The bicycle butterfly
Posted on 30 January 2009
A bicycle tied to a post on Patrick’s Street, Cork late last November.
I’m heading to London later today for my brother Donal’s stag. Yes yes, wild weekend, etc etc. I’ll have my camera too of course and I’m staying next to King’s Cross Railway Station so I thought it would be great to go photograph the area. Unfortunately it seems that photography in railway stations and the undergroundrequires a permit. In fact, photography in the UK has become a lot riskier in recent years unfortunately:
- Discordant Photography?
- Threats to Photographers’ Rights?
- Tube: Photography now costs £300 and requires prior permission
For an individual like myself a permit would cost £30 but such a permit requires up to 2 weeks notice. I wonder if they can charge me if I use a telephoto lens from the street when someone opens the front door?
4 responses to The bicycle butterfly
Nice shot, I like the DOF. I must admit I didn’t know about needing a permit for the London Underground. I’ve taken many photos on there (check my blog) and have never been challenged. I shot a lot of stuff from the hip, perhaps no one noticed ;O)
I got a Ricoh Calipo R8 for (my wife) at christmas – great when a DSLR is too much. I also did london for a stag – We power boated down the Thames (the one in Cork is better but you’d get great shots from the boat in London) and then settled in for a day of boozing on the south bank and so food and more boozing – all-in-all grand – enjoy and pace yourself.
I wasn’t even aware of the need for a permit when I was going around St. Pancras with my camera. It was pretty obvious I was taking photos, but I didn’t really see any staff. The only place I was asked to stop was in the new Westgate Mall, but that was because of the size of the camera. Enjoy your trip anyway.
Hi Donncha, hope you have a good weekend in London. I used live in King’s Cross years ago (from 89 to 92) and used love it even though it was a bit of a mixed area but it was very convenient for Central London and really was a very interesting area. I’m sure ye’ll get to see plenty of London anyway more so than last November which was quite rushed.