Matt Sillence

RichardV, 4 months ago

Thanks for bringing this to our attention Matt. Now to find the petition.

Tara Sheffer-A..., 4 months ago

It is sad that people think they have to be worried about photographers. I hope this all works out for the benefit of amateur photographers, otherwise, the result will be devistating over there.

Matt Sillence in reply to RichardV’s comment, 4 months ago

No Probs Richard.

Matt Sillence in reply to Tara Sheffer-Archie’s comment, 4 months ago

oh it will be Tara… especially me ;-)

Jennifer Vickers, 4 months ago

This is crazy….so many shots could be lost to the world because of narrowmindedness. Oh that is the world we live in for the most part. What an article thanks for posting it.

RichardV, 4 months ago

Matt. No luck in finding the petition. Any ideas as to what to put in the search, or do a link ??

Thanks mate.

dawndavies, 4 months ago

never have i heard such crap in my life, how dare they stop people doing this, if they want the bloody terrosits why dont they just check out whos working for them, an dmaking sure their security checks are in place, i will sign up for this, its a world gone crazy, they just want scapegoats as the poweres that be just cant do thier jobs

Matt Sillence in reply to RichardV’s comment, 4 months ago

Hi Rich, I’ll check what the link is tomorrow when I’m back at work.. on my work email.

Matt Sillence in reply to Jennifer Vickers’s comment, 4 months ago

my pleasure… just can’t believe what the world is coming to..

Matt Sillence in reply to dawndavies’s comment, 4 months ago

It is so so wrong…I just can’t believe it.. what the police need is to learn the laws….

RichardV, 4 months ago

Thanks mate. I will then send a link via my group email to all my members, and put it in a journal myself. We want as much coverage as poss on this.

dawndavies, 4 months ago

this is unbelievable, the police would be better trying to find all the lost people coming to this country and then lost, makes me mad

nemirna, 4 months ago

It seems to me that the appearance of security is more important than the real thing! I don’t see what danger a photographer in a public place poses, and resources should be focussed on the real dangers of terrorism, not amateur photographers! If anything, photographers are a great help to police after an incident because they unwittingly may have a documentary record of who was in a given location. This is an awful abuse of power. This sort of restriction of freedom is exactly what terrorists want to achieve – people too frightened to go about their daily lives – and if we let it happen, then the terrorists will have won to a certain degree.

Matt Sillence in reply to RichardV’s comment, 4 months ago

certainly do.. cheers

Matt Sillence in reply to nemirna’s comment, 4 months ago

well said…bravo

Matt Sillence in reply to RichardV’s comment, 4 months ago

found the link
link!

naturelover, 4 months ago

Have done – cheers!

richie fox, 4 months ago

signed!

Matt Sillence in reply to naturelover’s comment, 4 months ago

Thank u Nature… the more the merrier to sign the petition thank u

Matt Sillence in reply to richie fox’s comment, 4 months ago

Thank u Richie…all in a good cause

NICKY7, 4 months ago

HELLO RICHARD . I have sent my email on the site the Mp is local to me and he is avery ken photographer well know for snapping everything that moves .
I listened to that DJ Jermy ? on radio two recently and he discussed this subject with phone ins with a top barrister in the studio and he stated clearly that it is NOT against the law to take any photographs in any public place .AND IT WAS AMAZING to still have eg football team mangers saying that they would not allow photos been taken at matches because of child protection . Of which this barrister scorned the foolishness of these comments .And one idiot and i say idiot said that he had a mate who took the team and season party photos so it wasnt needed for any parent to take photos at matches , When the barrister asked him if he so called mate could be a registered sex offender , He paused and replied i never thought of that .
And waht annoys me is that it is always males who appear to be stopped not women . My work is in many fields and females are qiute capable of being sex offenders including grandmothers or terrorists .. We are in danger of pagen historical madness of finger pointing idiots shouting witch and everyone believing and burning someone at the stake . OH im vexed

naturelover, 4 months ago

Have e mailed my MP to get some clarification on this – as ex police and now a pensioner- am fed up with all this political correctness-the more open we are with our cameras the simpler it is for them to make an arrest and make it appear that they are doing a good job, when the opposite is true.

