Why?
Taking photos inside a train?
- Thread starter Ragman
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Because someone is making up their own rules. Maybe the dining car attendant doesn’t want “his/her” picture taken, even if s/he’s not the intended subject of the picture.
What utter nonsense. I've been allowed to take pictures (I usually take pictures of the food). And one LSA explicitly told us we could take pictures as long as we're respectful.
The attendant is wrong. There might be a special or emergent situation calling for a restriction but the general rule is it permitted for a ticketed passenger, and obviously you can't do it in a way that interferes with operation or safety like blocking an aisle. Clearly stated in Amtrak policy.
https://www.amtrak.com/photography-video-recording-policy
https://www.amtrak.com/photography-video-recording-policy
Unfortunately, too many people try to make stuff this confrontational, or look for an "in your face moment" rather than a teachable moment, forgetting that 2 wrongs don't make a right.
I think the attendant might be technically right. It's a law dating back to the aftermath of September 11, 2001. I know that you couldn't take pics inside any public transit facilities for years but the smart phone made enforcement impossible. I realize that Amtrak says differently now but I would not at all be surprised if the law is still on the Federal books.
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They were allowed to designate restricted areas, and the rules for ticketed passengers are different from the general public. This is the current stated Amtrak policy. There are some agencies that had or have different restrictions, but most of them are gone. Expired, repealed, or taken down by courts. But since this is about this trip on an Amtrak train, it seems pretty clear.
Citation needed
I can't produce proof at the moment but it was common knowledge and widely reported for a number of years after the attack. I know of people stopped from taking photos in the subway and around the Pulaski Skyway around 2006. And in my post I did clarify with a "might be" correct.
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Ryan
Court Jester
I would love to see this "law" that you claim exists. The fact that people have been stopped taking pictures makes no proof of the existence of said law. I've been stopped before, complained loudly and received written and verbal apologies from WMATA management with assurances that the offending employee would be re-trained.
The link @PVD posted appears to give enough wiggle room that an employee can make up his own rules.
- Ticketed passengers on board trains may take photos or video record on a train when it does not interfere with passengers or crew and in accordance with any directions given by Amtrak onboard train personnel.
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There's no need to get your dander up. I qualified what I had posted before and it should be noted that there were many cases of detention and arrests across the country in the years following the 9/11 attacks.
https://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bs-md-mta-aclu-20110531-story.html
Dakota 400
Engineer
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It seems to me that the employee who objected to having photos taken inside the dining car may be more concerned that those pictures may show him/her doing something that he/she does not management to possibly see.
This is another case when having an OBS Chief aboard could be helpful for the passenger.
I've never had a problem taking photos inside the train. The only exception is if an individual does not want their picture taken. I respect that and move on. That goes for other "public" places as well.
Don't you understand? This involves national security. If the Russians get a hold of pictures of the inside of an Amtrak train, they might be able to reverse engineer it. It's a matter of national pride! We can't let the Russians turn the Trans-Siberian into something that resembles the Crescent or the Texas Eagle and let them have the best trains in the world!
(uh, tongue firmly in cheek, just in cae you didn't figure that out.)
Yeah, but Mica already declared years ago that Amtrak was a "Soviet-style" railroad! So, it follows that Amtrak had their spies over there...
I am thinking of MAD Magazine... Spy vs. Spy!
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Mystic River Dragon
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If it’s a picture of an individual, that person should be asked first if it’s all right (I hate having my picture taken and always turn away if it looks like I’ll be in one taken by a stranger).
But there should be no problem taking a picture of, for example, the super-duper chocolate torte or whatever the dessert of the day is and even posting it for the rest of us to see.
But there should be no problem taking a picture of, for example, the super-duper chocolate torte or whatever the dessert of the day is and even posting it for the rest of us to see.
Can you imagine trying to enforce a no-pictures rule in the observation car of the LD trains? That's all people are there for! One of the most poignant pictures I took on the CZ was in that car at sunrise, taken from the far end. There was just one traveler, way down at the other end, face not visible, golden orange light just beginning to dispel the gloom of the dark car.
Devil's Advocate
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I agree that we should all strive to be civil toward each other but it sounds like the dining car attendant is ensuring a confrontation in this case. In my experience there is little chance such people are open to being taught anything that might contradict them. It's not just an Amtrak problem either. I've been warned to put my camera away by airline staff who started the teachable moment by threatening me with jail time and a felony record (thanks to 49 U.S.C. §46504). Where I live five minutes of plane spotting brings a swarm of police because "someone called in a terrorist." It's nuts these days.
Mystic River Dragon
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Also, bullies will take their cues of what they can get away with from their surroundings.
(For example, the same NJT cop who screamed at me for buying a homeless woman a hotdog at the Trenton train station could not have been nicer and more polite a few months later when he showed up at Princeton Junction and we were both talking with the Dinky driver. Commuters through TRE are fair game; people at rich PJC are not?)
We hear this over and over on Amtrak—the train had a good crew or a bad crew. I wonder what the rest of the crew was like on the OP’s train.
(For example, the same NJT cop who screamed at me for buying a homeless woman a hotdog at the Trenton train station could not have been nicer and more polite a few months later when he showed up at Princeton Junction and we were both talking with the Dinky driver. Commuters through TRE are fair game; people at rich PJC are not?)
We hear this over and over on Amtrak—the train had a good crew or a bad crew. I wonder what the rest of the crew was like on the OP’s train.
ehbowen
Engineer
If I may, let me shift the discussion from 'whether' to 'how'...techniques. What works for me is shooting with the light behind me, with the camera very close to the window (but not touching) to minimize reflections off the glass. High shutter speed; generous aperture.
Donner Lake from the eastbound California Zephyr, 2016-09-21.
Donner Lake from the eastbound California Zephyr, 2016-09-21.
Qapla
Engineer
I saw someone who had added a foam ring on their camera lens - allowing them to press it to the window, cutting out all glare/reflection without picking up vibration from the train.
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