In March last year, I was on a vacation in London to visit some of my girlfriends family - of course I brought my camera. So we spend a couple of days roaming the streets of London and taking photos. That was when I had my run in with a man wearing a black trench coat, black floppy hat, black pants and shoes who was quite interested in my photographs.

 

I'm not a very touristy photographer. I rarely ever take pictures of my girlfriend or myself or any landmarks for that matter when I'm on vacation. I always save my SD-cards for something that speaks to me. But when we got of the tube in London's Westminster station I got my camera out and starting shooting away.

Big Brother Station

I like the dystopian surreal look the station has to it. The concrete and steal, the chains and the high open space. A reporter in a The Times podcast about the station said "It feels like something out of Blade Runner." And that's exactly how I felt. The station caught my attention not because it was such a pleasant sight, but rather because it made me think of headlines about the Big Brother State, CCTV and the such. I thought it was a great embodiment of the dark visions of big brother England.

 

 

It didn't take long before I realized that this vision might be closer to the truth than I thought. After about 10-15 minutes of happy dystopian picture taking I felt a tap on my shoulder.

The man in black

When I looked up from my view finder a man in a long black trench coat, black turtle neck, pants and shoes and a black floppy hat looked at me and my camera and flashed some sort of ID at me. He started asking me where I was from, what I was doing, what I was taking pictures of and why...

I explained to him, that I was from Germany on vacation and that I was just taking pictures of the station. He looked at me and I noticed his laptop case, thinking he was going to download my pictures to his desktop and take my name and address.

 

 

Apparently after having a closer look at me he decided I might not fit the profile of a potential terrorist after all. He asked to see the pictures on my camera (praise digital photography) and after viewing those he disappeared as quickly as he had previously appeared. The whole thing made me feel pretty uneasy and I took only a couple more shots before I left.

 

 

Thinking about it, this wasn't the only time this happend to me during that vacation. I was chased of by a security guard at the Gherkin as well, as I was taking pictures of it.

I'm not a terrorist

Why am I writing about this almost a year later? Because apparently this has been happening across large parts of England and more and more street photographers in Britain feel like they are being criminalized. They have started an campaign called "I'm A Photographer Not A Terrorist":

Photography is under attack. Across the country it that seems anyone with a camera is being targeted as a potential terrorist, whether amateur or professional, whether landscape, architectural or street photographer.

Not only is it corrosive of press freedom but creation of the collective visual history of our country is extinguished by anti-terrorist legislation designed to protect the heritage it prevents us recording.

This campaign is for everyone who values visual imagery, not just photographers.

I can absolutely relate to their cause and think it is support worthy. So check it out and spread the word - and if you're from the UK you may want to see whether they have an event planned some place near you.

 

Related Links

• Hopkins Architecture: Westminster Station
• The Times podcast on Westminster Station (MOV)
• I'm A Photographer Not A Terrorist

 

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