May 23. Day 143. Festival forgiven (previously posted as festival fury)

***UPDATE: I have been contacted by the orgainisers who have apologised and assured me that cameras ARE allowed. It was a mistake of the security company. I have been assured it has been dealt with and it won't happen again. I was invited back but due to prior commitments (it's my husband's 50th birthday) I can't go. I will return next year (with camera). I accept the apology and I shall leave the post up because it was an accurate reflection of what happened and how it made me feel ******

   

This makes me sick to my stomach. Not because of the nausea-inducing positions the people on the rides have paid money to inflict on themselves but because I had to take the photos from outside the gates of annual Paniyiri Festival. I was denied entry to the festival despite having a valid ticket (ironically given to me by the promoters) because I was carrying a camera around my neck.

So instead of tasting honey puffs, I had the bitter taste of bile in my mouth. Let's be clear. This is in the terms and conditions of the Festival should you scroll down to term 24 of the fine print. **

So it is well possible that the organisers were withing their rights to prohibit me and my camera from gaining entry. This kind of thing seriously annoys me. There are rules against just about everything. And exactly how is "The Venue" - a public park - going to give me permission to do anything

But, and it is a huge but, this kind of thing is dead wrong (and almost always badly handled by security).

Here are some facts. Thousands of photos will be taken in the festival grounds this weekend. No questions. No-one will care and in fact they will be a huge promotional tool for the festival.

This is not an major international act. It is hard to see how taking photos breaches any copyright or intellectual property.

This is a festival in a public park. It is not on private property. The public should have rights too.

I live very close to Musgrave Park. I walk my dog there all the time. But at festival time big fences go up and the public can't access a public space. This situation continues for about a week.

This weekend I can't drive down one of the main streets to my local supermarket because it is closed for the festival. I accept these things without question because a festival of this type is good for the community. But I do not accept that I should be barred from taking photos. I would not profit from the photos. I take photos because I like photography and I use a Digital SLR because I like taking good photos. In fact, I have taken photos with the same model camera for the past three or four Paniyiri festivals.

My camera was around my neck because it never occurred to me to try and hide it. Like everyone else going through those gates my intention was to have a good time and take photos to prove it.

Any organisers with any brains would understand that public endorsement and photos should be embraced. Word of mouth is a much stronger motivator than advertising. Well here are the words out of my mouth. You know what you can do with your honey puffs. And, as you can see, if your intention was to stop me taking photos you failed in any case.

** I am told these are standard terms and conditions that do not apply here. These are the exact terms that were given to me for why I couldn't enter. Again, this has now been rectified.