Street Photography’s Snakes on a Train?

An image of a young mother in a short dress on a New York City subway raised ethical questions and the ire of some commentators on Twitter. Some found the “award-winning” photo to be stunning, while others questioned the photographer’s methods – sitting across from the woman for 45 minutes while holding his camera on his lap.

Unlike the conversation around “newsworthy” images and the First Amendment, street photography often occupies a much creepier and ethically ambiguous space. But what exactly made this image so objectionable? And how does it differ from Tom Brenner’s image of Senator Mark Warner, or anonymous photos of New Yorkers and their dogs on the subway. Sarah and Allen discuss.

Also on the show: Emily Ratajkowski tries using the Fair Use defense in her copyright infringement suit, World Press Photo shifts to a regional model, and photographer/director Joshua Kissi says LinkedIn is the real social network for pros. 

We mention the following photographers, articles, and websites in this episode:

• Ellie Miles, a documentary curator at the London Transport Museum, tweeted on Sept 29 about a photo of a woman on a train with her two young children.
• Paul Kessel Found his Love for Street Photography After Turning 70
• Even in Art, ‘Free Speech” Can’t Override Consent
• John Edwin Mason tweets his thoughts
• Ben Semisch tweets his thoughts
• Steve Gubin tweets his thoughts
• Idil Sukan tweets her thoughts
• Senator Warner rides the Senate Subway following a vote on Capitol Hill in Washington (via The Gazette)
• NYC Subway Banned Dogs Unless They Fit In a Bag, So Owners Got Creative (via Sad & Useless)
• A TikTok Subway Artist Finds His Way to the Lower East Side (via NYT)
• Yunghi Kim: “Is agreeing NOT to show a person’s face against the ethics of journalism?”
• Celeb v. Paparazzi Battle Over Emily Ratajkowski’s “Mood Forever” Instagram Post Must Go to a Jury (via The Fashion Law)
• World Press Photo Contest shifts to a regional model for the annual competition
• Joshua Kissi tweets LinkedIn produces better results than Instagram