Villan Photographers

If ever one needed to know the absurdity of a bureaucracy, it may be coming to a street near you. The city of New York wants to implement a process that would require any group of two or more people who want to use a camera in a single public location for more than a half hour to get a city permit and insurance. The same requirements would apply to any group of five or more people who plan to use a tripod in a public location for more than 10 minutes, including the time it takes to set up the equipment. You can go Here for all the other legal ins and outs but if you ever have tried to shoot on the streets since 9/11 you will understand how this could be misunderstood by any yahoo who doesn't want you taking any kind of photographs at all. Shooting large format on the street as I do has always been a difficult proposition. People think its a weapon, (post 9/11), people think its a movie " who's in it", people want to show you their digital camera, and then try to take the same shot your taking, but most of all people think whatever your doing is 'almost' illegal and gives them the right to come and accost you. With this new ruling I can only imagine how this will be interpretted by the authorities never mind the man in the street. Now there have been plenty of occasions when I have applied and gotten permits but sometimes you just want to get out when the mood takes you or the light just happens to doing what you have always wanted it to. And don't you think the cops have enough to do?, how about policing Canal street at 3 o clock on a Friday afternoon so that the most insane gridlock doesn't occur. This is where I was when I first read about this great new City strategy. Now this happens every day especially Friday for the last oh... 30 years or so but nary a copper in sight again! But that evil family taking snaps of the Empire State are securely in custody. We can all sleep safe in our beds.