[alleged] picture censoring nonsense

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Jim Warren <jwarren () well com>
Date: June 9, 2005 4:26:49 PM EDT
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: fwd: [alleged] picture censoring nonsense


> This was on a photo group.
>
>
> So yesterday I was walking around downtown Pittsburgh with my camera.
> When I found myself next to the PPG building, I pointed my camera  
> upward
> like a tourist and took a shot.
>
> (If you've ever seen a skyline shot of Pittsburgh, you've seen this
> building; it's the distinctive mirrored one with the points on top.
> If you're a photographer, you've probably seen a shot of the  
> Pittsburgh
> skyline, since it's the best view east of the Mississippi.)
>
> I had time to shoot *one* frame before I heard, "Excuse me, sir,  
> but they
> don't like it when people take pictures of this building."
>
> I looked over and saw the private security guard there.  I said,  
> "Um, oh.
> Okay.  That's kind of too bad, isn't it?"
>
> "Excuse me?" he said.
>
> "It's a public area," I said.
>
> "Well, technically it's private property."
>
> "It's open to the public," I said, looking around at the hundreds  
> of people
> milling around and/or playing in the fountain.  "Are you telling me  
> to leave?"
>
> "Well, no."
>
> "All these other people are taking pictures, too."
>
> "Well, they don't mind eye-level stuff, but when you point the  
> camera up, they
> start to get nervous.  Since 9/11, you know, terrorism."
>
> At this point, I lept on my opportunity.  "Oh!" I said, a shocked  
> look on my
> face.  "Is it a secret building?  Because if it is, I'll stop."
>
> "What?"
>
> "The building.  Is it a secret?  Because I really thought the cat  
> was out of
> the bag already, since you can see it from ten miles in every  
> direction, but
> if it's a secret I'll stop.  I wouldn't want to be the one to get  
> the word
> out to the terrorists about it."
>
> At this point he realized it was a rhetorical question.  "I don't  
> know, sir,
> that's just what they tell me."
>
> "You know it sounds absurd, right?"
>
> "Well, I don't know about that."
>
> "You said that eye-level pictures are okay."
>
> "Yes."
>
> "So if I go around taking pictures of the best places to plant  
> explosives,
> or ways to break into the building, that's okay, but if I take a  
> shot of
> the 25th floor, which I can't reach, that's bad.  This kind of  
> tells me
> the policy isn't very well thought out."
>
> "I don't know, sir.  That's what my boss says I'm supposed to say."
>
> "Well, I guess you're just doing your job, but I'm not going to  
> stop unless
> you order me off the property.  I mean, the police don't seem to  
> have any
> problem with it."  (There were police visible, who were entirely  
> uninterested
> in my activities.)
>
> He shrugged, clearly not knowing how to respond to that.  At that  
> point, I
> walked away from him, and he did not pursue.



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