Tampa Photography Blog

The movie, Rock of Ages, is causing quite a stir in south Florida.

Traditionally, if a movie is being shot in a public place and the general public is still allowed to walk through the area (an open set), then photographers are also free to shoot movie stars that descend upon their town.

Not so in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Police and city officials have banned photographers from taking photos of the movie stars but they say the public is welcome to walk the area and frequent the local businesses.

If you tell a photographer they can't shoot something, you better have a reason why. And because the city of Fort Lauderdale does not, photographers along with the Society of Professional Journalists, are staging a "lunch-in" today. Local shooters will buy lunch at a restaurant in the area while shooting photos of stars that might be in the area.

Norm Kent, publisher of the South Florida Gay News, filed a lawsuit (with SPJ) against the city, seeking an emergency injunction against the city's illegal action.

I applaud the efforts of my fellow shooters in south Florida to fight for the right to do their jobs.

When I was working for newspapers, I was never one to lead a rally or push back against the police to the point of an arrest, but it always angered me that those in power feel they can make up rules to suit their own needs. I always obeyed authorities if they told me to step back, stop shooting or leave the scene. But I always asked "Why?". Most of the time, they didn't have an answer.

They were probably thinking the same thing I was..."I'm just trying to do my job."