Building Security

[stepper77]

Last Friday I was walking around Concord, CA taking photos and there is this tall office building that I really like. There was a parking garage next to it, so, I climbed to the top, took several photos of the building and came back down. As I was walking out a security guard came up to me and told me I had to stop taking pictures. I said I wasn't doing anything wrong, just taking some photos because I liked the building. He told me, regardless, that I couldn't do that and I needed to leave. He then escorted me off the premises.

I couldn't help but be a little offended by this. I mean, I can understand many suburban office parks are on private property and maybe they didn't like me in their parking garage (even if it was open). And I do sometimes feel a little awkward taking pictures of houses that I like since their private residences. But, this is a big commercial building on a corner of a very busy street that can be seen by anyone. I have done the exact same thing a hundred other times without incident and, really, all I did was go across the street and takes pictures from there.

Has anyone else experienced something like that? Are there actual laws against taking exterior photos of certain places or buildings (other than maybe government facilities)? I didn't feel like I was trespassing, the garage was open to the public as fas as I could tell and there is a big plaza out front next to the sidewalk. It just seemed so silly I couldn't take a few photos.

[HomeInMyShoes]

I think the parking garage falls under private. People do pay for use of the facility and it's not exctly the same as the public sidewalk. I have read that they can ask you to leave and not take pictures, but they can't confiscate your camera or memory. If I can, I'll ask the security guy. Most tend not to mind at that point. Heck, one wanted me to take their picture.

There used to be a stickied thread on photographers rights and such. What happened to it?

[KevinFromTexas]

^ I'm not sure what happened to that, I'd like it back actually.

This has happened to me as well. While in San Antonio last summer testing out our camera for the first time really, we went up to the top of a parking garage in downtown. Drove up there so I could snap a few pics of the views of downtown. On the way up I could have sworn that I had heard a man yelling, but I couldn't tell with the garage noise. So we get up there, I hop out with the tripod and camera, walk up to the edge and take two pictures. It was in the afternoon, I had the tripod because I had thought it would be nice for a pano. Infront and above me on the terrace, is a security camera. I wasn't robbing the place, so I didn't worry about it. A guy rolls up in a PT Cruiser and asks the requisite security guard question: "Can I help you?" As if he could, anyway I say, "I'm just taking some pictures of the view." He says, "well this is private property and you're trespassing. Didn't you see the signs?" I say "no". We hadn't seen them, this garage was one of the types with the circular ramp, so watching signs wasn't nearly as important as watching the walls they were on. Anyway, he said the top level was for employees of the hotel across the street. So we left, I had only gotten 2 pics from the garage, and a grand total of 4 that day since we were busy. I wasn't a happy camper having a brand new digital camera at my disposal for the first time, and I only managed to snap 4 pictures in one of the most beautiful cities in Texas.

I also went up to the top of a parking garage for ACC's new South Austin campus near my house and I'm pretty sure the police's automatic camera took my picture since I heard a "click".

[Urban Sky]

ive had this same problem. its a pain in the ass...

i looked for the rights thing too.

Moderators: Can we find it and get it stickied again?

Until then, I found a PDF version. I think it's the same one, but it's been a while. Let me know:

Photographers Rights

[stepper77]

Thanks so much for the comments and, particularly, the document on photographers rights. Perhaps I was being a little indignant about the situation and he certainly didn't threaten me. Just told me to stop taking photos and leave the premises which I guess is their right. Glad to know though that they don't have a right to my camera or film and I am free to take photos from the street or sidewalk.

[zeno333]

This reminds me of an incident that made the news around a year ago. Someone had stoped to take pictures of the Texas City oil refinery in a white van. the "authorities" wanted to know whjo it was and "interview" them. So i guess if someone is fascinated by an oil refinery and takes some pics of it from a public road, they have to be harassed by the police. the USA is fast becoming the communist Soviet Union of the 60s... If it keeps up they willl have to remove the word "liberty" from the USA coinage.

[dvstampa]

Originally Posted by zeno333

This reminds me of an incident that made the news around a year ago. Someone had stoped to take pictures of the Texas City oil refinery in a white van. the "authorities" wanted to know whjo it was and "interview" them. So i guess if someone is fascinated by an oil refinery and takes some pics of it from a public road, they have to be harassed by the police. the USA is fast becoming the communist Soviet Union of the 60s... If it keeps up they willl have to remove the word "liberty" from the USA coinage.

Zeno...I believe it was radical lunatics who flew airplanes into our buildings that took away some of our freedoms. Getting harrassed by a few security guards is hardly communist and I'm sure a few of my Russian friends would even laugh at your comparison. In other words, none of us have any idea what life was like / is like in a communist nation.

Guys, a privately owned business and/or building owner has every right to tell us to stop taking pictures. Does that mean they are right? Of course not! Some are paranoid. Some are dicks. And some have this thought that their building is being used as marketing copy and making money for someone else...in other words, they're greedy! Or in this case, it could just mean we have a few security guards who like to puff out their chests and act tough.

My wife works in defense intelligence and has often joked about how many threats they receive regarding people taking pictures of buildings, bridges, factories, and so on. Unfortunately it's the world we live in today. You can thank your government (Zeno) for having Intel agencies track these threats...and in my wife's case, deem 99.9% of them as non-credible.

