Ape::Tracks

Stealer of Souls

Another couple of cases of Police officers applying laws that don't actually exist:

“The officer was talking to me and said I don't care if you're a professional photographer or not you can't take a picture of a child without written consent of the parent.”

(The child in this case was allegedly vandalising a tree)

Link: Police officer tells man he's not allowed to photograph children

and of course the now famous tourists photographing a bus station incident

Photographers in the UK should read this House of Commons debate

There's been a surprisingly good, sensible discussion in the House of Commons on the recent police vs photographer problems. The issue was raised by John Randall (Conservative) and a number of other MPs made good contributions. It's well worth reading if you're an amateur or pro photographer in the UK.

• Here's the readable version: Photography (Public Places) provided by They Work For You
• (Here's the 1995-style official version of Photography (Public Places) from The Stationary Office)

The official government position appears to be in favour of photographer's rights and critical of police abusing existing laws

"I make it absolutely clear that unless someone is engaged in criminal activity, they must be allowed to take photographs in public places and that the law should not be used to discourage or hamper that activity."

However, reassuring noises from junior ministers are not enough - abuses are still happening.

(I'm not generalizing police behaviour - I've got no doubt that most officers are fine, and many of those involved in these 'photocop' incidents are simply ill-informed. All the same, here's why we need freedom of photography)

Buscraft!

Buscraft Weaving
Originally uploaded by BinaryApe

Arteth's blog has emerged at last: Buscraft. She's mostly writing about her crafting projects, many of them worked on while commuting.

Bad Rabbit

Extreme Rabbit Alert! It appears T-Mobile UK have classed this picture of Mr Fukusuke-pon the rabbit as 'adult' and blocked me from viewing it with their USB 3G web-n-walk service. I now need to take my passport to a T Mobile shop to prove that I'm old enough to see rabbits without parental supervision.

La Princesse

La Princesse (1)
Originally uploaded by BinaryApe

We went to Liverpool on Sunday to see La Princesse. La Machine brought La Princesse to Liverpool as one of the 'Capital of Culture 2008' events.

We arrived to find a huge crowd watching a spider that was still asleep - the afternoon event had been cancelled. The crowd stayed, watching the spider.

I've not really been to Liverpool city centre before, so we went for a wander for a few hours and had a rather good meal at a nice Chinese restaraunt called Yeut Ben, then went back to Lime Street to watch La Princesse as she woke up.

The evening was absolutely wonderful, not just the spider itself but the music and the crowd. La Princesse was a truly fantastic work of engineering but had personality too, from the excellent performance of her operators.

I'm also really pleased that I managed to get some photos from the back of the crowd, in the dark. The video clip above was taken as La Princesse approached the end of her visit.

What if one of them seems odd?

I'm a scruffy semi-bearded man who takes photographs of everyday things, usually wearing boots, baffling t-shirts and a hat. I often get puzzled looks from people: "Why is that man taking a photo of a wall?". I don't mind.

I expect to be reported as a terrorist at some point if this stupid campaign spreads from London to Manchester: "That man is taking pictures of a bus shelter! Call the police!" That's something I do mind.

* Petition to clarify the laws surrounding photography in public places
* Flickr spoof of the Met Police poster
* Birmingham police officer 'forced press photographer to delete images
* Free Download - The UK Photographers Rights Guide
* London's Spitalfields market: shoot the architecture, we take away your camera

Update: Austin Mitchell MP (a keen photographer himself) is going to raise this issue with the Home Office. More at BoingBoing.net. It's probably worth sending a letter or email to your local MP.

Castlerigg Sunset

Sunset 10
Originally uploaded by BinaryApe

We've been away on a short holiday in the Lake District, with the aim of getting some fresh air and exercise, and some photography practise too if the weather was good.

The first evening at the hotel we witnessed a fantastic sunset. I've not seen rays radiating from a sunset before - very beautiful, and it resembled photos of the aurora borealis. They were slowly moving as we watched. Crepuscular rays?

Another guest at our hotel took an excellent photo of the same sunset from Castlerigg Stone Circle.

Newtonmas Wandering, 2007

Whitworth Street
Originally uploaded by BinaryApe

Another walk around an almost deserted Manchester, relatively early in the morning, with a little fog this time.

Two surprises: rather unseasonal roses growing in Castlefield, and seeing a kingfisher in Castlefield. Earlier this year I thought I'd seen a kingfisher zipping down the Ashton Canal but almost convinced myself I was mistaken. This time it was quite definitely a kingfisher. Their feathers are bright seen against a rural background, against grey concrete and black canal water they're almost dazzling. I failed to photograph the roses (A. managed it) and the kingfisher was almost impossible to follow with the eye, nevermind a camera.

In about 20 years of living in Warwickshire I saw one kingfisher. This year in Manchester I've seen kingfishers twice. I suppose Manchester's post-industrial canals are now much cleaner than the rural rivers of 1970s Warwickshire, even if they're rather less verdant.

Foggedtographer

Impressionistic
Originally uploaded by artethgray

The flash-lit fog over the cobbles in this photo reminds me of a painting or pencil sketch I've seen somewhere, but I can't find it. Maybe the image resembles a faded century-old photo. I like the effect.

I'm in the photo taking a picture of The Palace Hotel's sign glowing in the gloom.

Arteth's mention of Vallette led me to his painting of Albert Square and this drawing by Lowry.

(Trivia: The white dog poo interrogation scene in 'Life on Mars' took place just to the left of the picture.)

Fumbling

I'm over-cautious and clumsy at the best of times. I've got a second camera lens now and changing them resembles a small-scale surgical operation, with various lids and bits laid out on a flat surface or balanced on bags. I felt like I needed an extra arm. Or a camera strap, I've just realised. I suspect I should worry less.

Links: Strobist: Pro Tip: How to Quick-Change an SLR lens and Changing Lenses on DSLR Cameras

This is how I've been trying to do it, but badly. There's still a table involved though.

How To Change An SLR Lens

All that talk of dust remind me that The Golden Compass is out now.