Friday Happy Hour: A Guide to Your Rights as a Photographer & More

Friday Happy Hour: A Guide to Your Rights as a Photographer & More

The year of protests is far from over, as violence continues in places like Syria, Bahrain, and Uganda. And while we’re fortunate enough not to be experiencing such terror on our home turf, we’ve had our fair share of nationwide protests over affairs from Wall Street to Trayvon Martin. It’s an important time for photojournalists – and even the consumer photographer – but what are your rights when  you start snapping photos? If you’re in the U.S., Flavorpill has your back with a “Guide to Your Rights as a Photographer“.

After that we cover two recent incidents where photographers were attacked by police abroad; a few PhotoShelter member shout outs; and finally, a devoted husband who dons a pink tutu in support of his wife’s battle against breast cancer. Let’s get started.

Flavorpill’s Guide to Your Rights as a Photographer

We’ve all heard the story of the photographer who was ordered by police to stop photographing a rally, demonstration, protest, or whatever, and at its worse being forcibly pushed down or against a car. Arrest for photographing in a public place sounds ridiculous to most of us, but just what are your rights? Flavorpill breaks it down for those of us in the U.S. in their “Guide to Your Rights as a Photographer“.

Turns out you’re entitled to take pictures of anything in sight while standing in public property, and the Department of Homeland Security had to issue a note to stop federal employees from telling people it’s a crime. It gets a little trickier with private property, especially so in Florida where there’s a lot of floor-to-ceiling windows, so check out the guide and comments for specifics. Bottom line: be smart and use your judgement, and you’ll avoid running into trouble.

Photographers assaulted in Uganda and Bahrain, one left dead

The Committee to Protect Journalists reported on two incidents earlier this month regarding police brutality abroad. In Uganda, reporter Ivan Kabaale was knocked off his motorcycle by a police tow truck while covering opposition leader Besigye’s arrest. He suffered internal bleeding and was in the hospital for five days, while police refused to acknowledge the incident or allow him to file a complaint.

Then in Bahrain, videographer Ahmed Ismail Hassan was filming a demonstration when unidentified assilants began shooting live ammunition at protests from their car. Hassan was shot in the thigh and died later that night from complications. Both tragic events highlight the risk taken by photojournalists worldwide to document current affairs – not to mention that police forces in these countries pose more of a danger than protection for both reporters and citizens.

Photos from Paintballing with Hezbollah

Just another typical day in Beirut: four Western photojournalists went head-to-head in a paintball match against a team of Hezbollah members – the Shiite militant group based in Lebanon, described by U.S. national security experts as “the A-Team of terrorism”, and responsible for decades of attacks on Israel and the 1983 bombing of an American military barracks in Beirut.

PhotoShelter member and Lebanon-based photojournalist Bryan Denton was one of the four members of the Western team and the one to organize this strange but compelling match-up. In an article for Vice, his teammate Mitchell Prothero goes into the full detail on the game: how Hezbollah initially cheated but then decided that shots to the head legitimized a “kill”; how the photojournalists actually won 4-3; and how in the end he built something of a rapport with “the Boss”.  Not to mention some killer (literally?) photos:

Photo by Bryan Denton / Just before hostilities begin, Team Sahafi (the photojournalists) lines up for a group shot. From left: Andrew Exum, Mitch Prothero, Nicolas Blanford, Ben Gilbert. Bryan Denton, who also played, is not pictured because he was behind the camera.

Photo by Ryan Denton/The Hezbollah paintball team, looking a wee bit more intimidating than the team of journalists.

Destino: a photography project by Michelle Frankfurter

For the past three years, documentary photographer Michelle Frankfurter has been working to document the journey of Central American migrants across Mexico by freight train as they attempt to enter the U.S. in search of a better life. The culmination of that work is Destino, a photo book that will be completed after Michelle’s work at the last leg of the journey on the Mexico-U.S. border. Her Kickstarter project hopes to fund this last phase, and while she’s already reached her goal of $6,800, any additional funds will help. There are only 8 days left to contribute, so check out her page for a full preview video and her portfolio to see some of the images.

Photo by Michelle Frankfurter

Photograph for Robert Caplin and ViewBug

Only one day left to submit your best portrait photo for the chance to receive an exclusive feature on ViewBug and win an iPad 2! ViewBug is a photo community that awards and promotes up-and-coming photography, and hosts a number of different contests in various specialties. We’re especially excited about this contest because PhotoShelter member and New York editorial and corporate photographer Robert Caplin is judging alongside the ViewBug team. Robert is a regular contributor to The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal, and has photographed talent such as Justin Beiber, Tiki Barber, and Victoria Justice. Get more details and submit your work here.

