Written by admin on September 8th, 2009
In Scotland the right to roam – especially across agricultural land – has been countered by the intensity of livestock farming, compared to most areas of England. I’ve driven through hundreds of miles of England without seeing any of the fields full of livestock which typically line the route when driving in the Scottish Borders; admittedly, a trip from Edinburgh to Glasgow down the M8 would have you thinking most fields are empty even north of the Border.
On the radio a couple of days ago, a Scots farmer was talking about the problems encountered by walkers (presumably including photographers) who enter a field and get mobbed by cattle, not posing any threat, but just curious or mistaking the visitor for a food delivery. This is less common now that farmers arrive on quad bikes hauling the fodder and the cattle know the sound of the bike.
The suggestion was that if you have a dog, just let it off the lead – it will run away, and the cattle will follow it instead of you. This rather goes against the signs everywhere telling you KEEP the dog on the lead.
When I first started photographing historic sites, complete with a Reliant Supervan III, I returned from Mattersey Priory (Nottinghamshire) to find the van entirely surrounded by cattle. It took some time to get back in, and the paintwork (such as it was, in faded Reliant blue) was damaged. The farmer who got them to surrender the van explained that it was the salt from the roads, but it didn’t stop them actually licking the paint off with the salt!
So, next time, remember to take your sacrificial dog. And remember that the right to roam applies to all properties other than the private curtilage and gardens of homes; if it’s agricultural land, woodland, riverside, beach, moorland and some estate parkland you are not restricted to remaining on the Public Footpaths or highways. ‘Private Fishing’, a sign often found where I’m based, does not mean ‘Keep Out’ if you are a photographer or just out walking.
- DK
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Tags: cattle, countryside, farm, field, right, roam
Written by admin on May 8th, 2009
A case against the National Trust was resolved in favour of common law rights in Northern Ireland:
http://www.law-essays-uk.com/land-law-cases-52.php
This case relates to action taken by the Trust to attempt to stop an individual from gathering whelks, tidal fishing and intertidal littoral shellfish gathering.
In fact, Strangford Lough – the principal sea entry to Belfast – is in need of protection, and has been for decades. The danger is not that littoral harvesting or shallow water fishery could damage the environment – the real problem, already causing massive damage to the sea bed by the early 1990s, has been scallop dredging in the hunt for prized Irish Queen Scallops. This practice involves scraping the seabed (a fragile sediment) and removes all life – plants, other shellfish, everything. It leaves a complete desert. But, of course, the Trust doesn’t own the deep seabed.
The fight against dredging in Strangford Lough was aided by photography (Peter Vine and others) which showed, to the world, what a desert seabed looks like. How do I know about this? Because our company designed and edited the Marine Conservation Society’s books at that time, and other books on coastal waters and the environment created by Immel Ltd, Peter Vine’s (now gone) environmental publishing house. Those books were heavily illustrated and many were about the coastline and coastal waters, or sites of special interest. Shirley designed a particularly good photographic and educational coffee-table quality book on the flora of The Burren.
Though these were commercial projects, and people got paid (how else do people eat?) no separate value could ever be assigned to the photography. Imagine an author/photographer trying to produce a natural history book with many years searching out the shots, only to find that certain plants were on NT property or certain whole landscapes were NT, and therefore – it was all not allowed or we’ll have £200 a day thank you!
Photography of the countryside, architectural heritage, flora and fauna, topography, geology, man-made works, agriculture and landscaping is vital. It shapes public awareness of the value, shows changes, alerts us. Nothing should be done – especially by the Trust – which does anything except encourage photography.
- DK
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Tags: Belfast, fishing, Ireland, photography, Strangford Lough
Written by admin on May 7th, 2009
The Royal Photographic Society’s discussion forum has a lively thread updating on National Trust restrictions:
http://www.rpsforum.org/showthread.php?t=15317
It is interesting to note Fay Godwin’s words quoted; no doubt she helped formed my views on this subject, though I was not consciously quoting her when I referred to painters, writers and artists having rights denied to photographers.
There are many chains of connections. I read old literature more than most people – especially from around 1780-1840, a critical period in the formation of political and social ideas. Sir Walter Scott has been a focus, because he briefly owned my house and I found his signature on the pre-1806 deeds. I ended up reading a great deal about Scott over two decades. He did something exceptional – he bought land, and not only opened it to the public, but cleared overgrown footpaths, built stiles, and erected signs pointing all comers to memorable locations.
