Being a photographer with a “real” camera always carries risk. People well within their rights to photograph in public are harassed online all the time. I’d argue, though, that being a brown person in the United States adds an extra layer of risk that other photographers don’t face, namely fears that you’re a terrorist taking photographs to plan for a future attack.
If it was just one time and one story, I wouldn’t say that. But it’s definitely not just one time. I’ll start with a story of my time as a graduate student, where I took this photo:
Syracuse University from a publicly accessible area that was made a little less public just for me.
The photo was taken from the top of the Syracuse University’s Crouse-Hinds Hall, in a hallway in the building that houses classrooms and administrative offices. No one is barred access to any of the hallway and classroom areas during business hours, so I took the elevator up to the eighth floor and placed my camera against a window overlooking the campus. I was aiming for a time-lapse.
Ten minutes pass, and a janitor walks past, but no one else. Ten minutes later, an officer from the Department of Public Safety walks up and informs me that only faculty and staff are allowed up in the hallway. I knew where this was going, but I gamely showed him my ID anyway, since I was adjunct faculty even before I was a graduate student. My ID card said as much. He seemed to short-circuit, fumbling through some words about how someone reported a suspicious person in the hallway and that I needed to leave.
Like I do in any interaction with police officers, I pondered whether I should challenge the assertion that I was a suspicious person, but I determined that I already had the photo I wanted and that the better play was to back down. I packed up and walked away.
Another time, when flying out from Buffalo Niagara International Airport with camera gear I needed to shoot a wedding, I got stopped and searched six ways to Sunday when going through the security checkpoint. That was not unexpected, given the amount of hardware I was packing. What was unexpected, was that after I had packed everything back up and put my belt back on, was that I was stopped and searched again in the same manner after walking five feet away from where I had previously been searched, without explanation. I complied, again. That said, I’ve been “randomly” searched most times I’ve been through the airport, gear or not.
When Taking Photos Is Really (Not) Encouraged
Sometimes, the stories just cross into the territory of asinine. Take this example from the Destiny USA Mall in Syracuse:
The tweet does most of the talking, but in short, I had my Fujifilm X-T1 with the XF 35mm lens (a diminutive setup as far as cameras go), and I was still stopped by mall employees and told to stop shooting. There’s a picture of a DSLR right on the sign, for crying out loud.
All of that brings me to the most recent incident from just this previous week, where I photographed a fixture in Bridgeport that I’ve photographed numerous times before, a power plant by the water.
A power plant that sits on the harbor in Bridgeport, easily viewable from everywhere.
I ride this ferry to work every day, many times taking photos, without incident. On weekends, there are parents, mostly not minorities, riding the ferry and taking pictures left and right. In the case of the photos above, I was using a 14-year-old Canon Rebel XTi, a camera that arguably takes worse quality photos than the Google Pixel 3a XL in my pocket. To make it a point, I started photographing with my cell phone first for a few minutes before switching to my DSLR. That was when I was asked by a ferry employee to stop and to not take photos. After I pointed out that people take plenty of photos with their cell phones, she relented and told me to not take photos of the (very visible from all angles everywhere) power plant. There didn’t seem to really be any rhyme or reason to any of it. If I was trying to be sneaky to get photos of the plant to blow it up later, I’d use something a little less conspicuous than a silver DSLR. Or I’d just use Google Maps. It’s not really a secret power plant.
Either way, as the ferry is a private business, I complied with the request to put the camera away, but if you look at the photos above, can you even tell which one was a cell phone and which a DSLR? I'd argue you can glean the same information out of either photo.
Am I Being Singled Out?
Maybe I’m making a big deal out of what may be isolated incidents and individual people. There’s no way I’d know without A/B testing, since I only have the skin I have. But all of it adds up and wears me down over the years. While race isn’t mentioned in the article where Hilary Duff confronts a black photographer for photographing her kids, the encounter is dripping with racist undertones. Brown and black folks will understand exactly what’s going on here. The photographer didn’t look like the other people on the soccer field and was then singled out by Duff for scrutiny. It’s doubtful he’d get the same treatment if he was white.
