"Later in the year I went to China. I was allowed to photograph where and what I liked. I even had police officers and soldiers posing for me at Tiananmen Square. People regard China as a totalitarian police state, but its ironic that I was treated better there than I was in Britain.
"Last year I visited the UK and was arrested under suspicion of being a terrorist and paedophile by two police officers. I was taking photos in the street of a popular tourist location in the South East of England. It was for me an incredibly frightening experience. I'm disabled and walk with the aid of a stick. I was approached by two officers who immediately started pushing me around and threatening to 'Tazer' me unless I co-operated. I was made to lie face down in the street while I was handcuffed and searched. My equipment was threatened with confiscation and destruction under the the 'Prevention of Terrorism Act.' It was only when I taken down the station and I asked to speak to the Australian Consulate that things started to change. After three hours of being held in a cell I was told I could go only if I agreed to not take the matter any further. If I wanted to make a complaint I was told that I could be held for a further 72 hours without charges. As I had a plane to catch that night I thought better of the whole situation and agreed not to make a complaint.
"Later in the year I went to China. I was allowed to photograph where and what I liked. I even had police officers and soldiers posing for me at Tiananmen Square. People regard China as a totalitarian police state, but its ironic that I was treated better there than I was in Britain.
"Now having seen that video and the the new posters put out by the Metropolitan Police about photographers it has certainly strengthened my resolve to never return to Britain."
I spent one night in jail and had two cameras taken away from me for 10 weeks. The attorney fee was $3000.00 and though it never went to trial, the police can arrest with out impunity and cannot be sued for false arrest.
I was shooting two models in downtown Baton Rouge, non-nude work, but there was a government building right behind the models, and someone said we were taking photos of government items, and because of the Patriot Act which we have in the US, they can arrest you on any reason they want.
No, there are rights and there are rights, but those all belong to the government.
This happened three years ago. I never shoot anywhere near anything governmental to include bridges, grain elevators and other things where it might be considered a potential terrorist target. It is not as bad now as it was three years ago, but I know full well what rights are.
Jon Barry
out of 5 stars
I have an upcoming trip out of the country where I will be taking a lot of pictures with my digital camera, but do not want to take my laptop. Because of this, I wanted to have a place to store my photos in case my Compact Flash card gets full or if I get such an amazing picture that I want to back it up and not take the chance of losing it. I also liked the idea of having something that I could listen to music with in a variety of formats and being able to see the pictures I saved on there.
I looked at the Wolverine ESP, Digital Foci Picture Porter Elite, and Epson P-3000.
I tossed out the Epson P-3000 for a couple of reasons: I wanted to listen to uncompressed audio files, where compression alters the audio too much, and it was more expensive than models of the Wolverine ESP and Digital Foci Picture Porter Elite where I could get more storage space.
I decided upon the Wolverine ESP not only because it had the features I desired, but because I was a little more familiar with their products; my photography teacher uses a Wolverine FlashPac for storing his photos while on the go.
Look and feel
The Wolverine ESP feels solid and comfortable in my hands. I have not used any product besides a computer and laptop that has a hard disk in it, so it felt very strange turning it on for the first time, as I could feel the hard drive working. It feels like a slight vibration, but nothing that has me concerned about the hard drive. The screen is a nice size and is well lit. A hold switch can prevent the ESP from accidentally turning on as well. It can take a while to get used to the joystick navigation - sometimes I was not pressing down hard enough for it to act as a selection button, but that is the only problem I have come across.
Picture backup
I inserted my Compact Flash card into the ESP with no problem. I have seen some complaints about how far the card sticks out, but I do not see this as a problem for me, as I will be paying attention to the environment around me when I do a transfer and will most likely do it indoors when I am not around a lot of people. The ESP will copy the pictures off of the card; you will have to delete the photos on the card via your camera if you want to clear off some space. I copied RAW files over (from a Canon Digital Rebel XT) and was able to view them just fine. While viewing a picture, the ESP will show the histogram for the photo in the lower left corner.
Audio
The ESP played back audio files with no problem. While the internal speaker on the ESP is okay and comes with earbud headphones, I will be using higher end headphones to listen to audio.