Scott liked nothing better than to meet people following his paths and exploring his – totally private – desmaine. He encouraged artists (he was slightly more worried about poets, in case he was buttonholed or hunted down). He died before photography arrived, but it was exactly the sort of invention he would have loved. Many of his contemporaries placed belvederes on their properties, with footpath access, for the benefit of visiting artists.
Oh well – where would William and Robert Adam have been, or any of their contemporaries, without the assiduous detailed sketching and measurements of the Grand Tour? Without the well-paid publication of countless volumes of pictures of private properties throughout Europe, sometimes with the co-operation of the owners, sometimes without a thought for who might be the owner?
‘Sorry, we can’t allow the use of the camera obscura for commercial engraving…’
-DK
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Tags: debate, national trust, photography, restriction, Royal Photographic Society
Written by admin on May 5th, 2009
The latest email publicity shot from the National Trust Picture Library shows that the charity – as with charity book and clothing shops on the High Street – has no qualms about targeting the primary markets for non-charity, commercial businesses. We can’t complain about this any more than we can complain about Oxfam or the British Heart Foundation, but there are some subtle differences I will discuss without prejudice after showing a screen snap of the promo.
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Tags: byline, competition, copyright, credit, email, library, mailshot, monopoly, national trust, picture, restriction
Written by admin on April 27th, 2009
The Copyright Action website has published a comment on the possible reliance of the National Trust on a 1965 schedule of Byelaws to ban commercial photography. Their conclusion is that this regulation (similar in legal basis to byelaws passed by local authorities, town or county councils) was intended to prevent itinerant photographers setting up to photograph visitors – the old tintype seaside trade.
http://copyrightaction.com/forum/national-trust-byelaws-in-a-twist
Here are the Trust byelaws in full.
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Posted in Photography Bans | 2 Responses »
Tags: Byelaw, hawking, national trust, photography
Written by admin on April 20th, 2009
Visiting Mallorca in late 2008, I didn’t even bother to take a tripod. I knew that I was unlikely to repeat the hundreds of ‘cathedral by floodlight’ shots, and suspected that restrictions might prevent tripod use at sites we planned to visit. I encountered, instead, an almost enthusiastic reception for someone clearly carrying a large DSLR kit – and ended up buying a €30 tripod which saw plenty of use.
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Tags: camera, cathedral, heritage, Mallorca, permission, property, tripod
Written by admin on April 20th, 2009
With the advent of a copiously illustrated worldwide web, ‘publication’ has changed for ever. The legal definition of publication was always ready for this, because it never meant ‘going to press’. You published something if you displayed it your shop window or pinned a single notice on a supermarket advertising board. Publishing was, and is, no more than the act of making words, images or any other information public.
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Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Responses »
Tags: access, freelance, heritage, permit, photography, private, property, sale, site, trust
Written by admin on February 10th, 2009
Welcome to NationalTrustPictures.com – please see the ABOUT tab for a rundown on why this site has been created, and what it is intended to do.
It is not connected with any specific National Trust organisation worldwide, and is not intended to pass off as such.
It is a resource for photographers who wish to show, and sell, images taken of heritage and trust-held properties, locations, gardens, architecture and landscape of merit – and to discuss the restrictions placed on such photography, provide information on camera-friendly locations to visit, permit costs, tripod bans, flash bans and anything else relevant.
Even so, it’s also here to put some mild pressure on the UK National Trust to revise policy towards freelances releasing editorial and stock photography of the kind which requires no tripods, lighting, prior arrangements, models, products on site, or special access. At present this is ‘outlawed’ or a hefty permit fee, far exceeding the likely value of any fees accruing within a generation or so, payable. What is needed is a photography permit at a reasonable annual cost (not into three figures) carrying with it a set of responsibilities and conditions.
The header photos currently displayed are unconnected with the site – they were part of the template – and I’d like to have some 850 x 200 pixel images or montages, which can have a small URL/credit line, to replace them from photographers with suitable material.
Please use the forum to get in touch. It is possible to become an author (contributor) to this site if approved by me and upgraded to the necessary privileges.
- DK
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