JPG Magazine – Issue 5: Photography is Not a Crime

JPG Magazine – Issue 5: Photography is Not a Crime JPG Magazine is out with issue number 5 entitled, “Photography is Not a Crime.”

This is a subject near and dear to my heart having had more than my fair share of run ins over the years with cops, security guards, and many other authority figures out there while documenting the world.

One of my photos appears in the magazine and I wrote up a brief essay on my experience when harrased for trying to shoot One Bush St. in San Francisco.

From JPGs website: “There’s another example every day. An overactive security guard harassing a photographer on a public sidewalk. Cops intimidating people with cameras. Photography bans in subways. In a post 9/11 age of paranoia and suspicion, public photography is increasingly seen as threatening, or mistaken as criminal. And we here at JPG are sick of it.”

Too many times I see photographers intimidated by authority figures when it comes to their work. Included in the book is the excellent primer put together by Bert Krages, an attorney, on photographers rights. Typically speaking these days when harrassed by security guards I remind them of my rights to shoot from public spaces and when they threaten to call the police encourage them to do so. I never stop shooting and not once has a police officer ever actually shown up.

Cops are another deal entirely. Although I’ve only been detained by the cops once and subjected to an unwarranted background check. This does happen and it is important for the cops to know that our hobby is not grounds for illegal search and seizure. As JPG reminds us, “we are not a threat.”

The cost of the issue is $19.99. For a sneak peak of what the magazine looks like click here. I will say that the JPG printing quality is high and the magazine is well worth the bucks.

Thanks again to Derek and Heather for putting this publication together.