On the train this past week, I just happened to be sitting across from two chatty young women. In front of me for most of the trip was a woman who was taking pictures of the scenery outside. At some point in the trip, I looked up from my book when the two young ladies were making a fuss about someone taking their photo. I’d seen flashes, but had attributed it to the woman in front of me. However, she was no longer seated there. In her place was a man in his late fifties. I was looking straight ahead when I saw him lean over and take a photo of these girls.
The scene that followed was calmer than I figured. The girls looked shocked and said they couldn’t believe he’d be so inappropriate as to take their photos. The man then said, “Would you like to be in the Smithsonian?” That’s when the one of the girls said, “No, I’d like you to stop taking our photo. It’s completely inappropriate.” He then claimed to be a photojournalist from Smithsonian Magazine and he would like them to let him take more photos. The braver of the two women said, “No, and I want you to get rid of those photos.” To which the man replied, “Sure. What’s your address? I’ll send them to you.”
At that point, I motioned for them to follow me to the back of the car. I told them the man was clearly unbalanced and they should move to avoid his harassment. They did, but apparently they told the porters, who in turn came and confiscated the man’s camera. He fussed about how he was well within his rights as a photojournalist to take their photo. Only trouble was his photographic “equipment” was a store-brand disposable camera, and he hadn’t even considered that he might need their permission to take the photo and he’d need a release form in order to publish it.
Lechery aside, what’s your image these days? Are you working with the right equipment? Or are you, like our misguided man of questionable mental faculty, working without a net?