Accused of being a paedophile!!!

12mnkys wrote in post #6852360
... Approaching me the she did you would have set me into a frenzy and I probably would have called the police my self and had her for harrassment.

We as photographers have to draw the line somewhere and in this case the way it went down she clearly stepped over it. I love street photography and candids are one aspect of that. I love to shoot at the beach and sometimes there are kids playing in the sand and surf.

If we let these frantic moms get away with this type of harassment we stand to loose a lot of photo ops. I've never run into this type of situation but if I do I hope I have the presence of mind to calmly dial 911 and report that I am being attacked by a out of control mom. Someone other than me needs to educate her that taking pictures in a public park is still legal and not every male is trying to assault her kids. I would hope I have the stones to pressed charges.

when taking pics out in public, i usually wait for people to pass or try to frame people out of the shot. you can never know what's going to happen like in Mystery Machine's case. if a lady came at me the same way, then i'd most likely give her the same attitude. "treat others as you would like to be treated." come on be an adult about it. but then again anything can happen.

mystery machine............onc​e more, its not illegal in the uk to take such a shot.......however as its an image of a minor, permission is needed for use other than personal.

So what about a photo taken in the UK and brought to the US and then put on a website? Law are so interesting. Thing is, none of them apply until the photos are discovered.

Yes, the law in most countries allows publishing photos taken in public place, in editorial use, without subject's permission. But what Pete did was in my opinion a good moral choice. If subject specifically says do not publish or show this photo, then a photographer should not hide behind law and publish it "because I can", even if the subject was way out of line with her methods of saying "shooting my kids is not ok". We as photographers deal with people daily, this is a social art form. If you act like Paparazzi, then you may have a standard response Paparazzi's have. In most cases you can bring yourself to a situation, present yourself, take contact to people and in the end get to shoot photos of them in such a way that they will not think you're malicious in any way. People and social skill is an art form we need to practice as much as f-stops and framing.

advaitin wrote in post #6853106
...but when you consider how many true perverts are out there, you have to have some understanding. ...

But that's the thing, there are not that many out there, not if you compare it to the general population. The media has mom's everywhere convinced that every male is a pervert just looking for the opportunity.

and boy was he discovered

gjl711 wrote in post #6853148
But that's the thing, there are not that many out there, not if you compare it to the general population. The media has mom's everywhere convinced that every male is a pervert just looking for the opportunity.

Sad, but true. That's like New Zealand Air... every man is considered a pedophile and is not allowed to sit beside an unaccompanied child. Guilty until proven innocent? Not even! Guilty with no chance of proving innocence!!

It's pretty lame how paranoid people are getting. It's a very small % of people that are weirdos, but the media and activist groups make it FEEL like half the population are psychos.

Pekka wrote in post #6853143
Yes, the law in most countries allows publishing photos taken in public place, in editorial use, without subject's permission. But what Pete did was in my opinion a good moral choice. If subject specifically says do not publish or show this photo, then a photographer should not hide behind law and publish it "because I can", even if the subject was way out of line with her methods of saying "shooting my kids is not ok". We as photographers deal with people daily, this is a social art form. If you act like Paparazzi, then you may have a standard response Paparazzi's have. In most cases you can bring yourself to a situation, present yourself, take contact to people and in the end get to shoot photos of them in such a way that they will not think you're malicious in any way. People and social skill is an art form we need to practice as much as f-stops and framing.

I fully understand, but I didn't even have chance to take breath before being accused, threatened and nearly attacked...and I certainly wasn't acting like paparazzi....

As said from the beginning, I certainly had no bad intentions (I was actually out shooting wildlife ffs!) and didn't really have chance to react much under the torrent of abuse and flailing arms! The one and only reason actually I kept the damn photo was so that I could use it to ask opinion on wether it was 'paedophilic' material and therefore grounds for the reaction of the parent?

As I said before, it really makes me wonder if I ever want to shoot anything outside of my own home again for fear of a 'minor' being present in the background!

picturecrazy wrote in post #6853196
Sad, but true. That's like New Zealand Air... every man is considered a pedophile and is not allowed to sit beside an unaccompanied child. Guilty until proven innocent? Not even! Guilty with no chance of proving innocence!!

It's pretty lame how paranoid people are getting. It's a very small % of people that are weirdos, but the media and activist groups make it FEEL like half the population are psychos.

People are crazy. They act like socially unacceptable behavior started when digital photography started.

I guess there's no chance that perverts ever used to exchange prints or Polaroids, huh?

picturecrazy wrote in post #6853196
Sad, but true. That's like New Zealand Air... every man is considered a pedophile and is not allowed to sit beside an unaccompanied child. Guilty until proven innocent? Not even! Guilty with no chance of proving innocence!!
.

OTOH there are multiple stories of female teachers who slept with their students, even giving birth to their offspring. So what makes men such pariah on the NZ airplanes?! Oh, they admire such behavior in female teachers, I guess!

Wilt wrote in post #6853247
OTOH there are multiple stories of female teachers who slept with their students, so what makes men such pariah on the NZ airplanes?! Oh, they admire such behavior in female teachers, I guess!

A solution in search of a problem...

mystery machine..........shoot it, just dont publish it without permission..........ge​t it?

I wouldn't have photographed someone else's kids in the first place. When I am photographing my kids in a public location I'm sure to make it known who my kids are and that I am photographing them.

And if I was confronted my a mom, if I did take the pictures I would delete them quietly and show her that I didn't even point my camera at them.

And if a responding officer doesn't know the law or decides you are causing a disturbance you can get yourself into some trouble. I know these charges won't stick and you could sue, but who wants to, volunteer to be a martyr and fight the man? You still have to get arrested, booked, and SEARCHED!

This woman assaulted you, and assaulted you with bodily fluids by spitting on you. At least in the US she broke the law not you. But is it worth it if the cop may side with the poor old woman and her 2 kids over the guy carrying a few thousand dollars worth of gear in the park.

Pekka wrote in post #6853143
Yes, the law in most countries allows publishing photos taken in public place, in editorial use, without subject's permission. But what Pete did was in my opinion a good moral choice. If subject specifically says do not publish or show this photo, then a photographer should not hide behind law and publish it "because I can", even if the subject was way out of line with her methods of saying "shooting my kids is not ok". We as photographers deal with people daily, this is a social art form. If you act like Paparazzi, then you may have a standard response Paparazzi's have. In most cases you can bring yourself to a situation, present yourself, take contact to people and in the end get to shoot photos of them in such a way that they will not think you're malicious in any way. People and social skill is an art form we need to practice as much as f-stops and framing.

Mostly I agree with what you say Pekka, and it's quite a balanced viewpoint, but there certainly is a danger that we just give in too easily to this kind of thing.

Taken to it's logical conclusion candid photography would be a thing of the past. And that would not be a good thing.