I can’t be the only photographer of color to have experienced this. Have you? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Other than possible commercial exploitation (i.e., Hillary Duff's son), what harm comes from being photographed while playing soccer?
Probably no different. I'm not better than anyone else. Just trying to offer a different approach that at least gives someone the benefit of the doubt for a few more seconds before jumping to conclusions.
We have instincts built into us from information gathered over our lives. Whether it's from the media telling us that muslims are terrorists, or black men are gang members, or asians have coronavirus. It could even be from personal experience where a disproportionate amount of bad things happened to them from a particular ethnic background and now they can't help but make that association. But that doesn't make it true.
We all have quick thinking assumptions and potentially racist actions that can be avoided with a few moments of careful consideration.
To the Mall incident, it would appear you were photographing the merry go round which would also in these times make you stand out for the fact that you were there without children of your own and it made people concerned. They most likely were concerned more about a long male taking pictures of children, as they precieved it, and not your skin color. Most of these spots that have a spot designated for photos have it for parents to take fsmily photos not for the general public to photograph the ride. That being said the power plant I think you have a point. Are all the previous comments that state 9/11 as a reason why you were asked to stop probably correct? Yes, should it be no. Have I as a White middle aged male ever been in a public area shooting and made people concerned? Yes and when I noticed it I did the same as you stated you did and moved along. Although I am sure you have been singled out more because of your appearance than I ever have or will, I also believe after having gone through those situations you may now be undrr the impression that everytime you are asked to stop shooting its about your skin color. Sometimes we as photographers don't stop and think other people in public may want their kids or themselves photographed by a stranger. The incident with the TSA I would not bat an eye at the first search but the second does seem to cross the line. Most likely they made the same assumption as one of the previous commenters about your ethnicity. That said I once was inspected by TSA and was cooperating but trying to catch my next flight and irritated about the time, they noticed and I earned a more thorough search for my attitude. Not saying you did the same but we weren't there so all we have is your side of the story. Every place in the world has prejudices towards one group of people or another, in the US people of color unfortunately are singled out and those of us that aren't don't always notice. In the Middle East or some parts of Africa I would most definately be singled out and I am sure I would not like it.
Has there ever even been an acualy discovered connection between photography and terrorism? Have authorities raided a terror cell or searched the home of a terrorist and found photographs of the target in their computers? Or is that a purely invented fear? I ask because it would be stupid for a real terrorist to take pictures in clear public view of a target with a professional camera.
Criminals do case their targets, so I would say yes. If you ever saw Woody Allen in "Take the Money and Run", he cases a bank by cleverly placing a camera in a loaf of bread than walks around "discreetly" peering through the loaf in the bank. Of course when he plays the film back it turns out to be a reel titled "Trout fishing in Montreal" (or something similar).
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-FFUhTVJyto/hqdefault.jpg
@ Mark Wyatt. Sorry, no, that's not an answer to my question "Has there ever even been an acually discovered connection between photography and terrorism?"
Homeland Security thinks so. And we all know the US Government never lies.
https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/1016332647553880065?s=20
I think that film would be very "grainy"
21 grains is tasty film.
@ Mark Wyatt. Sorry, no, that's not an answer to my question "Has there ever even been an acually discovered connection between photography and terrorism?"
...
These comments have not disappointed. My favorite so far is the dude who is so assured of his superior intellect while continually missing the point of nearly every response. I've also really enjoyed the "I know you are but what am I," responses. I knew this article would deliver some amazing entertainment. Sucks that the point of the article is a legit and very real problem, and is lost to this pure fest of entertainment.
My skin is light brown (you can probably tell from my avatar). I was once asked (politely, I might add) by a black security guard to stop taking photos on private property because the site owners "didn't like it". I stopped. It was a fair request on private property. He didn't sugar coat anything - he told me the truth. The site owners had a thing about it and made him stop people. Fair enough - their property, their rules.
