Today, at approximately 730am Pacific time, on a transport shuttle between the annex 44 gates and the rest of American Airlines terminals, I saw this wonderful view of these beautiful planes and innocently decided to grab a few pictures on my iPhone.
Almost immediately, one Deborah D Parker, American Airline employee (stewardess I believe) immediately started yelling at me that what I was doing was illegal. Not only was she wrong, she was unprofessional and rude and was speaking to me in a tone that an angry adult would to a crying 3 year old.
Being on a a full shuttle and having my rights violated, I turned around and asked her if she was American Airlines anti-photography enforcer to which she answered that she had been trained by the airlines to stop anyone taking pictures, professionally or otherwise from doing so.
Ill admit I raised my voice, but I did not swear and then I really let her have it in front of everyone. I mentioned that there was no posting, that we were in a public access area and it was completely legal.
She was defiant and insisted I check on the policy, by which time the shuttle ride was over. Man was I ticked. I gathered her name and once off immediately went to their customer services and booth and filed a complaint with American about her. American confirmed that indeed, airport, airplane and even employee photography is absolutely allowed and Mrs Parker was incorrect. Mrs Parker, if you are reading this, you owe me and the other photographers you have harassed an apology.
My only mistakes were not asking her to cite the statute forbidding airport photography, and then requesting the name of her immediate supervisor.
It infuriates me when those who believe they are in authoritative positions interfere with photographers. While there are some rare exceptions (such as military installations and nuclear power plants), if you are in a public place and there is not an unreasonable expectation of privacy and are threatened or hassled, ask for the person’s supervisor. If you are approached by police, stay calm and keep your cool, but ask to speak to their supervisors as well.
Being harassed in airports for photography is more common than it should be. Many TSA officials and airport security are unaware of the rules, but the truth of the matter is, unless it is specifically posted or stated by statute, at least in the USA, public areas are fair game. Do not let them harass you or interfere with your rights and if you are violated file a formal complaint.
Great Story on a Photographer Being Illegally Stopped for Airport Photography
Yes, you can even take pictures and videos at TSA check points!
Michael, I couldn’t agree with you more on our right as citizens in public areas to take photos. However, that being said, there is definitely a need in this technologically advanced time we live in to be really careful where those photos end up (internet). For example, I recently photographed a fighter squadron, which required that I take the proper steps of coordinating with the squadron public affairs officer and that I receive a photo escort out to the flight line. The resulting shoot was awesome! Now, the stipulation was that I can’t post these on the internet since the aircraft contained sensitive equipment which was visible in some of my photos. However, I don’t mind, especially since with Google and a little patience Al Qaeda or the Chinese could use my photos for harm. I say all this because there is a real enemy out there and so many of law abiding Americans are totally clueless about the risk and need to be educated and show discretion when uploading information (especially photos) to Facebook, a blog, even Wikipedia, or any other site. I am amazed that most people are unaware that once you post something on the internet, it is there FOREVER. So the upshot is, in my view, that public areas such as airports are fair game for photography, but discretion is needed on which of those images eventually make it to the world wide web. Way to go for standing up for your rights.
However, as has recently been highlighted in an ongoing case, taking photos or videos (or even sound recordings) of law enforcement officers is illegal…apparently. There’s a man facing 75 years in prison for this "offense" right now. Guess they don’t like it when someone videotapes uncalled for use of force.
From my own perspective on all this the question comes to mind, have we made life more complicated than it needs to be ? I know that the so called experts would say that life is complicated but in reality it is not. This, along with many other incidents of a similar nature tells me that america needs to get it’s own act together. We are not a superpower, we are a nation of superidiots, with zero common sense.