Narangba Community

Caboolture Shire Herald
Moreton Bay house price rises tell half the story
Caboolture Shire Herald
Gay Matthews is the co-owner and principal of Harcourts Noterom, which currently operates four offices in Burpengary, Narangba, Petrie and Kallangur. ...

and more »

This one has been brewing for awhile.

I have an urgent need to let go and rant – and seeing as this is my blog I suppose its as good a place as any!

The subject is photography in public. The issue is the ignorance and paranoia out there.

Here are some recent times when I have been harassed.

At a public sports ground – several acres of open ground, with a tarmac cycle track around it on which a variety of people (adults and teens) were riding their bikes fast in training. I knelt and took two photos of riders beside the track – out in plain sight. Next minute I’m embroiled in an discussion with a shirt wearing government employee who was purportedly training these kids for triathlons. I in plain language told her they had no right to privacy, explained I was just randomly taking photos and that any body could do so. She brought over the parents who had been several hundred metres away and I proceeded to delete the (crappy) photos to shut them up and then went into the middle of the ground and took pictures of a land sailor.

See the kids in the background? they are probably 300-400 metres away from me at this point.

The next one was while sitting out in the parking rank at Brisbane airport taking pics of cars and baggage trolleys a security guard wandered up and asked if I was taking pics of the security guards. I said no. He proceeded to try and tell me that was illegal (which it isn’t).

Picture of baggage trolley at airport and a lady who may or may not have been or loved a marine – judging by the tattoo on her foot. Click the picture for the large view of the tattoo.

The next time was a funny one. I was in the local shopping mall dressed in my running gear on a late night – after being at running club - when the mall was full of young teens and their phone cameras and hand cams galore. I snapped this picture of some donuts and then the interesting lacework on the back of this ladies dress. A security guard then told me I couldn’t take pictures in the mall. I laughed and said surely that’s a policy that would be impossible to police – had he seen all the kids in there with phone cameras? He got all high and mighty and said he did police it well. I was in there least week and took specific notice. I watched kids taking photos of the aftermath of a fight while the security guards and police stood around and sported it out. None of them approached the kids with the handy snap cameras.

Today was a classic case of ignorance in several ways.

I was standing on a footpath in front of a a vacant section (house burnt down years ago). I as taking photos of an ant on some leaves (see the picture). The next house over is on double frontage, set back from the road some 50 metres and was probably 80 metres from where I was standing. After leaving the tree I was walking to my car parked up the road a bit further when the lady drove into her driveway as I was about to cross it and wound her window down and asked in a very annoyed voice “why are you taking photos of my house with a telephoto lens?”. I was holding it in my hand – i laughed in amazement and said its not a telephoto lens, I wasn’t taking photos of your house i was taking photos of a tree and pointed at it some 30 metres away. I said its not illegal to take photos of someone’s house anyway. She got all feisty and demanded “so why were you?” I reiterated i wasn’t and showed her the pics of the tree.

My annoyance stems form two things.

First the apparent assumption out there that anybody with an SLR camera is some kind of peeping tom, pervert, spy photographer or similar. I don’t see anybody with a hand snap camera being hassled in the same way.

Second the total ignorance of the law, or a deliberate attempt to ignore it. There exists NO RIGHT TO PRIVACY people except in places where you would reasonably expect it – e.g. a public change rooms or toilets or in your house. If you go out in public, expect to be photographed. If your house or yard is visible from the road, expect to be photographed. Google does it – has anybody seen street view for goodness sake They did it and it was legal – it still is. This lady today lives across the road from the train station carpark were there are numerous cameras on poles videoing every move. The funny thing is I am quite good friends with her husband, though she and I have never met before. I’m looking forward to that first introduced meeting! Oh and by the way darling – this is Tim!

Links for legal stuff

• Street Photographers Rights in Australia
• NSW Photo Rights – most of this is applicable to the rest of Australia thought here are some NSW specific bits.
• A good summary of rights and exceptions

<!--break-->

Quest News
Unmasked ambition of Narangba student
Quest News
The Narangba Valley State High School Year 12 student was selected for NIDA's Young Actor Studio program after an audition. Some of Australia's biggest ...

