Photographer stopped from picturing over safety fearsBy JO STEELE - Thursday, October 1, 2009
A photographer taking pictures on a beach for Help for Heroes was banned for health and safety reasons.
Steve Cook was about to start the shoot for the charity that helps wounded soldiers when he was stopped by a council warden.
The 42-year-old was told that, under a new by-law, he needed a permit to prove he had insurance to cover any injuries on council property.
The new edict could be a bureaucratic nightmare for wedding photographers. Mr Cook was stopped while snapping businesswoman Barbara Cox, who is in training for a trek across the Sahara, on Sandbanks beach in Dorset.
He said: 'I have done hundreds of shoots there before with no problems. It is ludicrous. It's not something you expect to happen on a beach - maybe a police officer outside parliament, but even then they haven't got the right to stop you taking photos.'
Mrs Cox, 42, had the photos taken to publicise her campaign to raise £5,000. 'I've done my training on the beach so I thought it made sense to have the photos there,' she said.
Poole Borough Council said, although it had not passed a by-law, it had introduced a permit rule, adding: 'Any organisation wishing to use council land for commercial photography must seek permission and provide evidence of public liability insurance.'
I thought that this article was very interesting. It brings up an issue which I have thought for a while is becoming more and more of a big deal. The government are slowly taking away designers creative expression and freedom through they extensive rules and regulations which they are continually bringing in. Whilst at the minute it doesnt seem a very big deal if it continues, it will be so hard and expensive for designers to paint, photograph and make adverts that we could lose a lot of the design industry.
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?Photographer_stopped_from_picturing_over_safety_fears&in_article_id=746220&in_page_id=34
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