land of the free

 I shot some photos adjacent to Auburn Corr. Facility today, and was repeatedly harassed by Corr. Officers making it clear that they didn’t like what I was doing. One watched me through binoculars, another heckled me from a guard tower, and a third discouraged me from a passing car. I had every right to be there and was doing nothing wrong.

I was surprised at how aggressive they were. Surprised enough to do some research. For some tips on photographers and the law, look here and here.

The media guidelines of the NYS Dept. of Corrections says this about photographs: “3. Photographs taken while physically standing on any Department property require the prior permission of the PIO. Violators risk the confiscation of their exposed film or deletion of the images in question from their digital camera(s). 4. The Department has no authority over the making of pictures or sound recordings of its property when the media is physically standing off Departmental property.” I was on a public sidewalk.