In Bruce Schneier‘s CRYPTO-GRAM, he includes a reprint of a fantastic article entitled The War on Photography.
Excerpt:
Since 9/11, there has been an increasing war on photography. Photographers have been harassed, questioned, detained, arrested or worse, and declared to be unwelcome. We’ve been repeatedly told to watch out for photographers, especially suspicious ones. Clearly any terrorist is going to first photograph his target, so vigilance is required.
Except that it’s nonsense. The 9/11 terrorists didn’t photograph anything. Nor did the London transport bombers, the Madrid subway bombers, or the liquid bombers arrested in 2006. Timothy McVeigh didn’t photograph the Oklahoma City Federal Building. The Unabomber didn’t photograph anything; neither did shoe-bomber…
As a photographer, I have been stopped by security guards, questioned why I was photographing a building, and probed who I was working for. Bruce explains while not only is this nonsense, but a waste of resources and money.
The article’s short. Take a moment to read it. It brings common sense back to the equation.
I’m a photographer, and if I take a picture of something, it’s because I like it and want to preserve it for others to enjoy too.