West Ham
11/30/04
West Ham, London
Thanks so much to the guest photographers last week, and especially to Miranda for being the wizard behind the curtain.
Remember how the MTA was backing down on the subway photo ban? Well, so much for that. They've now officially published the ban proposal, unchanged, which means there's a 45-day comment period. Send in your comments.
10:46 PM | Comments (18) | TrackBack (0)
Comments
It's an insane situation. I asked them why they want to take away my right to document the NYC subway. I also told them that, in this year when we are witnessing so many excellent books and publications documenting the subways' 100 year history, that none would be possible with this ban.
Apparently I am going to have to do my planned photo survey of the original 27 stations in honor of the anniversary early, before I'm fully prepared to do it...
Thank Christ I, you and people like Julia Solis of darkpassage.com, Dave Pirmann of nycsubway.org and dozens other sites I've never seen have been doing subway photography for years and have a backlog of images on file. Thank Christ that people like Brian Cudahy, Joe Cunningham, Joe Brennan and Stan Fischler have documented the subway for decades and have their info on file.
I suppose the MTA is going to want us to turn in our pictures and files next.
Fuck you, Peter Kalikow, fuck you, Bloomberg, if you pay lip service to the photographers and do nothing, and fuck you, Ray Kelly. And most of my friends know I've supported the cops in a lot of things except this.
www.forgotten-ny.com
Posted by: Kevin Walsh at November 30, 2004 11:31 PM
Well put, olde chap..
Posted by: Sleazy Santa at November 30, 2004 11:50 PM
it's the usual MTA bait-andswitch bullshit. They do it all the time with fare hikes, so no one oughta be surprised with this development.
The writing is on the wall. You can hear it in the alleys, smell it in the street. the MTA is a twisted agency that is accountable to no one. Like Robert Moses trying to get LoMex, they will fail in the end.
The Joe
http://photorights.mtude.com/
Posted by: The Joe at December 1, 2004 12:03 AM
Help us stick it to the Man:
Photographers Rights Campaign @
http://photorights.mtude.com/
Posted by: Sleazy Santa at December 1, 2004 12:05 AM
http://photorights.mtude.com/
Everyone, all I can say is STAY TUNED.
This isn't going to slide by without some friction.
Posted by: A Casual Fellow at December 1, 2004 12:16 AM
You got that right. I'll dust off my camera and shutter away, just say when and where!!
Posted by: mrgrooism at December 1, 2004 01:24 AM
By the way, just what IS that nautilus-looking thing, a cannon of some kind?
Posted by: mrgrooism at December 1, 2004 01:31 AM
Good to have you back, Mike!
Andrew Piccone
www.livejournal.com/users/wrongavore
Posted by: Andrew at December 1, 2004 01:33 AM
mrgrooism: I think it's an air vent, although I don't know if the Tube is still underground at West Ham.
Welcome to that side of London one doesn't see in a Working Title (Bridget Jones etc.) film! ;-)
And for everyone fighting the MTA ban - keep at it!
redcountess,
London
Posted by: recountess at December 1, 2004 03:49 AM
The nautilus thing is near the extremely ornate building with the towers, which was built as (believe it or not) a sewage pumping station. Beyond that I have no idea what its specific function is/was.
Posted by: Mike at December 1, 2004 08:59 AM
I don't live in NYC. In fact, I live in Texas. But I just sent my thoughts on that stupid photography ban to the MTA. The people who think that a ban on photography and videotaping will enhance safety need to remove their heads from their asses. If they ban cameras, they may as well ban sketch pads, pens, pencils, paper, etc. There are many ways for terrorists to document the transit system. They don't need cameras. This does nothing to make the transit system safer for us. I hope that each of you will send in your comments, too. Every little bit matters. Oh, and it probably helps if you state your case in a nice, friendly manner, as that will more likely be read than a "flame".
Just my 2 cents.
Posted by: Scott Johnson at December 1, 2004 11:37 AM
The really stupid thing is that they fail to recognize the benefits of photography. If someone takes a picture and then sees something on it that could be an unsafe situation, that would help the MTA to fix it. And it's not like terrorists need pictures to figure out how they'd carry out an attack on the subway. I think that's pretty obvious to all of us, and we can just hope that it never happens. Ugh.
Posted by: Jesse at December 1, 2004 05:21 PM
Why, thank you.
www.forgotten-ny.com
Posted by: Kevin Walsh at December 1, 2004 06:43 PM
MARK YOUR CALENDAR(S), PEOPLE:
THE DAY IS DECEMBER 18TH. THE TIME IS 1 PM. THE LOCATION: TO BE ANNOUNCED.
http://photorights.mtude.com/
Posted by: A Casual Fellow at December 1, 2004 08:45 PM
Mike, the building is known as the "Cathedral of Sewage"! I'm only in Walthamstow, so must go and look at it some time!
Victorian London had a great problem with effluent and there was several outbreaks of cholera. Abbey Mills was part of the Main Drainage Scheme designed in the 1860s to divert sewage away from the city.
The nautilus, therefore, may be a vent to stop a build-up of metane, and looks very "steampunk"!
Posted by: recountess at December 4, 2004 08:17 AM
That's the Patriot Act at work !
Posted by: sayvanderlay at December 5, 2004 12:10 AM
what is that gray snail shaped thing used for??
Posted by: Megan at December 7, 2004 02:33 AM
i fuckin love these pics man!! are all these in london??? im in a photography class and im gonna do a report on the one with the mansion. whoever that crazy mother fucker was that took that, they got nuts. barbwire and all didnt stop the street art