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Most people wouldnt know a creepy pervert if they fell over one. It could be some nicely polished person in a very expensive suit. Who knows what they look like - I certainly dont. I gave an example to someone earlier about my husband who looks nothing like his brother. He went to the local pool with brother and the kids one day and took photos for them. Imagine how mortified he would have been if someone confronted him and either said or implied that he was a creepy pervert. I think he'd end up throwing away the camera if that happened.

But as Ash said, a creep can spank the monkey looking at a kmart catalogue so do we get rid of photos all together because the minority have bad intent? I mean look at people like Rex Dupain - I think down the track they'll just dump their cameras and give up. How many times can a guy like that be jumped on by cops and have his equipment confiscated before he just says - well stuff you all.

Another question, to the people on here who object to a stranger taking a photo of you walking your dog down the street or of your kids etc, do you confront the person with the camera?

Yep I totally agree with you.

Oh good god that is insane. JaxxBuddy made a good point, though - is it the fear of not what the photographer's intent is but the intent of a viewer somewhere down the track? eg If Casey posts those photos up on the internet and some creepy perve gets his jollies looking at the photos

Yep!

Ridiculous isnt it. It's amazing he doesnt throw in the towel, same as Rex Dupain

Same here but I dont have kids so I wonder if I'd change my mind if the boot was on the other foot

Yes they ARE ridiculously goodlooking! But my question is, what is it that someone is likely to do with a photo? Maybe I'm just too naive - I dont have a clue what a person with evil intent is going to do with one. Like the example given in Ashanali's article - Rex Dupain cant even take photos of his own kids at a sporting carnival. Sure it's because someone else's kids might end up in the photos but you cant tell me the other parents wouldnt know who he is and would think he's going to do something nasty with it.

OK so I really have to ask the question. I'm a stranger on the beach with a camera, doesnt matter if I'm male or female, a local or a tourist, I take a photo of your kid who is wearing shorts and a t shirt building a sandcastle. Nothing in the photo indicates where the beach is. What exactly is it that a parent thinks I'm going to do with the photo? The reason I ask is that I just dont understand - probably because my intent when I take a photo is purely innocent.

If the hostility and suspicion Rex Dupain has experienced had prevailed when his dad was working, would Max Dupain have taken such shots? "Not a hope," says the great photographer's son. Imagine that - we'd be without all of that history documented in such a beautiful way, which is where your kids will be when they get to your age - missing out on a huge slab of documented culture happening right now.

Weirdos and rockspiders. Imagine a tourist rocking up to the famous Bondi beach and pulling out his/her camera only to be jumped on by cops. Unbelievable.

Great article, Ash. How humiliating! Despite his reputation as a renowned art photographer, Dupain has been reported to lifeguards or police four times while working at Bondi. His camera has been seized several times and on one occasion a police officer asked Dupain's subjects (two sleeping backpackers) if they'd like to have the photographer arrested. (The answer was no.) "I've been yelled at and harassed just for trying to create a record of the times we live in," says Dupain. "They make you feel like a predator."

OK here's another scenario. I travelled with a pro photographer who would pay indigenous people, get them to wear tribal garb and take them to a great spot for a photo shoot. He passes the photos off as someone doing ordinary stuff, all dressed up in their finery and him just being in the right moment at the right time. Is that wrong? To me it is because it's a lie. Tatelina, what prompted you to start the thread? Did someone take a photo of you, did you take a photo of someone else, or is it purely hypothetical?

ahhh right I never thought of that.

Oh wow that's surprising. When was that, Star? I found Nepalis pretty bored by a camera lense unless it was in the face (yes I did see people doing that and I dont do it) or taking photos when they were having a bath (I dont do that either but yes, some travellers need a bullet to make them behave).

Yes and I'm sure you've got plenty of photos to prove it, just like I have. So what's the issue deep down - that it's not OK to take a street photo in Australia incase someone catches you but it is in another country? Serious question because I dont know the answer.

Wouldnt it just. What would happen to something like...for example...National Geographic? Do those photographers race after someone to sign a contract after they've taken a pic (between taking 100 other pics?). Are we one day going to end up with snappies of people saying Cheese just so we dont get jumped on for not asking permission first?

oh yeah. We both felt so bloody uncomfortable, and that creep vibe started before we even got passed the front door.

I've got another true story which I think takes me full circle. Before I got married a photographer was recommended to me. Lovely shot on his business card of a bride on the beach with her two toddlers in the buff. Really cute photo. Got to his studio and immediately got the seedy feeling - and that was before we were taken into his office where there were naked shots of pubescent kids on the wall. Lovely photos but it really wasnt feeling right. then he said he'd come back to our hotel for 'sensual shots in the spa bath' and get this, he asked if we had any little nieces or nephews who could join us in the bath. We didnt use him. Now here is a guy who not only was asking for permission, but was handing us a contract to sign. I guess the moral of the story is, trust your instincts.

We all do so dont worry about that Amanda. Better safe than sorry when it comes to kiddies but the thing was, we all knew who he was (and he didnt look like the guy in my scenario earlier, that was just an example. He was neat and tidy, always polite, took fantastic photos, never got in anyone's way, wife is really lovely as well. He travels around the world taking photos of people and their dogs. It was a crying shame and such a bloody embarrassment). Even better, the person who reported him and had him humiliated infront of a hell of a lot of people the official photographer on the day. Disgusting!

:D :D :D Oh my lordy. Sorry for laughing. I must be a pervert as well then. Staranais, he was removed because one person cracked the shits that he had a better camera than she did and the excuse to ring the police was because he was a strange man taking photos of kids. She knew who he was because he'd been at all the events running up to it. Clincher was, his wife wasnt told to stop taking photos of the kids.

Ohhhh! First impressions can be a killer!....I gather the police didn't ask for his credentials either.. I dont know what the hell happened because unfortunately I never saw him again. It was bloody disgraceful.

OK here's the story - and this actually happened. A guy was forcibly removed BY POLICE from an event because he was taking photos of kids in a fancy dress parade. All the parents knew who he was because he'd been taking photos at similar events countless times. He looked suspicious because He was a man He had a 'funny' name (the guy is European) And he had expensive equipment (I kid you not). His wife who had accompanied him to all the other events, was not told to leave. The guy is a professional photo journalist.

What if I'm not planning on selling the photos? What if I'm not even planning on putting them on the net but just keeping them because they're an intimate diary of my travel? Do I then need to ask permission? :D I just keep coming up with more and more questions. Sorry but it's obviously something that really interests me.