war on photography

Sometimes I miss office humor. If I had a skeleton model, I'd spend far too much time posing it in various, compromising positions.

I took this frame a few minutes before heading into Whole Foods with a friend. He was buying some fruit drink and as we wandered the open coolers, I raised my camera to snap an image of him making his selection. I managed one shot before an employee immediately stepped forward and told me to stop. He explained to me that they did not allow photography in their store and I would have to obtain permission from the store manager and receive a media credential if I wanted to push my shutter inside the store. I said nothing, mostly because I was waiting for him to tell me he was going to have to confiscate my camera, (he did not) and I really love telling people they are welcome to try and take it from me.

In the end, an image of my friend buying a soda is not a picture worth fighting for from a publicly traded company. I've had far worse problems with Wal-Mart and other shopping giants of that ilk to bother trying to tell some PR employee that their policy is ridiculous. I dropped my camera to my side and went on my way.

I've love my cheap rangefinder because it's almost never viewed as a threat. It's a small camera and unassuming enough to be able to grab an image without people thinking I'm on the payroll at X17. I would think no one is interested in some guy shooting slow, audio-less film in the digital age when at any given time, a store could have hundreds of customers, each packing cellular camera/video phones that are capable of transmitting the latest gossip within seconds to New York, So Cal, London, etc. While those kids are reaping the benefits of celebrity culture, broadband and direct deposit, I'm still toiling over my sink hoping that my grainy image of some local person doesn't get overexposed when I open the developing tank.

Stores have security rules for a reason, but I fail to see how preventing someone from taking a picture of something that any other customer can see with their eyes is prohibitive. In hindsight, I simply wonder what Whole Foods is trying to hide. Poorly maintained health standards? Organic price gouging? Incompetent stock boys?

An article written by Bruce Schneier in London's The Guardian asked about the increasing suspect of photographers worldwide. In short, the point he makes is that photography is far more scrutinized today as a possible security threat, though most terrorists, (the worst case scenario) are not users of photography in their research.

Even as more and more consumers drape expensive, digital SLRs around their necks, I still notice eyes wander when I head into a store packing my rangefinder. I never hesitate if I want to take a picture, but when I feel the presence of authority nearby, I generally prepare myself for a lecture when an employee steps forward to tell me I cannot press the shutter. I want to laugh it off, but it's not funny. I'm labeled sort of deviant when trying to photograph anything inside a store, even though their security team has been photographing me since I arrived in the parking lot.