PRIVACY POLICY
Photographs capture the ‘atmosphere’ of the park by showing people fishing, boating, picnicking, sunbathing, reading, cycling, jogging, kite-flying, cricket-playing, nature-watching, running, ball-kicking, dog-walking, sitting, talking…
I do take many ‘scenery’ photographs which are void of people. But photographs are more interesting if they include people
Two examples:
- The cover of the book is of a general scene, it includes 46 people, most of are not recognisable, most are not even facing the camera. But a handful are recognisable. To get everyone’s permission would have involved asking the 46 (plus dozens more) if I could take a photo.
- The funfair came to the park, people are enjoying the rides, there would be no spontaneity if I stopped each person to ask if I could take a photo. In fact, if I systematically approached people for permission, there would be many complaints.
However, if I happen to be standing near a subject and want to take a close-up, I ask.
Whatever the circumstances, I am happy (at the time of taking the photograph) to show subjects the photographs on the screen, and if any are worthy of keeping (most are not good enough and I delete them) I would be happy to send them a copy. Alternatively, I would delete a photograph if asked, I do understand that some people are simply shy about appearing in a photograph, no matter what the circumstances.
It must be understood that anyone may take any photograph in any public place, no permission is required.
AFTER THE EVENT
If you say to yourself, “OK, that’s all very reasonable, but I had no idea anyone was taking my photograph and now I see it on cassiobury-walks.co.uk and I want it removed!”.
Fine, all you need to do is to prove (in writing, by email) that you are the person in the photograph, and I will remove it. The easiest way is to tell me the date and approximate time it was taken. But any clues will do, for instance: “I really can’t remember the date but it was a Sunday and it was late in the afternoon and it rained and if you enlarge the original photo you should be able to read the slogan on my shirt and if you have any other photos taken at the same time you will see that I have a small white dog…”
If you see yourself in a photograph on the website and like it and are happy for it to remain on the website, I would show my appreciation by emailing you a copy. Your email addresses will not be entered onto any database or passed to a third party and I will not enter into correspondence (unless you initiate it), sending you a copy of the photograph is purely a gesture of goodwill, I am not trying to sell you anything.
PHOTOGRAPHS I WILL, AND WON’T, TAKE
Due to current sensitivities I do not take photographs of children in the paddling pools or playground, and I am wary of photographing children playing on their own, anywhere. I am, however, not shy about taking photographs of children alongside their parents or taking part in organised events; indeed, if I take a nice photograph, the people I would most like to see the photograph are parents and teachers.
Photographs must be ‘tasteful’. They must not be ‘intimate’. This is, of course, subjective. TASETFUL: I hope that all of my photographs are tasteful, I would be happy for any of them to be put on display in the town centre for everyone to see. NOT INTIMATE: I would not take a photograph of a couple kissing; on the other hand, a couple sitting with their arms around each other or holding hands – that is acceptable (the only risk I take is that they might be married but not to each other).