Photography is a crime in Texas

Yes it is true, photography is a crime here in Texas. Below is a link to a story that many photographers in Texas have been following. The issue that has many photographers puzzled is the notion of how can a stranger tell a photographer's intent when he is taking pictures? It isn't like there are any phermones giving off when taking pictures.

http://abclocal.go.com …ion=news/local&​id=7221341

In case the story is moved, here is the text:

"WEBSTER, TX (KTRK) -- A League City man is under arrest after he reportedly took pictures of girls playing soccer at a park in Webster.
According to Webster police, Paul Guy Clark Jr., 65, posted a $2,000 bond Thursday on a felony charge of improper photography. On Wednesday Clark reportedly photographed girls, ages 12 to 17, at a Webster park in the 17100 block of North Texas Avenue.

Parents of the girls alerted Webster police that a man had been taking pictures. One witness told police he'd seen this man taking photos of girls playing at parks on many occasions.

Webster police arrested Clark at 7:15pm Wednesday. Clark is accused of photographing the children without consent with the intent to arouse and gratify a sexual desire. [How can one tell intent to arouse and gratify??]

Police seized computer equipment from Clark's car, including a digital camera, memory cards, an iPod, USB flash drives, a computer [Uhh.. typical photography gear] and a collection of pornographic materials. [The porn was later deemed legal porn not child porn] The evidence was submitted to the district attorney's office.

(Copyright ©2010 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) "

I gotta say. Who does that and why, really? I love photography, but there's no way I'd camp outside a kid's soccer game and take random pictures for no reason at all. There's a load of things to take pictures of. Of all things out there, why that? It's just asking for trouble no matter who or what your intent is.

"who the hell is that? I'll go ask the organizer...okay the organizer doesn't know...nobody knows...is he news? no..why is he taking pictures of my kids? Should I confront him? hmm what if he's nuts...I think I'll call the cops"

i dunno about anybody else but I go overboard to protect the people I care about, it's not a question of rights or freedoms or whatever either.

Don't be a creepy old dude and I don't think this would be a problem.

It might not be against the law, and who knows his intent, but come on...don't be stupid about it.

If he's a parent or grandparent of one of the players (which it doesn't seem he is) that's one thing, and is probably fine. Hell I do it all the time for my sister, but people on her team know me and I'm not trying to sleuth around the field taking pictures.

Karl Johnston wrote in post #10223056
I gotta say. Who does that and why, really? I love photography, but there's no way I'd camp outside a kid's soccer game and take random pictures for no reason at all. There's a load of things to take pictures of. Of all things out there, why that? It's just asking for trouble no matter who or what your intent is.

yep, i agree

It's a slippery slope, but honestly, the guy sounds like a pervert and deserves to be caught. If you're taking shots of girls you don't know, and exclusively underage girls only, and then going back to your car to whack off,well... I don't see any problem with them arresting him.

I've been hassled my fair share of times, but I guarantee you, if I was going to go shoot a girls soccer game, I'd be sure that I was friendly, making conversation with the parents, etc.. as much as possible. This is all that would be needed. Instead, this guy was acting creepy, which is why he was singled out.

Karl Johnston wrote in post #10223056
I gotta say. Who does that and why, really? I love photography, but there's no way I'd camp outside a kid's soccer game and take random pictures for no reason at all. There's a load of things to take pictures of. Of all things out there, why that? It's just asking for trouble no matter who or what your intent is.

I agree as well. Why would you have a collection of pornographic materials in your car anyways.

This is why good paperwork saves your ass in situations like this...I know photographers that just show up, hired by parents, to shoot soccer games and stuff like that. That's cool, but if it's me I want to make sure I have the proper releases - including property if required. Not only does it cover your ass it gives you something more firm than

"so and so hired me to take pictures of their kids..."
'Okay where are they?'
"I can't remember ...they were right over there in the bleachers..maybe they went home..."
'Yeah right, let's go.'

IF you were in that kind of situation you'd have solid paperwork to go back on.

Like recently I was hired to shoot golf...now if I didn't have a piece of paper that said I was allowed on the course, had rights and the permission of the owners to go there and shoot on their property and I was roaming around taking random pictures I may get asked to leave, or perhaps trespassing, or maybe forced to pay the fees to use the course, or perhaps sued if I damaged something unknowingly or bothered one of their clients with my shooting, etc.

It may be a bit over zealous and bureaucratic but little things like that aren't hard to get and they are SO valuable.

If he had shown up and explained ahead of time, had something that said he was allowed to do that...not just shown up and done it repeatedly...it probably wouldn't have been half as big an issue. Plus you LOOK way more professional and you often can make some half decent money doing that for sports teams (sports photographers ?).

The fool...swimsuits at the local pool are more revealing!

When I got my first L telephoto I drove over to a nearby softball complex and took some test shots of a couple of games in progress. I didnt ask for clearance or anything I just showed up and shot for a while. Perhaps the pro-looking gear made a difference but only a few people even asked about what I was shooting and mostly because they wanted photos of their kids. I'm guessing the way you carry yourself, the gear you are using, and the circumstance makes a great deal of difference.

Do you think the drool gave this guy away. That, or tripping over his tongue.

I don't think what he did was illegal, reprehensible, but not illegal... The officers should have just turned their backs for a minute or two and let the fathers have at him.

This does sound like he was detained on circumstantial evidence. There must be more to this story than is in the article, for bail to be set. Otherwise this guy is set up well for a wrongful arrest lawsuit.

First off, the title of the thread is BS in general...certain photography is a crime in Texas. The law is pretty specific. If he just had pictures of girls playing soccer in general, that's one thing and there's probably no case. However, if the images were nothing more than shots of the girls' butts, for example, the "intent to arouse and gratify a sexual desire" part of the law would/could come into play. It also happened not far from here in Southlake, TX...parents reported that a guy was taking pictures of their kids in a park, and it turned out that the creep was taking nothing but butt shots. He too was cuffed... And its not only Texas that has this law on the books...many other states have the same or similar statute.

The cops had a right to check ID to insure that he wasn't breaking the law, it is a no-no to take pictures of kids if you have a conviction for any kind of sexual impropriety.

I sure don't want you guys on a jury for my own trial for some indictment...you have the 'Guilty' verdict before hearing any evidence against this guy! Yeah, there was bail set and paid...but that can happen to someone innocent, too. What happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'?! I guess a lynching is more thrilling.