This camera pack could change your life

Remember that new camera bag that was supposed to get you organized, but set you back a couple hundred dollars and didn’t even really do the trick? Sorry to be the one to tell you, but you invested in the wrong product. Introducing TrekPak, an innovative padded insert for protecting and organizing your gear in your backpack or hard case. What makes TrekPak unique is that there’s no Velcro involved – just padded dividers that can be pended together into literally hundreds of different combinations to fit your needs.

Scource: TrekPak

Scource: TrekPak

The TrekPak team is currently raising funds on Kickstarter to help them finalize the design and manufacturing process. But by contributing as little as $23 you can get your hands on a custom TrekPak insert for your Pelican case, while larger donations will get your larger bags outfitted or score you a custom insert.

Not convinced? Check out TrekPak’s Kickstarter page to learn more and see if you can be converted to their system.

ASMP announces “Photographers Helping Photographers” seminar

The “Photographers Helping Photographers” seminar, organized by ASMP and sponsored by Agency Access and PhotoShelter, brings Jim Cavanaugh, Jenna Close, and Ed McDonald to photographers looking for business inspiration. Their success will serve as the foundation for this seminar on new approaches to building a photography business, and admission proceeds will go to benefit the Young Photographers Alliance (YPA). Seminars are currently taking place in Orlando, Atlanta, Columbia, and Kansas City – click here for registration details, and be sure to contact your ASMP chapter leader to put in a request to host the program.

39 creative Facebook Timeline cover photos

If you’re looking for some cover photo inspiration since Facebook made the switch on you to Timeline, take a look at Unmetric’s roundup of “39 Stunning & Creative Facebook Timeline Cover Photos“. The list includes Chase Community Giving, Sony, Gap, adidas, and Samsung Mobile. And if you’re looking for advice on Timeline specific to photographers, check out our post “Facebook Timeline: 5 New Tools For Your Photo Brand” and get started!

Brighton Dog Photography

We know you love pet photography, so if you haven’t seen Brighton Dog Photography yet, it’s time to take a look. PhotoShelter member Rhian White is a dog photographer based in the UK selling stock, holding workshops, and photographing dogs everywhere. We love his use of the photo wall on his homepage, and pretty much every gallery. What’s your favorite shot?

Bump lets you photo-share from your phone by bumping your keyboard

The mobile app Bump, which allows you to exchange info and photos with others by bumping your smartphones together, recently released Photos.bu.mp. The service, now in beta, will let users upload photos to their computers by bumping their keyboard. Simply bring up the photo on your phone, navigate to Bump’s site, bump the space bar on your keyboard, and then the photo appears. From there you can keep it in the Bump cloud or download it to your computer. Is this the next phase in photo-sharing?

James Whitlow Delano releases new iBook, BLACK TSUNAMI

PhotoShelter member and photojournalist James Whitlow Delano was just published by FotoEvidence. His new book for the iPad, BLACK TSUNAMI, was released on the first anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan last year. The book draws attention to the plight of people in the impacted region whose lives have been permanently dislodged by the tsunami and the unfolding disaster that continues to pose existential questions for Japan.

The book contains 80 black and white photographs, an afterward by recognized journalist Bill Emmott, a 10-minute video interview with the photographer, and a short video clip of the tsunami arriving in Miyako harbor. Click here to purchase in the iTunes store.

Photo by James Whitlow Delano/Rescue workers move slowly through houses that were ripped from their foundations by the great tsunami to painstakingly search uprooted, empty houses for victims. Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, Japan.

Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program photography opening

Recent PhotoShelter member Betina Zolkower has been chosen by the honors program at Yeshiva College to display her work in Furst Hall from April 19 – May 6. Opening night is Thursday, April 19th from 6-9pm. For more information, please contact betinaz@brooklyn.cuny.edu.

Hairy man photographs himself in tutu for breast cancer

There’s not much more eye-catching than a hairy man, in a bright pink tutu, standing in the middle of a Brooklyn street on a snowy day. At least that’s what New York photographer Bob Carey must have been thinking when he started posing for these self-portraits across the country, always naked except for the pink tulle. The photos are for his wife, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003 – she beat the cancer, but then it returned in 2006 and she’s been undergoing chemotherapy ever since.

Carey plans to put the photos into a book, Ballerina, and hopes to raise $75,000. For the time being, we have a great collection of images from Wired.

Photo by Bob Carey

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There are 2 comments for this article
  1. Peter at 2:05 am

    Hi Lauren, thanks for including our blog post in your weekly roundup! I’m pretty sure we’ll have plenty of photographers offering tailor made Facebook cover photos quite soon.

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