cheerishables, 4 months ago

I wish I could sign your petition. I am an American and can totally empathize. I am finding that we also have more and more restrictions here in the US as well for the same reasons. We are actually not allowed to take pictures at our local pool (for child protection reasons…). And about a year ago, I was taking pictures for a website I was planning, and I needed a shot of a movie theater screen. I waited until the movie had ended, and the theater was pretty much empty. I took a picture of the blank movie screen, and a security guard immediately stopped and confronted me as I was leaving the movie theater and made me pull up the pictures and told me to delete them,. When I asked why, he said, “You are not allowed to take pcitures of copywritten material.” And I said, “As you can see, there is nothing copywritten or trademarked in my shots … they are photos of a blank screen.” He told me to never do it again. It’s sad to be made to be treated like a criminal for taking innocent photos.

Cleburnus, 4 months ago

What bothers me the most about this is how stupid it is and what a waste. This approach will in no way whatsoever stop pedophiles or terrorists. This kind of thing does nothing to enhance security ..it’s the government playing smoke and mirrors with us to make us think they are on top of these problems.

Matt Sillence in reply to cheerishables’s comment, 4 months ago

oh I know…. thanks for commenting and looking at this petition though.

Matt Sillence in reply to Cleburnus’s comment, 4 months ago

its just sad… I think its going communist this country…not allowed to do things in so many words… lost control totally

AndyReeve, 4 months ago

More PC madness. Have signed.

Matt Sillence in reply to AndyReeve’s comment, 4 months ago

Thank u Andy

nikki75, 4 months ago

have signed and forwarded it on to friends and family

Matt Sillence in reply to nikki75’s comment, 4 months ago

thank u kindly.. think it needs to be done

nikki75, 4 months ago

it so needs to be done. i have always thought that photography plays an important role in learning things from the past about who we are, where we live etc. etc. etc.. this can’t be learnt from ‘setting up’ photos alone, it needs to be done ‘unawares’ if you know what i mean. some of the most beautiful photographs are those that are taken off the cuff… yes we have to be careful to ensure that those who are vulnerable are protected, stopping us taking photographs isn’t the way to go about it.

Matt Sillence in reply to nikki75’s comment, 4 months ago

I have just updated this with a link to the law in UK for photographers

Greig Cowie, 4 months ago

good article and well done for bringing it too everyones attention. Myself and my friend stuart were approached by police when photographing around the south Gare in Middlesbrough last year. They said that because it was a port area there were issues with terrorism. How pictures like these could be used strategically by terrorists i will never know but there you are

nakomis, 4 months ago

unfortunately it happens .. it seems that the government think everyone should know their rights…
The problem is the police and government have no idea what the law is concerning photographers..
you can indeed take photos in a public place on public land!
you may also take photos of people in public but to sell those image to an agency they will require a model release to cover themselves from being sued.. as the world has gone mad!
several petitions went through to downing street some time ago and the reply they gave was … it is not illegal to take photos in public!
what seems to be happening is that the police are using both sarahs law and the terrorist act to their own means.. have you noticed men are getting arrested but not women? yet there are as many women paedos as men..
something does need to be done and the best way to make a stand is to know your rights and kick some butt..
the government are not interested in human rights any longer… we dont count

Matt Sillence in reply to Greig Cowie’s comment, 4 months ago

thanks for that greig… hope the links have helped too.. especially download the short legal guide to photographers

Colin Hollywood, 4 months ago

This is the link to a post I have added on this subject with a link to a video (hope you dont mind Matt) showing that a crazy world becomes ever crazier in the UK!!
Photography in public places

Matt Sillence in reply to Colin Hollywood’s comment, 4 months ago

No not at all Colin, the more exposure the better for us photographers rights…