photography

Updated 15 February (apologies for the slightly disjointed nature of this. Am writing it between wrestling sessions with the new puppy):

Yet another installment for the government's 'helping ourselves to your liberties' file:

The British Journal of Photography reports that from February 16, the thrill that is photographing coppers acting like arseholes will be taken from us by new laws 'that allow for the arrest - and imprisonment - of anyone who takes pictures of officers ‘likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism’.'

The BJP continues:

'A person found guilty of this offence could be liable to imprisonment for up to 10 years, and to a fine.

The law is expected to increase the anti terrorism powers used today by police officers to stop photographers, including press photographers, from taking pictures in public places.

‘'Who is to say that police officers won’t abuse these powers,’ asks freelance photographer Justin Tallis. Tallis, a London based photographer, was covering the anti-BBC protest on Saturday 24 January when he was approached by a police officer.

Tallis had just taken a picture of the officer, who then asked to see the picture. The photographer refused, arguing that, as a press photographer, he had a right to take pictures of police officers.

According to Tallis, the officer then tried to take the camera away. Before giving up, the officer said that Tallis ’shouldn’t have taken that photo, you were intimidating me’.''

Pity that photos of police intimidating the rest of us will be erased from history in advance by these laws - that, you can be sure, is the point of this little initiative.

Slipped into law as an unassuming adjunct to last year's counter terrorism act amend to the terrorism act, these laws could see photographers banged up for ten years for catching a copper in an act that ought to get the copper a lot longer than that. Rodney King, anyone? How about the great war photos of Larry Burrows - one of a number of extraordinary and extraordinarily brave artists who helped change the American course in Vietnam with pictures that showed Americans at less than their best? (Members of the armed forces will also be out of bounds after 16 Feb).