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Who watches the night watchman?
A very boring non-descript picture of Broadgate Ice Rink, on my way home from the pub tonight, taken on my shitty iPhone camera, and almost of no aesthetic pleasure to anyone but me.
I took the photo as I thought it an interesting sight - ice rinks are normally defined by their bustle and their busyness - so when they are empty they look devoid of the joy and romanticism that shape them.
What was much more interesting was what happened afterwards. The security guard by the rink came up to me and told me in no uncertain terms that I was forbidden from taking photos.
Technically, although a public place the pavement around the rink is private property, so legally he had the right to inform me and ask me to be on my way - although there were no visible notices forbidding photography that I could see.
We then embarked on a more fundamental discussion. I asked what possible harm there was taking a photo of an empty ice rink in a public space (I certainly was not impinging on anyone's privacy). The security guard said that wasn't the problem, the problem was the buildings behind the rink and their owners, and that "certain people" - stressing that he didn't think I was one of them, whoever "they" were - may wish to take photos of them.
Incidentally, the buildings in question mostly seem to be semi-deserted restaurants once thronged by bankers and stockbrokers but now a hollow unoccupied monument to excess.
I asked if the reason why photography was forbidden was because of the fear it might aid terrorists, and if he thought I was causing harm by photographing. The guard didn't quite answer that, but said it that it was policy that people do not take photos of the rink in and he was tasked with stopping it at the earliest opportunity.
We had a further chat on the possible harm of taking photographs of empty ice rinks, in which he was quite frank in telling me that he was compelled to approach me and tell me not to photograph any more, as the rink was covered by CCTV from every angle. If he hadn't approached me and told me to stop taking photos, his supervisors reviewing his performance on CCTV would have spotted me taking photos and asked him why he didn't challenge me.
At that point I decided to thank him for his time and head home. The security guard was, truth be told, a very nice man, and I was a bit arsey and nitpicky (but not rude, just questioning). He was courteous and reasonable (he did not force me to delete my photo, nor did he ever threaten me with calling the police or any other legal measures) given his position and mandate. Though I abhor being treated as a suspect, I will not go as far as saying I felt it was a denial of my human rights - being told off for taking photos cannot be compared to our Government's complicity in torture or imprisoning innocent children.
But it did make me consider (and not for the first time) the horrible wastefulness of it all, both of intellect and money, where a simple picture of an empty ice rink is considered a threat. And how shit a world we live in when a security guard's main concern, is not of whether the buildings he is tasked with protecting are under threat, but what his superiors watching him are thinking of him as they monitor his performance (which makes him more of an insecurity guard, perhaps?). And finally, there is the question of what we as a society collectively spend on this security theatre, and what other better things we could devote that time and energy towards.
PS There are nearly 100 photos of Broadgate Ice Rink already on Flickr, so the argument that it may aid and abet terrorists (albeit unintentionally and innocently) is one that is truly bolting the stable door long after the horse has bolted.
Who watches the night watchman?
A very boring non-descript picture of Broadgate Ice Rink, on my way home from the pub tonight, taken on my shitty iPhone camera, and almost of no aesthetic pleasure to anyone but me.
I took the photo as I thought it an interesting sight - ice rinks are normally defined by their bustle and their busyness - so when they are empty they look devoid of the joy and romanticism that shape them.
What was much more interesting was what happened afterwards. The security guard by the rink came up to me and told me in no uncertain terms that I was forbidden from taking photos.
Technically, although a public place the pavement around the rink is private property, so legally he had the right to inform me and ask me to be on my way - although there were no visible notices forbidding photography that I could see.
We then embarked on a more fundamental discussion. I asked what possible harm there was taking a photo of an empty ice rink in a public space (I certainly was not impinging on anyone's privacy). The security guard said that wasn't the problem, the problem was the buildings behind the rink and their owners, and that "certain people" - stressing that he didn't think I was one of them, whoever "they" were - may wish to take photos of them.
Incidentally, the buildings in question mostly seem to be semi-deserted restaurants once thronged by bankers and stockbrokers but now a hollow unoccupied monument to excess.
I asked if the reason why photography was forbidden was because of the fear it might aid terrorists, and if he thought I was causing harm by photographing. The guard didn't quite answer that, but said it that it was policy that people do not take photos of the rink in and he was tasked with stopping it at the earliest opportunity.
We had a further chat on the possible harm of taking photographs of empty ice rinks, in which he was quite frank in telling me that he was compelled to approach me and tell me not to photograph any more, as the rink was covered by CCTV from every angle. If he hadn't approached me and told me to stop taking photos, his supervisors reviewing his performance on CCTV would have spotted me taking photos and asked him why he didn't challenge me.
At that point I decided to thank him for his time and head home. The security guard was, truth be told, a very nice man, and I was a bit arsey and nitpicky (but not rude, just questioning). He was courteous and reasonable (he did not force me to delete my photo, nor did he ever threaten me with calling the police or any other legal measures) given his position and mandate. Though I abhor being treated as a suspect, I will not go as far as saying I felt it was a denial of my human rights - being told off for taking photos cannot be compared to our Government's complicity in torture or imprisoning innocent children.
But it did make me consider (and not for the first time) the horrible wastefulness of it all, both of intellect and money, where a simple picture of an empty ice rink is considered a threat. And how shit a world we live in when a security guard's main concern, is not of whether the buildings he is tasked with protecting are under threat, but what his superiors watching him are thinking of him as they monitor his performance (which makes him more of an insecurity guard, perhaps?). And finally, there is the question of what we as a society collectively spend on this security theatre, and what other better things we could devote that time and energy towards.
PS There are nearly 100 photos of Broadgate Ice Rink already on Flickr, so the argument that it may aid and abet terrorists (albeit unintentionally and innocently) is one that is truly bolting the stable door long after the horse has bolted.