Bloggers and Cameras

So you enjoy blogging and you carry your camera or camera phone with you. Think you'll be able to take photos for your blog and not get hassled? Think again.

Lori Baltazar of Dessert First found out the hard way when she took photos of the food she ordered at Cantonese Kitchen.

She was unhappy with some of the ordered food, wrote a review about it, blogged about how she was treated while she snapped photos of her own food, then continued the review.

"Food eaten in anger turns to poison in the stomach."

Well, photo taken while harassed turns to nastier food review in blog.

Looks like it is unstoppable. More people blog and snap photos. With inexpensive digital "film" and highly affordable electronic publishing, it's just a matter of time before the blogger and the blogee or the photographer and the photographed clash.

(I wonder if those in front of the lens will stage some kind of traffic-inducing rally in EDSA in the future.)

I was once in this shop and someone was trying to take a photo of the shop's logo (on the wall). A man who was seated near the logo kept waving his hands frantically. The photographer took the photo just the same and the irate man stood and told her: "Didn't I wave you away? I don't want my photo taken."

The woman apologized, deleted the photo from her camera (demonstrated to him that she was really erasing it), then pointed the camera again at the logo.

Mr Angry then stood away from the logo. There was, however, another man who sat *closer* to the logo. Ms Photographer asked if he would mind getting caught in the shot. He just smiled and remained in his new-found seat.

(Pinoys usually enjoy having their photos taken, even if they don't know the person behind the lens.)

Anyway, after the dramatic photo shoot, Ms Photographer leaves. Mr (middle-aged) Angry goes back to his seat...

...and continues talking to his companion. A rather attractive-looking young woman.

I wonder why he didn't want to be photographed with her. ;-)

Yes, privacy is an issue in these drive-by photo shoots. I bristled when some marketing guy tried to photograph my children (my babies!) without my permission. (Of course, he later asked for permission. I denied his request.)

Anyway, to bloggers and photographers frustrated by the No Picture Taking Policy of Powerbooks or the Food Should Be Eaten, Not Photographed rule of someone in Cantonese Kitchen, get used to it.

Afterall, not everyone wants their baby photographed by strangers. Much less bloggers.

[ First posted on 09/09/2005 by Manuel Viloria ]