Found this link is interesting
http://www.krages.com... .

Thanks Lenny. I've decided to get his book.

I'm sending out a quick email about the museum mile. Thanks for that tip, too!

- Mike

Thanks Lenny,
That is a great post and I made use of in on my blog Mike's PAD Hopefully Blog Enjoy my Blog folks and in the words of Billy Joel, "Don't take any $hit from anybody!"

Hi - I hope you all don't mind ... I was poking around your site and saw this link. I think it's fabulous and I'm going to let my group know about it too!

Happy Shooting!

~ Adrienne Brand

there is no question this is compelling and important information. however there is also the issue of actually being confronted when taking pictures. in my personal experiences i have found myself in this situation many times. i live in manhattan in a copmlex of buildings with several playgrounds. as a professional photographer i happen to have better and larger cameras than most snapshooters. one day i was shooting photos of my 11 year old son and his friend as they played. suddenly a mother who was there with her children(they were not in my shots) came up to me and in a very irrate manner asked me what i was doing. after i stated the obvious, she wanted to see identification to prove i lived in the complex, said she didn't want her children in the shots and then proceeded to imply that i was a child molester. after some heated words and a discussion with our private security force i was left alone and went on shooting my photos. had i been using a "regular" point and shoot camera, i'm sure the incident would never have happened.
another time i was shooting in grand central station (doing b&w photojournalistic people type stuff) and found myself confronted by the amtrack police because i photographed into the information booth. all i did was simply tell them i was a student working on a school project (i was 35 at the time) and wasn't aware i couldn't shoot the booth. at that point they just said be careful and left me alone.
then there was the time i was shooting people in coney island where one guy just wanted to kill me on the spot...no questions asked. i told him i was shooting the boat in the water behind him. when he saw the boat, he backed off.

finally, i was shooting city workers shoveling snow and one of them walked towards me with his shovel in hand and said "hey, what are to taking pictures of" and my response was "anything i damn well please" he replied "ok" and walked away. afterwards i said to myself "that was the stupidest response i could ever have made...........whew!

my point in all this is it's also how you deal with these confrontations. unfortunately pulling out a sheet of paper with the law may not be sensable in every situation. act innocent, polite, and always be ready to explain that you are there for yourself. telling people you are in a photo club might help too. if you are really ambitious, you might carry a polaroid camera with you and offer to give people a photo if they permit you to photograph them.

anyway, that's my two cents..............Ed

Wow, that lady who thought Ed was a child molester is really messed up. It doesn't even make any sense. I guess some people's logic cannot be comprehended.

Thanks so much for this interesting website.

Thanks for the information. I just got back into photography a month ago and immediately have been confronted with this issue. A cop told me I couldn't photograph a portion of the Triborough Bridge's abutments. I was interested in the large bolts, so I guess they have some vulnerability that warranted posting a cop there. I couldn't resist bringing up constitutional rights, and did he really support such a policy (of course the answer was yes). Nothing left to say to that.
Next was the issue of photographing children. I did ask a guy if he would mind if I could shoot his kid. No, of course. At the time I just felt it was the polite thing to do. Got me thinking about the issue of being labeled a pervert. Do parents have the right to expect privacy for their children when out in public? Not legally, it seems. But the culture has been so poisoned with suspicion and paranoia this reaction seems almost inevitable. Which is a pity, as children make great subjects.
Finally (this all happened the first day!), I came across a guy sitting in a nice classic car by the river. Again being polite, I asked if I could snap his car and again was declined. Seems he made the decision based on the fact I'm using a SLR style camera, and figured I stood to gain from the pictures. Which is possible, to be fair. He felt he'd been stiffed by "pros" before and no longer felt cooperative. He wouldn't have had a problem if I'd had a little point and shoot. So, what have I learned? Being polite doesn't get you any shots, and you either have to censor yourself or grow a pretty thick hide

Here's what I've found , through experience and through life,

• If there is a picture that I really, really want, I'll take the picture quickly with a disposable or point and shoot camera; most times no one bothers "amateurs", then after that I'll use my 'other' camera if a zoom etc, is needed.
  
  
• Yes, Most times, moms with little children are very defensive and very aggressive in approaching people with cameras (I certainly can understand this, since so many children turn up missing in NY so often. They are just trying to protect their children). So I would be polite to any approaching moms, even if they seem a bit angry. Most times just saying I am a student (and I am , because I am ALWAYS learning about photography) puts everyone at ease.
  
  
• I just really "understand"why people are afraid and leary of photographers who are strangers, after all , we are STILL "strangers" to them and to their children, and we have all learned at young ages to stay away from strangers.
  
  as for people trying t o grab the camera or threatening my camera or me ---generally I am not ever that close that one can grab the camera. You can tell when someone approaches if they are angry or 'gentle", so if an angry-looking person approaches, the best thing to do is back off, and stay at a safe distance then you and your camera are safe.
  
  We all have our funny or wierd stories of people trying to stop us from taking pictures but we all get our pictures, so no worries about that.
  
  I like this posting here that offers ideas and suggestions about taking pictures.
  
  
  THANKS to everyone who has posted and to those who will post more in the future.
  
  I've found my best defensive weapon -- . to get the pictures that I do want is always having that point and shoot camera and or having a disposable camera. That really works.
  
  It's not the size of the camera that works -but it is the creativity in your mind and the ability to see exactly where that great picture is.
  
  
  
  ---------------------------------------------------------------
  

  there is no question this is compelling and important information. however there is also the issue of actually being confronted when taking pictures. in my personal experiences i have found myself in this situation many times. i live in manhattan in a copmlex of buildings with several playgrounds. as a professional photographer i happen to have better and larger cameras than most snapshooters. one day i was shooting photos of my 11 year old son and his friend as they played. suddenly a mother who was there with her children(they were not in my shots) came up to me and in a very irrate manner asked me what i was doing. after i stated the obvious, she wanted to see identification to prove i lived in the complex, said she didn't want her children in the shots and then proceeded to imply that i was a child molester. after some heated words and a discussion with our private security force i was left alone and went on shooting my photos. had i been using a "regular" point and shoot camera, i'm sure the incident would never have happened.
  another time i was shooting in grand central station (doing b&w photojournalistic people type stuff) and found myself confronted by the amtrack police because i photographed into the information booth. all i did was simply tell them i was a student working on a school project (i was 35 at the time) and wasn't aware i couldn't shoot the booth. at that point they just said be careful and left me alone.
  then there was the time i was shooting people in coney island where one guy just wanted to kill me on the spot...no questions asked. i told him i was shooting the boat in the water behind him. when he saw the boat, he backed off.
  
  finally, i was shooting city workers shoveling snow and one of them walked towards me with his shovel in hand and said "hey, what are to taking pictures of" and my response was "anything i damn well please" he replied "ok" and walked away. afterwards i said to myself "that was the stupidest response i could ever have made...........whew!
  
  my point in all this is it's also how you deal with these confrontations. unfortunately pulling out a sheet of paper with the law may not be sensable in every situation. act innocent, polite, and always be ready to explain that you are there for yourself. telling people you are in a photo club might help too. if you are really ambitious, you might carry a polaroid camera with you and offer to give people a photo if they permit you to photograph them.
  
  anyway, that's my two cents..............Ed

  
  

This little piece of paper is fine and dandy, but it does NOT address the current situation in NYC. With the "Patriot Act", we have NO RIGHTS!

This little piece of paper may stall whomever is questioning your rights to your photography, but in the end, believe me, you will be removed, even if you have Official New York City Working Press Credentials as I do.

Nice to give mom and pop nosey people on the street though!