Christians in the UK sometimes seem not to keen to be photographed when they do, but the various Good Friday ‘Processions of Witness‘ are an exception. Of course I have been made welcome at many other events – as you can see from ‘My London Diary‘.
One of the largest of such events takes place in the centre of Westminster, along Victoria Street, involving Methodist Central Hall, Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. There are always quite a few photographers taking pictures during the services outside the first two churches and the procession between them, but photography is not allowed when the procession goes in to Westminster Abbey.
I started by photographing a service in the concourse of Waterloo Station, where around a hundred people from North Lambeth had ended their two processions around the area. Photography ‘for personal use’ is generally allowed in railway stations, so long as you don’t “take photographs of security related equipment such as CCTV cameras.”
It would of course be almost impossible not to coincidentally include CCTV cameras in most general shots of stations, and in practice it is unlikely to be a problem unless you appear to be concentrating on such things. It seems unlikely that even so you would be committing an offence, but people have been stopped and questioned for doing so.
It didn’t actually occur to the Secretary of State for Transport that photographing CCTV cameras was a problem worth mentioning; in a written answer in Jan 2007, Tom Harris said that the Department “would not normally expect operators to object to photography at stations unless it was being carried on in such a way as to pose an unacceptable risk to the photographer or others.”
Commercial photography at stations does of course require a licence, and if you want to use equipment such as tripods and lights you will need one. But so long as you stick to hand-holding and available light (flash is also allowed except on platforms) and don’t annoy people you are unlikely to have problems. I’m an editorial photographer not a commercial photographer; but as usual when working (except at highly policed demonstrations) I keep my press card in my pocket.
The ‘Crucifixion on Victoria Street‘ has a much higher profile, with the Lord Mayor of Westminster, Councillor Louise Hyams and the Archbishop of Westminster in attendance along with lots of other clergy. As Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor’s retirement has been announced this is the last of these events he will attend.
More on My London Diary.