Tag, you're it...

I have in the past few days learned all about the joys of "Geotagging". For the uninitiated, this is the process by which you can augment the EXIF data of your photos with the physical location that they were taken. Small, relatively cheap GPS receivers are used to track your travels and the record that they keep can then be combined on your computer with the images that you have taken (usually by means of timestamping) so that you can append the co-ordinates of each photo.

That's the theory - great, isn't it?

When I first heard about it, my Inner Geek got all excited - the propeller on the top of his head whirred so fast he nearly took off. A new shiny thing! A new means of enhancing the joys of photography! I can RECORD where I took each photo! I can, within a few tens of yards, say EXACTLY where I was standing! Inner Geek immediately started conducting internet searches for Geotagging gizmos. Prices were compared, baskets were added to, complete with free postage.

Then my Inner Pragmatist rubbed his chin and chimed in with an awkward question.

"Why?"

Inner Geek froze, his spiny fingers just inches from the wallet.

"Pardon?"

"What will you use it for?"

Inner Geek excitedly rattled off the rationale. Inner Pragmatist shook his head.

"No. What will YOU use it for...?"

Inner Geek sagged, and shuffled back to looking for the best deals on Babylon 5 boxed sets.

Now don't get me wrong. I can see a multitude of applications for professional, technical and commercial uses. The ability to provide locational information - or proof - would be very useful in many situations, including stock photography.

What I cannot quite get my head around is the unseemly excitement this technology seems to generate in otherwise sane photographers of a certain age. It seems to be the self same men who would not dream of stopping the car and asking for directions but are happy to let the mellifluous tones of an in-car satnav direct them the wrong way down a newly one-way street. I think it is the same phenomenon that leads to the wearing of those fancy Breitling emergency watches by those who never go further out of their depth than the bathtub. "The big boys have it so therefore I must have it too!"

Me, I use a Moleskine - no batteries, no chargers, no upgrades, no wi-fi, no SIM, no bluetooth, no firmware, no fixes, no GPS, no calibration, no hassle. Multifunctional, always on, compact, fits in a pocket or a corner of your bag, there when you need it, interfaces seamlessly with pen or pencil...

...and you can use it during take-off and landing...

It's all I need - seriously. And it is all that 99.9% of us "need", if truth be told. There is a simple pleasure to using a map - a paper map, that is - and marking it with a pencil. There is enjoyment to be had actually writing about a location rather than just double-clicking it on a screen. A couple of years ago I went to Seville for the first time. No photo, no exif data, no tag could bring again to mind the smell of the orange blossom in the same way that my notes - made at the time, in a pavement cafe - can.


Old-school "geotagging"...


Finally, there is one other aspect to geotagging that bothers me - the invasion of privacy. This has many facets - many of which are distasteful at best, and downright dangerous at worst. Imagine as geotagging becomes more mainstream, the mayhem that will result when the first mistress is tracked to her back garden by a wronged and embittered wife. Or the first battered ex-wife is tracked down by her abusive ex-husband from the embedded data in an otherwise innocent snap on Facebook... Imagine the consequences when the whistle-blower in the witness protection programme has their new life blown apart.

...it goes on.

The genie is out of the bottle, I know. Pandora has nothing on Panasonic. We cannot retreat from this latest "advance" - and no more should we - but we can be circumspect about it's use and cognisant of the risks...

...can't we?


Bill

--0-O-o--

- All images on this blog are copyright Bill Palmer and may not be reproduced in any format or medium without permission.

As if...

I went out today and shot a couple of rolls of film. Nothing special, just street shots. People going about their daily lives, in public. I didn't get arrested this time, but since the Anti-Terrorism (Enhanced Powers) Act of 2011 I know that I, and others like me, are on borrowed time.

*steps out of time machine*

Scary thought, isn't it? being treated like a criminal for doing something harmless.

Thing is, it's happening today. Tourists being told to delete their photos of bus stations, parents being told that they can't take photos of their own children in public, photojournalists being held without charge for doing their jobs, and of course it is now "illegal" to photograph a policeman in the performance of his duties.

Where did it all go wrong?

As usual, there is no one answer. The horror of 9/11 and the resultant increase in vigilance against terrorism is one contributory factor. The public paranoia about paedophilia is another. A third is the spread of sites such as Flickr, Facebook and MySpace - the fear these days is not just that your photo will be taken but that it will be posted on the internet.

So what?

In the UK at least:

• You do not have copyright in your own image.
• You do not have a right to privacy in a public place.

It's as simple as that.

Don't get me wrong - there is an etiquette to these things. I detest the working style of someone like Wingogrand, for example, who dehumanises his subjects with an in-yer-face approach and a blast of flash. How many frightened rabbits does he want to catch, I wonder? You must have respect for your subjects. That does not necessarily mean asking everyone in a street cafe if you can take their picture, but it does mean that you do not disturb them by your actions. You can achieve this in one of two ways - discretion, and permission - either works, depending on the circumstances; there is no right or wrong answer on this one.

Thing is, the photographer is an easy target - mooching around, laden down with apparatus, "acting suspiciously". The Police Community Support Officer, or PCSO appears particularly partial to a bit of hassling - at least, most of the recent complaints have involved a PCSO rather than a "real" copper. I suppose that it is easier to pick on a middle-aged bloke with a big gadget bag than the group of half a dozen hoodies across the road...

If challenged, by a member of the public or a member of the public in a stab vest (a PCSO) always stay calm. Explain what you are doing and why. Remember that attitude goes a long way to determining outcome, so if you come across as friendly and open, this will often defuse any hostility. If you are being threatened by a member of the public remove yourself from the situation if you can and/or call the police. If you are being detained by a PCSO or police officer, make sure you make a note of badge numbers and their stated reason for stopping you. Remember that a PCSO has no right to know your name, and can only detain you for 30 minutes or until a proper police officer arrives. Above all, remember that nobody has the right to confiscate your equipment, memory cards or film, and nobody has the right to ask - or force - you to delete or destroy your images.

Finally, not all PCSOs are part of the problem - this cheery pair were content to pose for me in central London not that long ago - after I had chatted to them of course...

--o-O-o--

Bill

- All images on this blog are copyright Bill Palmer and may not be reproduced in any format or medium without permission
- You know you are getting older when your kids tell you the police are looking younger