Here’s the last planned installment of the Empty America time-lapse series by photographer Ross Ching and Thrash Lab. The video takes us on a journey through the capital of the United States, showing what various landmarks (e.g. Capitol Building, Jefferson Memorial, the White House) look like without the ordinary hustle and bustle of tourists (and security guards).
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Superheroes usually do their world-saving work in big cities, but what if they lived lives that were as mundane as the civilians they’re sworn to protect? Photographer Chow Kar Hoo has a creative series of photographs that show well known superheroes living rather ordinary lives in Hong Kong. Batman is seen strolling a night market, Wolverine is found making a living slicing up meat at a butcher shop, and Hellboy is spotted enjoying some late night hot pot.
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Last week we wrote about an obscure law in Washington DC that can land a person in jail for doing photography for “more than 5 minutes at location”. The Washington Post published a clarification stating that the law is targeted at people who make a living taking a portrait for strangers on city sidewalks. However, the National Press Photographers Association isn’t satisfied with the explanation, and has written a letter to the city requesting that the “vague” law be repealed:

[...] these three vague and incrementally overly broad sections taken together could be interpreted to mean that any photographer taking a photograph of anything, be it a building, person or inanimate object for longer than five (5) minutes would be in violation of the regulations and subject to fine or arrest [...] We contend that this licensing scheme, based upon regulations that are facially inconsistent with the protections provided under the First Amendment, is unconstitutional.

[...] these facially defective regulations will only further contribute to the erroneous belief by law enforcement that public photography may be arbitrarily limited or curtailed.

The NPPA also writes that they’re concerned that the law could be used against photographers covering events such as “Occupy Wall Street”.

NPPA Seeks Repeal of D.C. Regulations Limiting Street Photography [NPPA]

Image credit: 2011 09 11 – 6780 – Washington DC – Police by thisisbossi

Update: Apparently this isn’t something ordinary photographers need to worry about. See below.

The Washington Post has published a list of 160 misdemeanor offenses that can land you in jail in Washington D.C. While most are quite reasonable (e.g. “Sale of Cigarettes to a Minor” or “Unlicensed Driving Instructor”), there is one that is troubling. Under the category “Photographer Violations” is the entry:

Photographer – More than 5 minutes at location

The entry is quite vague and, as Carlos Miller points out, leaves a lot of room for police officer interpretation.

Update: The Washington Post has written a followup article addressing this issue (thx Darrow). Apparently the law is directed at full-time photographers who photograph passersby on the streets:

”Our policy has been that the street photographer license would apply to persons who are stationed on public space to take photos of passersby,” said agency spokesman Helder Gil in an e-mail. Amateurs aren’t covered, he said, nor are “journalists, professional photographers who take pictures of buildings/scenery, or wedding photographers taking pics of happy couples on D.C. streets and sidewalks.”

So as long as you don’t make a living hustling tourists for snapshots, you can snap away without keeping an eye on your watch.

Image credit: Washington DC – Police Officers at Freedom Plaza by thisisbossi

Pentax is super big on the customization and design aspect of cameras (much to the annoyance of photography purists), offering colorful DSLRs and all kinds of strange special edition ones as well. Now, with the introduction of customizable faceplates on the RS1500, they’ve discovered a new way to make money from their camera lines — special faceplates made by other companies. They just announced today that they’ve partnered with DC Comics for a custom faceplate pack. Available for £120 (~$200) starting in May, each pack includes 7 superhero skins, a 4GB SD card, and a Green Lantern carrying case. Fun idea, but the price is a bit steep if you ask us…

(via Foto Actualidad)