In my freelance shoots, I frequently find myself being accosted by the "authorities". "Bakit ka nagshu-shoot? Para sa'n y'an? Taga media ka ba?", sometimes accompanied by a hint of menace underneath a polite veneer. The message is clear in these situations. "YOU CAN'T SHOOT WITHOUT A PERMIT".(ME in a silent thought baloon; PERMIT?!)A recent post by a friend in his blog agit'ed me again on how photographers are constantly being harangued by The Man. I promptly searched the www and found this piece by an American lawyer, pertaining to photography and US laws. While it can, to some extent, be applied to the Philippine context, I would, as a Filipino photographer, be more assured with a Philippine version of said text. With Philippine journalists apparently being actual targets in a not so hidden war on "terrorism", I think its quite timely to spread the word on this.
Calling on the PCP!
Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI've experienced docking and hiding behind trees and fences just to photograph the construction of the UP-Ayala Technohub dati when I was shooting for Kule. Yung kasama kong fotog pinadelete nga sa kanya ng guard yung mga litrato nya.
Actually kahit simpleng photowalk lang sa CAMANAVA area last Saturday, worried na yung ibang mga hobbyists na may maninita sa kanila. I told them there's nothing to worry about it, unless sa Makati ka magsyu-shoot, at least dun may batas talagang nagsasabi na bawal magshoot na lang basta. But for most of the public areas, wala namang nagdidikta na bawal kumuha ng litrato.
Nabasa ko sa isang blog:
"Know your rights. Know where you can shoot and where you cannot. Know that in general you can shoot anything from a public street. And that in general you can shoot things like subways, etc. When you are challenged about your shooting and you know you’re on good legal ground always object. Be polite. Be gentle. But be firm and object. Don’t accept this behavior from security guards or other people."
"ducking" pala haha
ReplyDeleteSa wakas, may nag feedback. Salamat, Candice. Quick thoughts:
ReplyDelete"When you are challenged about your shooting and you know you’re on good legal ground always object".
Yun nga, people need to know what exactly these legal grounds are. So spreading the word is an imperative. I smell a forum coming on...baka pwedeng input Ito dun sa SURFACING PART 2.