Pixiq

He was seen looking at the players rosters and you don't think that is suspicious?

"That was enough to deem him suspicious, even though there is no evidence where he tried to approach or even talk to the kids"

I am offended by this comment, it is not illegal to approach children or to even talk to them, it is a 1st amendment right. One of my favorite hobbies is random child approaching and talking. They say the darndest things and if it is fun to approach and talk to children who I don't know.

how unfortunate and obnoxious...

My GOD what a nation of cowards the U.S. has become!

"One mother interviewed said that the only people allowed to photograph kids are parents. Anybody else would be considered creepy."

Says the mom who allows the tv news to video her kids playing behind her...

Photographers always appeal to the legal, while belittling legitimate social issues.

Quite simply, taking images of people gives the photographer some measure of power over the photographed. The power is real and widely acknowledged; aren't cameras regarded as the new guns?

For police accountability, cameras are an equalizing power to their gun power.

But to the general public, cameras are an asymmetrical power.

Yes, as I said, I'm quite familiar with the legalistic argument. Life and society are more than legality, as yet another instance regarding the power of photography demonstrates.

If you are a photographer that lives in a van down by the river, your hobby of photographing playgrounds might be in danger. I suggest you put on your nicest pair of jean shorts, head over to your local elementary school, and collect signatures from the children, saying that they are ok with hanging out with you and your camera even if their parents are not around. :-)

Seriously though, if your kids are fully dressed, and you have taken them into public, then photographs are harmless and out of your control as a parent. If the kids are not fully dressed, then you are a horrible parent.

The problem is, that the average person doesn't understand photography as an art and does not understand what use a picture of an unknown child could be, other than a prurient one. Just like the story a while back about the photog harassed for shooting the lifeguard at the pool. The cop claimed that he was shooting little kids in their bikinis. Well if you are that worried about your little child being used as some sort of sexual stimulant, how about NOT PLACING THEM IN A BIKINI!!! Since when is it acceptable for little kids to wear bikinis? I love how society has "sexed up" kids at an increasingly younger age ( through advertising, and social norms ), and then try to harass perfectly innocent individuals due to a problem that they, as parents, contribute to.

Just to play Devil's advocate though, do the people on here who have a distorted reality that ALL police harass photographers and do not protect the law, feel any sort of kinship to these people who think ALL photographers are pedophiles?

Also, I would add, that as photographers, as in anything else, I think there is a such thing as proper manners and a proper ettiquette when handling these types of situations. It doesn't hurt to be polite and courteous to parents. While you are not breaking a law, most parents would not feel comfortable with some stranger taking photos of their children simply out of a paternal instinct to protect that child. ( not just from sexual things, but any unwanted use of their child's image that could be embarrassing to them at a future date given today's social networking ) It is not illegal for me to walk up to a wedding that is being performed in a public park and begin snapping away like a paparazzo with a hot-shoe flash, but its obnoxious, and disrespectful. I think EVERYONE can learn to be a little more courteous, including photographers. With that said, if push comes to shove and you are being unfairly harassed, even after making all reasonable attempts to be courteous, then by all means, fight for your right.

Wow, I regularly photographer a couple of young teen girls (and they give me beautiful photos!) and their moms think its the greatest thing. They are always present and encouraging.

I can't imagine what I would say if I was out in public and decided to take pictures of some children playing in a fountain or wherever they may be and having everyone get paranoid about it.

Its like taking a photo of a federal building and getting hassled about it.

Do these parents think this guy is going to put his street photography of these kids on some kiddy porn site? I don't think it works that way myself but perhaps I'm naive.

And even if the guy is a pervert and goes home to wank off to his little kiddy pics, still, who is he hurting? What law has he broken?

Sure, parents should be cautious but I don't think having their kids photographed by a random stranger is anything they should be worried about. Now if the guy shows up everywhere they go or he is shooting pics through their bedroom window, then maybe you have a problem.

Generally speaking, when I take photos of children, I usually get close up so I can capture the expression on their face and, if their parents are attentive, I always give them my card and tell them to email me and I will send them the photos. Oddly, those parents rarely email for the photos. This is something I don't understand because if a professional photographer took pictures of my kid then handed me his card and said I could have the photos for free, I'd be all over it.

Apparently taking photographs is prima facie evidence that the photographer is a terrorist, a criminal and a pedophile. Soon Congress will be submitting an amendment to the bill of rights specifically excluding photographers from having any rights at all. When do they start rounding us all up, stuffing us in rail cars and sending us to to extermination camps?

"Arbeit Macht Frei" I can hear the jackboots marching up the street now.......

Come on people, if it was really important for you to take pictures of kids you don't know, be respectful enough to ask the parents. It would be a different story if the man had walked up nicely and asked rather than trying to sneak a photo from far away. If I'm a parent, and somebody tries to take photos of my kids without me knowing and without my permission, then yeah, I'd feel threatened. That's why they have minor release forms, cause people aren't just YOURS to photograph. Photographers should be respectful and have some sort of etiquette, and I believe real photographers do.

I'm young, right out of high school, and a photography student in college. For one of my class assignments, I went to a park, and decided to ask a father if I could photograph his toddler son. Without missing a beat, he said sure, we started talking, and he actually helped me out in a way. So I not only got an awesome photo, but I got a good story, and got to know my subject a little better. I'm sure that photo was any better than one you can get parked in a car with a long lens... Most photographers probably know that.