[PRCo] Re: OT: Prohibition of photography from trains and police action taken

[Fred Schneider]

If anything it may have been loosened particularly in eastern  
Europe.   For example one was always forbidden to photograph bridges  
in Hungary.   I noticed that the famous chain bridge in Budapest  
illustrated in tour guides was always surreptitiously photographed,  
often from a distance or from a car going through a tunnel.   The  
more recent guide books show it up close and I noticed people  
standing on the bank, lined up outside their tour bus, photographing  
it.   I stood where they were and took my picture last month.

Aside from pick pockets, the only incident that ever involved me over  
the last 40-odd years in Europe was a transvestite (my wife's  
definition) in Trafalgar Square in London who wanted to take my  
camera away from me.   My wife suggested that if I would not take  
pictures it wouldn't happen.   However the camera was anchored to a  
unipod.   He grabbed the camera, I pulled the unipod toward me.   My  
foot went rapidly upward striking him where he really didn't want to  
be injured.   He then wen't backwards, ass over tin cup, down the  
steps into the square.   He came back up for a second bound and then  
changed his mind.   I put my wife in a cab, we went to the train  
station and headed for Watford where she was more comfortable.

Over the years I had my pocket picket in Blackpool (I lost an  
exposure meter in 1960), Lisbon (about $100 worth of Escudos) and  
Padua, Italy (I felt it happening while I was canceling my ticket,  
the bus driver saw it in the rear view mirror ... I swung around and  
recovered my wallet intact and the driver threw the offender off into  
the hands of a policeman.   I suspect he was back picking pockets  
later the same day).   The trick is to carry no more than you are  
willing to loose.   Keep the passport, credit cards and the stash of  
bills in a purse hanging under your clothing.    Unfrortunately, the  
camera makes you look like a tourist even if you were to dress in  
European shoes and clothing.  So as long as you go into major  
cities ... Munich, London, Frankfurt, Padua, Venice, Paris, Berlin,  
you will be a sitting duck.   However, if you spend your time out in  
the country towns, you are probably just as safe as you would be in  
Abilene, Texas, or Selma, Alabama, or Grand Island, Nebraska.    You  
are not likely to face a gun no matter where you go.

On Nov 20, 2007, at 4:58 PM, robert simpson wrote:

> When I lived in Europe (around 1980) and traveled at every  
> opportunity, the only camera restriction was near military  
> installations.
>
>   I took many, many pictures from moving trains and streetcars with  
> no objection whatsoever.  Has this changed?
>
>   Bob
>   from Krazy Kalifornia
>
> Boris Cefer <westinghouse at iol.cz> wrote:
>   When, where?
>
> B
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jerry Matt Matsick"
> To:
>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 7:17 PM
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: OT: Prohibition of photography from trains and  
> police
> action taken
>
>
> Boris, so true and yes that was one bad incident, however in  
> traveling in
> Europe I had several similar experiences, and one one occasion  
> someone tried
> to smash my camera. There is good and bad everywhere, it is up to  
> us to do
> our best to be kind and
> helpful to all we come into contact with. Here in Florida, countless
> thousands come and visit and I trust that from Miami to
> Jacksonville they are given a warm WELCOME!
> Jerry "Matt" Matsick
>
>
>
>
>
>