Recently at a UK museum I was approached by a functionary who wanted to know what I was doing as "these days we have to be careful about terrorism". I tried not to laugh in her face, since thousands of other people were there filming with their phones and some with cameras big and small. I showed her my photos (very artistic, I thought!) and she was satisfied and started walking away. I couldn't resist the temptation so I kept showing her more of the photos and as she took a step away I took a step with her. She was very polite about it at that point ("nice photos") but really didn't want to see anymore.
Her initial explanation why she'd come to ask what was going on was a bit silly really. It would be so easy for a real nut job to use a more discreet camera or phone to take all the surveillance photos they wanted.
I've been "pre-selected" at airports in the past (UK and US) for extra security checks, I guess because of my name. And I've also been "pre-selected" to fast track through security in the US at times as well.
On a group photo shoot in a city market about a year ago there were two brown faces, mine and another guy. The rest were white (mostly guys but a couple of women). Have a wild guess which guy was approached by the security staff to ask what was going on? Bear in mind that the entire group stayed together while taking photos.
In Spain or Greece, when I visit, people tend to assume I'm a local. It's funny - white tourists try to talk to me in Spanglish. When I reply in English they get the shock of their lives. You can literally see the shock on their faces.
Racism isn't confined to white people, of course. There are plenty of brown and black people who are racist too.
Is Wasim singled out because of how he looks? Probably in certain situations. If his experience is anything like mine though, it really won't be every day of his life. I've found that most people, most of the time, just want to get on with their own thing. They don't have time to worry too much about the rest of the world. A few racists go a long way and they make it seem like it's a bigger deal than it might otherwise seem. I've probably had more abuse for being fat than I have for having a beautiful tan :)
Wasim, speaking of the security encounter, maybe the individual has his own bias. But the fact you have your job with your level of skill speaks volumes about how tolerant this country is. Sorry to tell you that is my conclusion after went through your portfolio.
That does not help either- turning this into a personal attack. His pictures are fine. Don't see him representing them as the pinnacle of the art world.
I would believe a certain level of skill is required for being in a teaching position. And this is one of three images on his front page. Shocker.
You have a legitimate personality disorder.
I choose disability over race baiting and taking pictures like that.
Do it alone and keep it to yourself for the sake of the poor people who are forced to deal with you.
Well, please stay away from me, I am allergic to stupid.
Is it not possible there are parts of daily life that are tolerant and others that are not? Should we turn a blind eye to intolerance just because it’s not 100% intolerance?
It is possible. However, the thing about that is the author failed to make the point those unhappy encounters has anything to do with his skin color, but rather he is just brought it to himself "....There’s a picture of a DSLR right on the sign, for crying out loud."
If they are banning DSLR does that mean the same photos could be taken with an iPhone as there are probably hundreds of iPhone pics taken every day in every mall...
Kind of like BBQ’ing, waiting for your friends at a Starbucks before you order, falling asleep in a college library or all the reasons people of color get the cops called on them because the worst assumption always seems to be the one chosen.
"....There’s a picture of a DSLR right on the sign, for crying out loud." Is that willfully breaking the rule of a private property or what? Are you suggesting "POCs" are not capable of following rules?
In the instances written about in this post, I stopped every time I was asked to, as that's a private property owners' right to not allow photographs. But is it not ridiculous to mark something as a photo spot but not allow people to take photos in that spot?
I agree it is ridiculous, but that's still private property tho right?
Yes, which is why I stopped when they asked me to. I can still Tweet my astonishment though (and I'll point out that they didn't stop me when I took the photo with my phone for the Tweet).
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I looked at Wasim's portfolios once before. He is very talented photographer. But my recollection is that most of the people photos in his portfolios are of white people. Apparently not everybody in America is racist. People hire him to shoot weddings for his skills and apparently don't care about his color. To make generalization based on few bad experiences is just as racist as to say that most blacks are criminals based on you being robbed by black person.
