Will I be hassled in Paris if I try to shoot street scenes with a rangefinder?

[RalphLambrecht]

unless your first name is mohammed,and you randomlystart shooting kids, you'll be fine. enjoy the spring in psris.

[amsp]

Antonio,

I wouldn't force my luck with the Turkish police! But I presume you are comfortable with body language and making your intentions clear before it's too late.

Cheers

Heh, don't worry Omar, I'm not stupid enough to to provoke them. I had my girlfriend who speaks Turkish ask for permission before taking the shot. I've heard enough horror stories to make sure I watch my step around the police here.

[benjiboy]

You know Benny Hill looks a lot like Newt Gringrich

Not any more, Benny has been dead for twenty years .

[Steven L]

I wonder if SchwinnParamount got hassled. I guess we know in a couple of days.

[E. von Hoegh]

I wonder if SchwinnParamount got hassled. I guess we know in a couple of days.

He probably used an SLR and wound up in some forgotten oubliette, feeding the rats and corpse beetles.

[Steven L]

ehm... guys? Should we start a search party?

[E. von Hoegh]

Does France still run Devil's Island as a penal colony?

[M.A.Longmore]

Not any more, Benny has been dead for twenty years .

.
I'm Sure Newt's Resemblance To Benny Hill Is Even Closer Now ...

Ron
.

[M.A.Longmore]

You know Benny Hill looks a lot like Newt Gringrich

.
And Benny Hinn ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lvU-DislkI


Ron
.

[Diapositivo]

I would find very strange if you were hassled in Paris for taking pictures. Just keep normal behaviour. Generally speaking I do take pictures of people, and also in Paris (more so, to take pictures of cafe life and such) just don't go into the nose of people.

I was actually the subject of a "cafe life" stock picture. I was with a friend, drinking a beer at one of those small outside tables with three legs (guéridons) boulevard Saint-Germain-des-Prés (you pronounce that with a close e in Prés and an open e in Germain, avoid sounding the final "t" and all should be fine ) almost in front of Danton monument if I remember well and a she-photographer with a serious "but digital" camera came in front of us, took a picture blatantly of the two of us, and went away without a smile. I had no problem with people taking advantage of my discreet and elegant beauty in any case*

I had four nocturne tripod sessions:
Montmartre;
Opéra - place Vendôme;
Notre-Dame - Hôtel de Ville;
Tour Eiffel from Champs-de-Mars.
Never had anybody interested in what I was doing.

The only place I found where they tell you not to take pictures is inside the Sacré-Coeur, which is a place where you would need in any case a tripod or a stand of some sort. That's a stronghold of bigotry so no surprise they have some added paranoia added to top it off.

Fabrizio

PS *Her caption probably was: couple of photographers destroyed by a tour of Paris in a sunny day under the delusion a beer can put them in shape again.