[zeno333]

Originally Posted by dvstampa

Zeno...I believe it was radical lunatics who flew airplanes into our buildings that took away some of our freedoms. Getting harrassed by a few security guards is hardly communist and I'm sure a few of my Russian friends would even laugh at your comparison. In other words, none of us have any idea what life was like / is like in a communist nation.

Guys, a privately owned business and/or building owner has every right to tell us to stop taking pictures. Does that mean they are right? Of course not! Some are paranoid. Some are dicks. And some have this thought that their building is being used as marketing copy and making money for someone else...in other words, they're greedy! Or in this case, it could just mean we security guards who like to puff out their chests and act tough.

My wife works in defense intelligence and has often joked about how many threats they receive regarding people taking pictures of buildings, bridges, factories, and so on. Unfortunately it's the world we live in today. You can thank your government (Zeno) for having Intel agencies track these threats...and in my wife's case, deem 99.9% of them as non-credible.

But my point was that someone fascinated by an oil refinery taking pics of it is not a threat. That is my point. Protecting the US from threats is all well and good, but in the process we also need to protect what makes the US worth protecting, and that is its freedoms. That includes the freedom of taking a pic of an oil refinery without being hunted down by the police, which is the example that I referred to.
I also think the US is partly going about the process of protecting the US wrongly. There are some threats that we are blind to. What about the possible connection to the 9-11 attacks and the date that Jesus could have been born?? A very convinceing book came out in 1991 outlining in great detail why Jesus probbaly was born on September 11th 3 BC. There was some talk in the media about the attacks being a symbolic attack against Christianity somewhat, but in all this talk I have not heard a peep about the fact that Jesus may have been born on September 11th. Seems like we are blind-siding ourselves somehow to not even mention the Jesus 9-11 connection at all. Someone is dropping the ball somewhere. Does anyone in the FBI even know that Jesus probably was born on September 11th??? Being ignorent of important facts is dangerous for the US for sure.
Stepping off of soap box.

[Urban Sky]

^ that was a tangent and a half!

[Sacto]

Sounds like nothing more than a jelous security guard.

[Chicago103]

Its almost as if the authorities be they police or private security want us all to live boring lives, not be interested in the beauty of architecture or of urban place, we should only be concerned about business that directly effects us and just be good consumers going about on our way to the Wal-Mart or something. The suburban mentality almost seems to encourage apathy of architecture and the built environment and thats why people think you are a wierdo if you take notice of anything, when we live in vinyl sided houses and shop at ugly big box stores as part of the norm architecture is deemed irrelevant and not worthy of attention by people who should only be concerned with their own little lives, get in, buy your shit and get the hell out.

[dvstampa]

Chicago103, I think you're looking into this way too deeply. As Sacto said, it's probably nothing more than security guards on ego trips trying to push their weight around.

This is no different than some of the things I encountered as a young skateboarder. Half the time we didn't even need to be riding our boards to have security guards come out of buildings and tell us to move along. We just looked like shifty kids up to no good and these guys felt compelled to use their authority to be dicks.

Seriously, I hardly doubt there is a conspiracy to take away your appreciation of architecture and urban life.

[flar]

I get in trouble all the time, but I don't really care because they're security guards and they can't do much. Best thing is to be courteous and comply because if it is private property, they can rightfully tell you to stop. Once I was talking to a manager of security at an office tower (no uniform, the actual manager) and she said there were two reasons why photos weren't allowed in her building. First, because the architects felt the design was intellectual property and that photographs of it could potentially be used to plagiarize the design (these were interior shots of a fountain area, shown below) And second, there were many government workers in the building who were wary of having their pictures taken for security reasons. That sounded reasonable so I stopped, but not before I took a couple shots. The second photo (through the windows of a different building) I had to run down the stairwells to escape the wrath of a powertripping security guard. I felt that the public deserved to see the view.

[Connect]

Hey People.. lets not be so hard on security gaurds. In reality they are low wage employees who are just trying to do their jobs. They don't make the rules, think the rules are silly, and could care less if we take photos.... but NOT at the cost of thier job.

(Quick story: I was at the mall the other day looking down at people walking, and a security gaurd told me I could not lean on the gaurd rail. And that is what the brand new rail was designed for... We both had to laugh at that one. )

Has anyone ever contacted the building management/security office in advance and requested permission to take pictures? Especially for parking garages that aren't protecting their "intellectual property."

[Urban Sky]

Originally Posted by Connect

Has anyone ever contacted the building management/security office in advance and requested permission to take pictures? Especially for parking garages that aren't protecting their "intellectual property."

no. they'll definitely say no. its the safer bet. especially if something happens re: the pictures taken...then the actual security guard or company is liable because of the expressed permission. i think they'd rather play it safe and say no.

[JManc]

i made a new sticky for photographers right.

[Derek]

^nice job on that JMan

[1ajs]

hmm i have gone into a parkade to get construction pics of the manitoba hydro tower link in my sig btw and never been herased infact when i pass the security camera on the way out i wave and show my camera lol


when i was in miniaplois i whent skyscraper spoting and was insdie the skywalks taking photos did not get herased
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=124660

went wondering around oxaca city (were the protrest were last year) did not get herased got lots of smiles from people and told were theres some stuff to go check out
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=125963

i've never been herased by security ever