[Infowarrior] - Photography Banned in Silver Spring, Maryland

[Richard Forno]

Photography Banned in Downtown Silver Spring, Maryland
by Bill Adler | June 22, 2007 at 02:42 pm |

http://www.nowpublic.com/photography_banned_downtown_silver_spring_maryland

You're going to want to read the following two paragraphs twice because
you're not going to believe them.

"This past Tuesday I went to downtown Silver Spring, had lunch, and then
took out my camera and standing on Ellsworth Avenue, I began taking shots of
the buildings with the blue sky and clouds as a backdrop. Almost
immediately, a security guard approached and told me 'there was no picture
taking allowed in Downtown Silver Spring.' 'What do you mean?' I said, 'I am
on a city street, in a public place -- taking pictures is a right that I
have protected by the first amendment.' The guard told me to report to the
management office.

"There, Stacy Horan informed me that Downtown Silver Spring including
Ellsworth Avenue is private property, not a public place, and subject to the
rules of the Peterson Companies.  They have a no photography policy to
'protect them from people who might want to use the photographs as part of a
story in which they could write bad things about us.'  And she told me that
many of the chain stores in Downtown Silver Spring don't what their
'concepts' to be photographed for security reasons."

It appears that this street, Ellswoth Avenue, in downtown Silver Spring,
Maryland is, in fact, a private street.

But when you peel back a layer, you find that actually it not pure private
property, although the Peterson company is treating the street as private
property.  This part of downtown Silver Spring was developed using public
and private money, and what the Peterson Company claims to be its property
is actually owned by Montgomery County, and leased to the Peterson Company.
As part of the lease agreement, Peterson has to allow the public to access
Ellsworth Avenue, which is connected to city-owned streets on either end.

What's happened in Silver Spring, Maryland is an example of what's happening
all around the Washington, DC area:  Police and security guards are claiming
a right to bar photographers where no such law allows them to do that.  And
when the police and security guards aren't barring photography, they're
asking photographers for identification and an explanation -- again without
a law permitting them to stop a photographer and ask for identification.

These events spurred Chip Py and Kate Mereand to form a Flickr group
promoting photographer rights in Washington, DC,
www.flickr.com/groups/dcphotorights.  This is group where people can post
photographs that "security" has tried to bar, and can discuss issues and
problems about photography in the Washington, DC area.  I asked Kate Mereand
why she founded this group.  She said:

"I created DC Photo Rights in response to the numerous instances of
harassment local area photographers have cited. I am an amateur photographer
who has been shooting for about two years. I have found the DC amateur
photographer society, especially through Flickr, to be a very supportive
atmosphere. The city itself, however, seems to pose a constant challenge,
especially to beginners.

"The specific impetus was a photographer who was harassed for taking photos
from the street in downtown Silver Spring, MD. This struck a chord with me.
I live and work in Silver Spring, and I have been a supporter of the
development projects in the downtown area. These projects have faced some
resistance, and I was saddened to hear that the downtown area that I often
defend is associated with this sort of behavior.

"I am specifically interested, also, in the role that security guards at
federal buildings play in this. Many incorrectly inform photographers that
photos are illegal.  While this is prevalent with security guards
everywhere, I find it more disturbing when federal security guard do this;
many people regard there claims of protecting national security interests
more seriously. And of course, in a few cases, photos of federal buildings
are not allowed. So this often leaves photographers, amateurs especially, on
uncertain grounds where easy victims of harassment.

"I think what is chilling now, however, is how often 'national security' and
'terrorist threats' are used as an excuse for illegal harassment and abuse.
The most disturbing trend I see is when people are asked to present
identification when they are not breaking any laws."

She added, "Often in this situation photographers are made to feel like a
perpetrator of a crime, while they are actually the ones being victimized."

When the police ask for ID, they usually write down your information.  When
you're approached by the police, or even by a private security guard, and
quizzed about what you're doing, that can be unnerving and upsetting.  Why
am I being questioned?  What's going to happen next?  Might I be arrested if
I give the wrong answers?

It's been said time and time again, to the point of becoming cliche:  The
world changed after 9/11.  We have to accept new security restrictions.  We
have to be cautions, careful, questioning, even suspicious.  But being
stopped in the street for completely lawful activity is not only
un-American, and possibly unlawful itself, but it's likely to be
ineffective, even counter productive.  Regarding photography as suspicious
activity diverts valuable brain power away from thinking about real dangers.
Besides, terrorists can photograph sites surreptitiously if they want.

These are the issues that Kate Mereand and Chip Py's DC Photo Rights Flickr
group is focusing on.

A protest has been scheduled in Silver Spring on July 4th to draw attention
to this issue.  Photographers participating in the will be meeting at
Ellsworth Avenue in Silver Spring, and then will walk and snap their
cameras.  More information about this demonstration can be found here.

Disclosure:  I've contributed photos to the DC Photo Rights Flickr group.