Like Mike Bloomberg?
How do you go from “racism exists in America” to “every American is racist?” Even if only 10% of Americans are racist, that’s still a hell of a lot of racism.
How did you get 10%?
Who cares ?
There are racists in the USA and they give him a hard time. That should stop.
Any Proof those are not people who are just doing their jobs?
First, if they are at work, they are doing their jobs BADLY. Second, lots of bad things have been done by people "just doing their jobs".
Name me just one country that doesn't have racists. Majority of the people on face of the earth prefer their own race to any other race. This is why multiracial marriages are small minority. Add religion to the mix and you have anything from prejudice to hate and everything in between.
Well if other countries have racism America shouldn’t do anything about it. I stand corrected.
Reductio ad absurdum. It is possible for both biases to be at work here: biases against cameras and biases against ethnicity. We know that photographers of all ethnicities get harassed. What we don't know is whether photographers of certain ethnicities get harassed more than others. And, Wasim was perfectly clear in saying that he didn't have the answer. He was wondering aloud for others to consider the question.
It's funny how racists shine over here. A little passage of Aldo Raine around wouldn't be a bad thing...
I’ve been harassed by security guards more than once taking photos in public, pictures of buildings from sidewalks, not even people. My response was to say “what I’m doing is completely legal, but okay sure I’ll leave” then I left. It’s just not worth it to me getting all worked up over it.
I also once was asked to leave a restaurant for talking polaroids of their decor by an angry manager who also demanded I give him the photos. My response was okay I’ll leave, but I’m not giving you the photos, and I left. Again, not worth getting all worked up over.
Photography on private property is an entirely different matter and off-topic here. The right to photograph in public, though, is under threat and worth protecting.
Im 49 years old, black and raised in Rochester, Ny near Syracuse.
Sorry..previous answer got posted without me finishing it...blame my 3 year old! Yes, you are being singled out because you look like you could be middle Eastern and/pr Muslim. Lot of what happened to you wasin upstate New York where I grew up and its not full of the most enlightened people in the country. Im black and 49 years old and I carry a small kit as well and I would bet that I wouldnt be treated the same as you. Its the world we live in.
Without doubt some of those examples are based on colour but I think skin colour aside we all face the same issues once any DSLR is brought out the bag. Anyone loitering with a camera in one spot does look suspicious.
As for the duff incident, she knows the families and asked pretty swiftly if he had kids playing on the field which he replies that he doesn't, if that were my kids I'd find it a little creepy, I'd have suggested researching the adult games thought, but she definitely went hard on him, We're also not famous like her, put yourself in her shoes, she's probably thinking he knows her and wants to exploit her kids, you never know what's going through her mind as someone who is in the spotlight facing paparazzis on the daily.
Has the photographer come out yet? Now more.than 15m people know about him he should turn this around and show some of his photography! He might be a killer photographer.
"Anyone loitering with a camera in one spot does look suspicious".
"Suspicious" is in the eye of the beholder. It's the weird, bad assumptions, and the sense of self-importance, of some beholders that are the root of the problem.
Photography is frowned upon in many cultures, and I discovered that it is MUCH more comfortable to carry a camera and photograph when traveling abroad.
why don't street photographers switch to smarphones, yes image quality is not as good but composition and lighting is way more important, why can't this be a constraint of street photographers, sports shooters have the constraint of they bazzoka lens which prevents them from shooting handheld, everything is about constrainst, embrace it, as it is also a well known creativity catalyzer
Smartphones contain the most discreet form of camera.
I get searched multiple times i go through an airport, camera gear or not. I'm Turkish, but i don't look like I'm "middle eastern" - in Spain, people assume I'm Spanish. In Italy, they assume I'm Italian etc.
People look at me and assume I'm one of the bad guys. This extends from police to airport security to gigs where i have a photo pass. It's just the way the cookie crumbles, I'm afraid.