Harrassment?

[veritasimagery]

So here's a lovely link to an article in the local news paper.

Man questioned for taking photos of girls at Kitsap County Fair Kitsap Sun

Notice that the article never actually claims that the photographer was a sex offender, just that people thought he was being inappropriate. They also don't state the age of the girls being photographed. The article even says that they (the police) took evidence from him...wonder what that was, his camera, his memory card, or what.

I understand the concern, but this is just paranoia. And with the way some of these girls are dressing, guys are gonna take pictures of them.

So everyone, beware in Kitsap County, WA. If you're a guy taking pictures in public, you could get "talked to."

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by veritasimagery

And with the way some of these girls are dressing, guys are gonna take pictures of them.
"

This is a problem. If this is the motivation for the photographer then I can see the issue.

[veritasimagery]

"This is a problem. If this is the motivation for the photographer then I can see the issue."

We have no clue what the motivation was. But this is still only an "issue" depending on the age of the girls. Which also isn't made clear. The article does not even give the age of the photographer.

But my reference is also to what you would see in many "event" style photography (primarily car and motorcycle events) where a lot of shots are taken of the "girls" walking around in "reveling" clothing. What's the "motivation behind those shots? It's only natural for guys who like girls (females, not children) to take pictures of them. And if there are a bunch of girls dressed for "summer" at a fair, guys are gonna take their pictures. Unless the person is a convicted sex offender, or there is something else illegal going on (state of undress for example) then it isn't illegal to take the pictures, no matter the age of the girls, or the photographer.

Here's my biggest issue with this, we live in a society that is so paranoid about "sex offenders" that anyone can "look" like one. I was out taking portrait pictures of my two 16yo daughters and their friend a week ago or so, in one of our housing developments, and all it would have taken is for someone to "think" it was inappropriate and call the cops. Was I doing anything wrong? No, but that doesn't matter if someone "thinks" you are, and it involves kids.

[Jim Bryant]

Originally Posted by veritasimagery

"This is a problem. If this is the motivation for the photographer then I can see the issue."

We have no clue what the motivation was. But this is still only an "issue" depending on the age of the girls. Which also isn't made clear. The article does not even give the age of the photographer.

But my reference is also to what you would see in many "event" style photography (primarily car and motorcycle events) where a lot of shots are taken of the "girls" walking around in "reveling" clothing. What's the "motivation behind those shots? It's only natural for guys who like girls (females, not children) to take pictures of them. And if there are a bunch of girls dressed for "summer" at a fair, guys are gonna take their pictures. Unless the person is a convicted sex offender, or there is something else illegal going on (state of undress for example) then it isn't illegal to take the pictures, no matter the age of the girls, or the photographer.

Here's my biggest issue with this, we live in a society that is so paranoid about "sex offenders" that anyone can "look" like one. I was out taking portrait pictures of my two 16yo daughters and their friend a week ago or so, in one of our housing developments, and all it would have taken if for someone to "think" it was inappropriate and call the cops. Was I doing anything wrong? No, but that doesn't matter if someone "thinks" you are, and it involves kids.

How so true!!!!!!!!

[Mike367]

I don't even care if he is a sex offender. If it's legal for the girls to appear in public, it's not a crime to photograph them.

How can you possibly determine, or legislate, what a person thinks or feels about the public activities of others?

[veritasimagery]

Originally Posted by Mike367

I don't even care if he is a sex offender. If it's legal for the girls to appear in public, it's not a crime to photograph them.

How can you possibly determine, or legislate, what a person thinks or feels about the public activities of others?

Exactly.

And, would this have happened if it was a woman taking pictures of boys at the fair? Probably not. No matter the ages.

[Zeke Menuar]

Originally Posted by veritasimagery

Exactly.

And, would this have happened if it was a woman taking pictures of boys at the fair? Probably not. No matter the ages.

I wonder how much "pressure" was placed on the photographer by the police? I'm guessing they asked the usual loaded questions such as, "If you don't have anything to hide then let us look at your pictures" etc etc.
The average law abiding sheeple will almost always cave in to police pressure and intimidation even though he/she is not required to.
If the article is to be believed, the guy was not breaking the law. He should have lawyered up and made the police prove there was a law broken.

I'm amazed how many people are totally unaware of their 4th Amendment rights.

[mosgood]

If he was just taking random pictures...there's nothing illegal about that in a public space. I probably wouldn't give it a second thought unless the photographer was acting "creepy." Meaning, he is observed asking the girls to take their clothes off, trying to shoot underneath their dresses/skirts (with or without the girls' knowledge), or other behaviors that wouldn't be considered appropriate. If *I* saw something like that & he were acting suspicious & especially if the girls' ages were questionable, I think the authorities should get involved.

And yeah I'm aware that girls/young women often pose provocatively for different photo shoots. But those typically happen on closed/private shoots, not public places where there are lots of passersby (think Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues, auto or motorcycle magazines, etc).

[zona5101]

lets try this again... if the motivation you have is based on what the girl/woman is wearing, and assuming by the way you phrased it, something provocative, then you're nothing more than a GWC. That's creepy, may not be illegal but it's creepy. This is assuming that you are using the public place justification and don't have specific consent of the person being photographed.

[veritasimagery]

Originally Posted by zona5101

lets try this again... if the motivation you have is based on what the girl/woman is wearing, and assuming by the way you phrased it, something provocative, then you're nothing more than a GWC. That's creepy, may not be illegal but it's creepy. This is assuming that you are using the public place justification and don't have specific consent of the person being photographed.

I understand that, but motivation is still not a crime if nothing illegal is done. And again the "creepiness" is only based upon the age of those involved. The article does not mention those details. The assumption seems to always be that it is some middle-aged guy and young girls, but that's only an assumption. What if it was a guy in his 20's and the girls were in their late teens? Would that make a difference?

The problem here is that someone saw this person taking pictures, assumed that his motivation was "creepy" and called the cops. And then what makes it worse was that, even though there was no arrest, it made it into the newspaper, only to spread the paranoia. In reality, no arrest, no crime, no news.