwide. Can't say the same for paparazzi. Now it turns out a paparazzo who got his foot run over by Britney Spears and sued her for damages has lost his case. The D.A. wrote "the only way the victim's foot could have been [run over] was by the victim placing it in that location." Of course he was standing there to get a salable shot.
Read the details.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
War against photographers: Win one, lose one
Two news items came over the transom (ok, RSS feed) today:
The win: Photopermit.org reports that photographers have the right to photograph police activity, as long as they don't interfere with it. Thanks for the clarification--and let's hope the police read it.
The loss: New York Police Dept. harassed photographer Simon Lund at Coney Island, who was intimidated by an uninformed cop to the point where he felt sufficiently threatened to hand over his film. Read the story in the Village Voice.
The win: Photopermit.org reports that photographers have the right to photograph police activity, as long as they don't interfere with it. Thanks for the clarification--and let's hope the police read it.
The loss: New York Police Dept. harassed photographer Simon Lund at Coney Island, who was intimidated by an uninformed cop to the point where he felt sufficiently threatened to hand over his film. Read the story in the Village Voice.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Friday, June 06, 2008
40 Years Ago today...
I'm posting this at 6:00 am--approximately the time I woke my parents 40 years ago to tell them I'd just heard on the radio that RFK had been assasinated. My mom yelled at me, saying how dare I make up such a terrible story. Then I told her, "Mom, I'm sorry. Turn on your radio." I was 11 years old at the time the second Kennedy brother was killed and Bill Eppridge took this tragic, historic photo. See my previous post about my interview with Bill Eppridge and his new book.
War on Photographers: Should we take the offensive?
Bruce Schneider, posted an article on his blog yesterday that is getting a lot of attention. Not only does he defend every photographer's right to photograph almost everywhere, but he makes a compelling case for politely but firmly defending ourselves when a real cop or rent-a-cop tells us to stop shooting.
Bruce says:
"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 subway 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."
Read the rest of this well-argued opinion piece.
Bruce says:
"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 subway 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."
Read the rest of this well-argued opinion piece.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
War on photographers, continued: Oh, the irony
Washington TV reporter Tom Fitzgerald, curious about why so many photographers are being harassed at DC's Union Station by security guards, is in the middle of an interview with Amtrak's chief spokesperson in which said spokesperson declares there is no anti-photography rule at Union Station, when a security guard comes up and tells Fitzgerald to turn the camera off! When Fitzgerald refuses and then askes the guard if he could explain the policy, the guard clams up. Busted!
Watch the video,courtesy Fox5, Washington DC.
Watch the video,courtesy Fox5, Washington DC.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Monday, June 02, 2008
What's coming from Leica? Straight from the horse's mouth!
Large-aperture M lenses, "something significant for the M System," perhaps a DSLR, and an expanded line of compacts...that's all part of ambitious set of goals outlined by Leica CEO Andreas Kaufmann in an exclusive interview published last month on PopPhoto.com. Doesn't look like there will be a full-frame M any time soon...but there are lots of hints about what might be coming later this year at Photokina.
Read the interview.
Read the interview.
Bill Eppridge publishes book about The Shot
Somewhere in my stack of old Modern Photography magazines is the interview I did with Bill Eppridge, part of the "Back to the Darkroom" special that we published (and I edited) in 1988. It was an ambitious feature: I got Life Magazine's famous darkroom technicians to reprint some of the toughest negatives they'd ever come across while I took notes--and then I interviewed each of the photographers about how they shot the pictures. The photos were Alfred Eisenstaedt's nighttime portrait of a Paris hooker under a street lamp, Carl Mydans' photo of brightly-lit (and overexposed) shot of Chinese men sitting at a cafe, and Bill Eppridge's photo of the assasination of Bobby Kennedy.
When I sat with Eppridge in his Time Life office that day, I saw a man who was clearly haunted by the assasination of a young man who he clearly admired, at the time 20 years before. He spoke of how there were no secret service agents, a single body guard, and how the plan was to leave the victory speach and head in one direction, but JFK abruptly changed his mind and took a different route to the service elevator, leaving the small protective wedge of photographers behind him and walking right towards his fate.
Now, 40 years after the Kennedy assasination, Bill Eppridge has published A Time It Was: Bobby Kennedy in the Sixties, which includes the complete account of that night in June when a crazed Palestinian gunned JFK down and ended hope for so many Americans. The book has many photos that have never been seen before, as well as more extensive personal accounts of the photographer's interaction with the young presidential candidate. And for those of you who wonder "what if...", Eppridge talks about how Kennedy told him he would pull the US out of Vietnam his first day in office. How many died under Nixon's watch?
When I sat with Eppridge in his Time Life office that day, I saw a man who was clearly haunted by the assasination of a young man who he clearly admired, at the time 20 years before. He spoke of how there were no secret service agents, a single body guard, and how the plan was to leave the victory speach and head in one direction, but JFK abruptly changed his mind and took a different route to the service elevator, leaving the small protective wedge of photographers behind him and walking right towards his fate.
Now, 40 years after the Kennedy assasination, Bill Eppridge has published A Time It Was: Bobby Kennedy in the Sixties, which includes the complete account of that night in June when a crazed Palestinian gunned JFK down and ended hope for so many Americans. The book has many photos that have never been seen before, as well as more extensive personal accounts of the photographer's interaction with the young presidential candidate. And for those of you who wonder "what if...", Eppridge talks about how Kennedy told him he would pull the US out of Vietnam his first day in office. How many died under Nixon's watch?
Sunday, June 01, 2008
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