RE: [Leica] Street photography

["Bob Walkden" <bobwalkden@hotmail.com>]

Hi,

journalists, particularly investigative journalists, but also the gutter 
press, misrepresent themselves a lot, in any situation it which it serves 
their purposes. I can probably find any number of examples where a 
journalist or photographer has travelled into a country on a tourist visa, 
for instance, and operated essentially as a tourist, in a spot where things 
are difficult for people travelling as journalists. I personally know 
several journalists who've done this.

As you say, sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. So I see no ethical 
or moral difficulty if civilians choose to represent themselves as 
journalists in situation where it serves their purpose. I've done it myself 
on several occasions where it gets me out of difficulties. People frequently 
just don't understand what motivates somebody to take certain types of photo 
in certain situations, and after the 3rd or so time on the same day of 
trying to explain to people what you're doing it becomes wearing and 
time-wasting. Easiest to take the line of least resistance.

Cheers,

Bob


>From: "B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>
>Reply-To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
>To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
>Subject: RE: [Leica] Street photography
>Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 16:21:37 -0400
>
>  This thread raises some fairly interesting ethical questions - i.e., any
>journalist working for a publication of any repute is told to never
>misrepresent him or herself - if someone asks if you are a reporter, you
>acknowledge that you are - and if they ask the name of your publication, 
>you
>provide it. Why shouldn't the same rule apply the other way - if some one
>asks who you're taking photos for, you say you're taking them for yourself.
>An SP shouldn't pose as a journalist any more than a journalist should pose
>as an SP, or a demonstrator, or a tourist, etc.
>
>B. D.
> >
>

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