DSLRUsers.com

Does anyone here know what legal restrictions there may be on photographing buildings, in particular whose which may have government tenants.

I was recently told not to photograph a building (from the sidewalk) because of security issues. When I asked how far away I had to be from the actual building, the security officer just chuckled (as if to say "far enough away").

I realise that given the current environment where the threat of terrorism is an ongoing and constant concern, an increase in security awareness is necessary. But are there any laws that prohibit the taking of photos?

I sure wouldn't want to risk having my D70 confiscated!

http://forum.d70users.com/viewtopic.php ... =copyright
This thread might help






ps from what I have read here, there should be no problem from the pavement. That is just from what I read here.

Mark T wrote:I was recently told not to photograph a building (from the sidewalk) because of security issues.

As I understand it, as long as you're not on private property, it's fair game.

Edit: BTW I found this post (from a commercial photographer) very interesting with respect to the Sydney Harbour 'restrictions'...

Don't worry about it ..... we do commerical shoots on and around Sydney Harbour all the time and have never paid a fee. Whenever we are asked we ask to see relevent legislation empowering the statutory authority who is asking us for $ allowing them to charge a fee for use of public property. In some cases they do so in which case we ask for a total legal waiver from them confirming that they have sole jurisdiction (which they are required to provide but refuse to do so). I've never had one call back after that .....

Glen: thanks for the link which I found a good read. I can't really figure out the reasoning behind the requirement for a permit to commercially photograph national parks.

However, I was probably more interested in my rights being denied under the auspices of security rather than copyright.

You can photograph any building you can see from a public place. There are no security restrictions. You are not permitted to take photographs on or over over some military establishments depending on the circumstances.
Do not allow puffed up bored security officers to pull the wool over your eyes. This is not Iran or China. You cannot photograph people who are on the grounds of any Court of Law, but the moment they step off they are fair game. You can not photograph children who are wards of the state.

The only restriction is on photographing defense facilities from a public space but Google earth has pretty well stuffed that theory by publishing detailed photos of most of them anyway

Ask anyone who asks you to stop photographing to provide you with the law statute that says it is prohibited.

I have a new project in hand. I am going to photograph as many CCTV cameras that I can find on buildings and then wait for a visit from the Feds - boy that will be fun because I’m a real bolshie bastard when I want to be

sirhc55 wrote:I have a new project in hand. I am going to photograph as many CCTV cameras that I can find on buildings and then wait for a visit from the Feds - boy that will be fun because I’m a real bolshie bastard when I want to be

The state government should be able to assist too by detailing their whereabouts and locations. They should be legally required to submit to requests for that information from members of the public.