Comments on: Long Beach Harbor Patrol Says Photography “Not Allowed” From Public Sidewalk

By: Mark Dell'Aquila

Mark Dell'Aquila — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:48:20 +0000

Unfortunately the world that we live in these days has led to such harassment from authorities. I too have had shoots for clients in the LA Harbor Gateway and the last one took six months to clear me for a background check and I finally got permission. My client had a product for me to shoot near the Vincent Thomas Bridge and even when I went to scout this location with a point and shoot camera, I was stopped and told not to. I did go through the proper channels to obtain permission through the harbor patrol office in San Pedro and I made an appointment to see whoever was in charge, they took all of my ID and off I went. It was well worth it. Another incident was taking photos of the tallest building in LA. I was just strolling along and took some snap shots from the sidewalk when a guard told me that I was on private property and that I didn’t have permission. I then acquiesced and walked across the street when the guard told me he was calling LAPD, I said fine and after a half hour, I got my shots and the police never arrived.

I have worked in many countries and of course it is the same there in certain places, just the language is different.

By: ytm-msn.com

ytm-msn.com — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:31:05 +0000

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By: spokane used cars

spokane used cars — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:14:04 +0000

Good read, thanks. Always looking out for weird and wonderful stuff to read

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:41:27 +0000

I live near the port and from what I gather, as there are a few places with policies such as you encountered with the port PD and BP security, post 9-11 ports and oil refineries etc are considered “high-risk” targets so under homeland security they do not allow for random photographers, however, I do know that a permit can be applied for. From the few I know of, permits are granted on a case byt case basis and what kind of mood the cubical worker is in when they review your permit.

From my experience it is always easier to ask for permission when I photograph something that I do not own. i.e. the old tree in an abandoned lot the owner wanted royalties after learning of the success of the photo, should of gotten a waiver beforehand. It wasn’t so much where the picture was taken it was more what the photo was of. Kind of a different situation, bottom line try to get permission if you can… or learn to run and shoot

Keep up the great photos!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:24:19 +0000

Don’t know if you realize or not, but they are in the right in telling you to leave. The port is considered private property. Sidewalks or not, it is still private property. Next time get a permit and it will all be legal. And before you tell me it is considered public property since it is not gated or anything, does that mean I can walk on your front yard, to your side gates and take pictures of your backyard? If tehre are not gates around your property, then that means the public has ascess to it right, so anyone can walk on your drive way and just hangout there right?

“If the Port is a department of the City of Long Beach, does it receive funding from the City?
The Port is self-supporting financially. It does not receive tax revenues or money from the City’s general fund. Long Beach is a “landlord port,” which means that the Board of Harbor Commissioners leases Port facilities to private companies (shipping lines and cargo-handling firms) who then contract with union Longshore workers to operate the shipping terminals. These shipping terminal leases are the principal source of revenue for the Long Beach Harbor Department. The Port revenues pay the wages of Harbor Department employees, and they are reinvested in the maintenance and development of Port facilities. California tidelands laws require ports to earn and spend their revenues only on activities related to commerce, navigation, marine recreation and fisheries.”

It is NOT tax payer funded so it doe snot have to “publc property”

By: President’s Day Yay « toxic culture

President’s Day Yay « toxic culture — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:52:09 +0000

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By: Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:33:42 +0000

I am a 30 year photographer and all i can say is we all have a constitutional right to free expression in these united states.If any police officer decides to insert themselves between you and article one in the Bill of Rights,they are in clear violation of the highest law of the land.It is my understanding you have 6 months from the date of the incident to file a claim against the offending department for violating your rights.If the claim is rejected,you are free to file suit.Otherwise you should contact the Long Beach district attorney.If you are still not satisfied,by all means write to attorney general Jerry Brown and request a law enforcement complaint form.If they demand your film,legally,you cant refuse to hand it over but if they dont have a court order,you can nail them for theft and coercion.By the way,if they banned photography around the world trade center a few years back,would the two towers still be standing?It burns me up knowing it took 19 hijackers to kill 3000 americans and what does our heoric law enforcement do?They make photographers pay for it!I cant come up with a clearer example of barking up the wrong tree.

By: Common Sense

Common Sense — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:30:18 +0000

You are obviously self centered and clueless. If you were tasked with protecting America in any way you would not be second guessing their actions or reasons for stopping you from taking the pictures. The bad guys have enough tools already think before you snap. Take up some real art and photograph something people really need to see like crimials and dopers selling drugs and follow some child molesters around to see what they are up too. Try being a productive citizen instead of wasting law enforcement officers time on something you should know better than doing in the first place…..you genius.

By: Bp Quote

Bp Quote — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:45:00 +0000

If you re-read the above comments, at the beginning of Long Beach Harbor Patrol Says Photography “Not Allowed” From Public Sidewalk | Thomas Hawk Digital Connection, don’t you notice that you are arguing the same point but differently (I’m referring to bp quoteand therefore contradicting the main point and making this a lot less pertinent? I will come back next Saturday to see how this has evolved.

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 05:32:26 +0000

As a side note to Anonymous on January 3, 2009 at 4:48 pm, it’s not reasonable cause, it’s probable cause. I again refer you to the US Supreme Court Decision of Terry Vs Ohio which states that police and law enforcement can detain a subject for a reasonable length of time based on suspicious activity. Furthermore, a warrant is not needed to ask for ID and you would have to explain yourself, it’s actually part of Terry Vs Ohio. So before you type something, make sure it’s accurate and not something you heard from TV or your buddy. Ask someone who actually knows what they are talking about, becuase nothing annoys me more than people who think they know the law but really end up sounding like idiots.