Video
I get mixed results when it comes to playing video on the ESP, though I do not plan on using this feature much. Out of 5 videos I tried to play that are within the specifications given in the ESP manual, I could only get 3 to play. The other 2 videos would try to load and then kick me back out to the file menu. For those videos that did play, I perceived no problems.
FM radio
If you want to use the FM radio on the ESP, be warned. The FM radio functionality requires the use of the earbuds that come with the ESP, as it uses the earbud cable as an antenna. This is the most disappointing feature I came across on the ESP. I do not want to use the earbuds for listening to audio and do not want to carry them around for the sake of radio. And what happens if you lose the earbuds? It sounds like you are out of luck.
Conclusion
While the ESP comes with other functions, such as photo playback, audio recording, and video recording, I have no intention of using these. The FM radio is disappointing, though I never really planned on using it - I will stick to radios in hotels instead. Playing video is a mixed bag - I will have to try videos ahead of time to see what works and what does not. It does work just fine for my planned main uses - photo backup and playing audio, so I am pleased with that.
You can take photographs and videos in the Garden for personal use. All filming and photography for commercial use or the use of tripods is by permit only. Details of any requests for filming or photography should be discussed with the Press & Marketing Office.
Photography and filming (for private use only) are permitted in the grounds of the Palace.
You don't need permission unless you're closing the area to the public or require some sort of service - electric, special access for vehicles, equipment, so forth. If you need these services, please call 334-2527.
Commercial Photography. Authority: NAC 407.050
Fees range from $50 to $3,500 per day depending on the size and complexity of the filming operation. A person who has obtained a commerical use permit for photography may request that the Division reserve an area within the park for use in accordance with the terms of their permit . Upon receipt of such a request, the Division will charge and collect a reservation fee of $100. The reservation fee is in addtion to any fee charged and collected pursuant to subsection 4 of NAC 407.050.
Persons who take photographs or motion pictures in a park for commercial purposes are required to have a filming permit. Applications for permits must be made at the park prior to the filming date. The permit stipulates restrictions and obligations that must be met by the permittee. "Commercial" photography means photography that is meant for financial gain. Included under commercial photography are sales of photographic images for advertising, motion pictures, television productions or portfolios. The archiving of images by persons who use photographic skills, equipment or resources to provide a photographic product for sale is also considered commercial photography.
C. "Filming activity" means the taking or making of any motion picture or still photograph; however, said term does not mean and does not include filming or photography for news media purposes or filming or photography which is not for distribution or sale for commercial purposes.
Section 9.34.020 Permit--Required.
Except as otherwise provided by this code or other applicable law, rule or regulation or any permit or license issued hereunder or pursuant to the terms of a permit, lease or contract which has been specifically authorized by the city council, no person shall conduct or cause to be conducted, participate or engage in, hold, manage, employ, permit or allow another to conduct a parade, special event or filming activity in, on or upon any city street, sidewalk, alley, park, way, public place or public property which is owned or controlled by the city without first having obtained a written permit from the city manager or his designee.
(Ord. 1742, 1992: Ord. 1618 § 1 (part), 1988.)
Section 9.34.030 Permit--Application.
A. The application for a permit under this chapter to conduct or engage in any parade, special event or filming activity which involves the use of city streets, alley, sidewalks, parks, ways or other public property owned or controlled by the city shall be filed with the city manager or his designee. Such applications shall be filed at least ninety days prior to the date that the permit is to become effective; except that applications for block party permits shall be filed at least ten days prior to the date the permit is to become effective, and applications for filming activity permits shall be filed at least three working days prior to the date the permit is to become effective. Each application shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable permit application fee in the amount of fifteen dollars. The city manager or his designee shall have the authority, in his discretion, to consider any application for a permit which is filed later than the time prescribed in this section.
May I take photographs or film video at Washoe County facilities?
The Department encourages the use of its parks for recreational, publicity, and commercial photography. However, any professional photography including portrait sittings or photography/filming for commercials require a Photography Permit issued by the Department of Regional Parks & Open Space. Please contact the Parks Administration office at (775) 828-6642 for fees and permitting requirements.
