What kind of a life would we lead, if we lost the right to express ourselves, the right to make ourselves heard, to have our own opinions, to pursue our own interests and engage in whatever interests we may have?
I think it would be a terrifying society to live in, one in which what we can say, and do, is stifled to the point of suffocation.
I cannot believe that I was stopped from photographing the Northeast Line at the Harbourfront MRT station today, by one of the members of its staff, on the grounds of "passengers complaining about their photographs being taken", of "their human rights and privacy being violated". What about my rights?
I mean, come on, an MRT station is a public place-- I wasn't taking photographs of any specific person, I wasn't walking around with an extreme telephoto zoom lens taking voyeuristic shots of people, and I was certainly NOT violating anybody.
And come on, if you're THAT uncomfortable with being photographed, you could just approach the photographer; what case did that staff member have against me? Granted, you were the operator of the station, and your concerns for your passengers were legitimate; plus, being the owner of the place, you have the perogative of doing whatever you want. But, COME ON, 1. this is not communist China (though I'm beginning to become convinced that it is), 2. that was a PUBLIC PLACE for goodness' sake, 3. you were violating MY rights, MY rights to engage in MY HOBBY. The person who was SO UNCOMFORTABLE about having his or her picture taken can come talk to me about it.
And besides, what right did you have to tell me to ERASE the photographs? Hey they're mine you know, and there's no signage anywhere in the MRT system that says that photography is not allowed in the station. If you didn't want people to photograph your MRT stations, you could've saved the money and saved on those beautiful art pieces in the stations and the beautiful architecture of your stations.
In short, I'm pissed.
Okay. Even if it wasn't the fault of the staff member, why in the world are Singaporeans so @&*#^!*&#^*!@&#$^*@&? What the heck. Do you think you're THAT good looking that I want to photograph you? OH PLEASE. Take a look at yourself first. What if I told you that you have to close your eyes all the time because I don't like people to look at me.
Singapore society is, well, saddening. I've become disillusioned already, by a single incident.
I think I shall learn French, or some other obscure foreign langauge. The next time somebody tells me to scoot off with my camera, I'm going to suffer from a temporal memory lapse and I'll be able to speak only French.
Parlez vous Francais?
P.S. Quelques choses ne sont pas simplement en valeur mon perdre mon trempe plus de, et abīmer mon humeur pour. Puits d'Oh. Laissez-moi juste l'oublier.
P.P.S. I love Babelfish.
P.P.P.S. I guess street/candid photography is not quite like landscape/cityscape photography, where your subjects are all still, dead, and silent. I guess this episode has made me realise that candid people photography is a lot more than just techniques-- it's a lot about the sensitivities of people too, and it takes a lot to toe the fine line between art, and violating people's privacy, between self-expression, and respect for others, when you're filling an entire frame with a stranger's face. Ethics, will count. BUT, hey, I was shooting with a WIDE-ANGLE lens at it's widest you know. Okay. Enough on that I guess.