In my previous post, I outlined a confrontation that had happened when revisting a ruined house nearby. In a world where the Silicon Valley business model is obsessed with surveillance capitialism, tracking online behaviour, harvesting personal data, and selling that data, it’s no surprise that a growing number of people become very touchy indeed when a lens is pointed in their direction or the direction of something they own.
Ethics is a branch of Moral Philosophy that concerns itself with morality and how people should behave and why. Despite the fact that we were on a public road at the time of the incident, doing nothing legally wrong, and making photos, was our behaviour ethical? Why were we confronted and what ethical framework, if any, should inform photographic practice?
It’s very easy to dismiss confrontations with a deft wave of the legal hand: making photos from public spaces of things visible from those spaces is not legally wrong. Yet, doing so can provoke a strong reaction in many people. It may not be illegal, but is it ethical? Is it right or wrong to make photos of a property owned by someone else? And how should we react, as photographers, when we’re confronted?
I think self-reflection is a useful tool for personal growth and change. It allows us to consider our system of beliefs, our thoughts and feelings, and our behaviours in the larger context of culture and society. What beliefs inform our behaviours? And when those beliefs are challenged by someone else who thinks, believes, and behaves differently, what should we do? I’ll be coming back to these questions…
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I realize things change, that’s a constant in life but my ethics do not change. We are all free to have an opinion, most anyway. I’m so glad I am retired because it’s hard to work for a company that doesn’t know how to spell ethics.
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Your thoughts here get even more complex when one considers the ethics of street photography.
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Yes, absolutely. And street photography history is littered with controversy.
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NB: Caution: Essay incoming!
It’s a tricky one. I’m sure some people wouldn’t mind their properties being photographed if done so respectfully ( ie. no trespassing, etc), but there will always be an equal amount of people who object to it.
I guess it’s the same with street photog- but the risk is likely more intensified there! Personally i HATE having my photo taken- especially if I know it’s going to end up online, or will otherwise be viewable to the general public in some way, so I generally shy away from photographing humans in case they feel the same. ( There was the exception recently when in Sydney, waiting for my adjoining interstate train and having not much to do, I began lining up a shot of the street, and a cyclist came into view just as I was taking the pic. I half expected him to say something, and would have happily deleted the photo- it wasn’t a spectacular shot or anything…but he didn’t give the slightest shit, so I kept it).
Communication is probably key when it comes to street photography, and honouring people’s boundaries- especially if they tell you about them in no uncertain terms. It’s harder with the landscape stuff, because, as you say, you don’t know what belongs to who, and if there’s nobody around, you’ve nobody to ask. If the place looks residential, I can understand feeling a bit of trepidation, but when we’re talking abandoned old ruins and dilapidated old sheds etc. I’d personally go for it ( unless/ until someone made it known to me that they weren’t ok with it, of course).
Sorry for my already lengthy comment, but i just want to add one more thing: as someone who lived out in the sticks for big stretches of time as a youngster, I can tell you that people in remote spaces can get a bit neurotic about strangers being near their properties. As well as possible thefts and the like, the further out you get, the higher the likelihood of some much shadier things happening, too. There were some shootings and raids not too far from a farm I lived on as a kid- all related to illegal weed crops and dealing. This kind of thing may be less common now, as weed has become quite mainstream now compared to what it was, but things could still happen. I remember one morning when a strange guy ran onto our property out of his mind- claiming to have just escaped a cult. He had apparently witnessed a shooting, and was convinced he’d be next. Who knows if it was the truth, or he was just having a REALLY bad trip! Then there was the time we caught a guy from the neighbouring property trying growing a naughty crop in the forest…on OUR property! He was given an ultimatum, which he sensibly honoured. So yeah, things aren’t always all peace and harmony out in the wilds!
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* oops- trying TO grow, i mean..
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