Quest News
Narangba State School leaders announced
Quest News
TWELVE Narangba State School pupils have been given the honour of leading the school through its centenary celebrations. The biggest accolade rests with ...

and more »

Northern Times
Residents encouraged to get free swine flu shot
Northern Times
Dakabin State High School's is on Saturday, March 13, Narangba Valley State High School on Saturday, March 20, and Bribie Island State High School on Sunday ...

and more »

Rangers face Pine Rivers
Toowoomba Chronicle
Rangers had their Commonwealth Oval double-header against Narangba washed out which left them anchored in second spot on the premiership table. ...

Quest News
Council warns of crowding
Northern Times
A council report said analysis of five of the most significant growth areas in the region Morayfield, Narangba east, Dakabin, Mango Hill and Griffin found ...
Council sits on fence over cat registration feesQuest News

all 7 news articles »

Quest News
Council sits on fence over cat registration fees
Quest News
UNDECIDED: Moreton Bay Regional Council has yet to decide how much cat owners will be charged for registering their pets. MORETON Bay Regional Council has ...

and more »

Caboolture Shire Herald
Nate Edwards hears Hollywood calling
Caboolture Shire Herald
The Narangba Valley State High School Year 12 student has been selected for NIDA's Young Actor Studio program after impressing with his audition. ...

and more »

Quest News
Eels ready to join the fray
Quest News
... under-8 and an under-10 team this year, and would play Aspley, Pine Rivers, Redcliffe, Caboolture and Narangba in a program run by AFL Brisbane Juniors. ...

Redcliffe & Bayside Herald
Council warns of crowding
Redcliffe & Bayside Herald
A council report said analysis of five of the most significant growth areas in the region Morayfield, Narangba east, Dakabin, Mango Hill and Griffin found ...

and more »

Northern Times
Narangba State School readies for centenary celebrations
Northern Times
Former Narangba State School principal Alan Shaw about to bury the time capsule in 1985. A TIME capsule buried 25 years ago will be recovered as part of ...

and more »

Brisbane Times
Starved dog 'booted' from moving car
Brisbane Times
A motorist driving to work at Dakabin, near Narangba, on Thursday morning watched in horror as the emaciated Staffordshire bull terrier-Boxer cross-breed ...

and more »

Rangers set sights on last-round
Toowoomba Chronicle
Rangers now have to record at least one victory in their final-round double-header this weekend against last-placed Narangba to stay in the top two. ...

Quest News
Orchid extravaganza at Bray Park
Quest News
Water Orchids Nursery from Taiwan joins 25 Australian vendors, including Brighton Orchids from Narangba, for the event tomorrow (8am-4pm) and Sunday ...

Caboolture Shire Herald
War of words over koala relocation
Caboolture Shire Herald
A ROW has broken out between conservation groups over plans to move koalas from a development site at Narangba. Last week, after lobbying by Moreton Bay ...

and more »

Caboolture Shire Herald
Police hail soft drink initiative
Caboolture Shire Herald
... Woodford Village Hotel/Motel, D'Aguilar Hotel/Motel, Burpengary Tavern, Narangba Valley Tavern, Two Pink Pigs (Hog's Breath), Caboolture RSL, ...

A small bit of fiction

----------------------------------------------

The sky was overcast, the low clouds grey and threatening with rain, though the warm breeze was refreshing after long humid night.

She slept well now, peace written across her pale features, the night’s dreams forgotten.

Her window was open slightly, the breeze buffeting the curtains, and tickling her face, slowly rousing her from a peaceful slumber. Suddenly a golden beam of sunlight escaped through the low clouds, giving promise of a new day, and streamed in through a gap in the curtains, finding it’s way across the room and onto the bed, resting upon the pillow which lay empty beside her sleeping figure.

It was then that she awoke, reaching up to brush her golden locks from her face, feeling the breeze, and as her eyes slowly opened, the golden ray of light resting on the pillow beside her. She reached across with her hand, touching the spare pillow, feeling it’s coolness, the slight indent as if it had recently been used.

Eyes now fully open, she looked towards the window, watching joyfully as the sunbeam played with the moving curtain, almost forgetting. As if in habit, she turned her eyes towards the door that lead to the ensuite, watching, waiting as the fog of sleep left her awake and realising what had happened. The moment of joy turning to sadness as she realised she was alone, and not by choice. Her partner in life was gone, and today was the day she said goodbye.

Labor lies – koalas die
My Sunshine Coast (press release) (blog)
Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability Glen Elmes said Minister Jones' Jones approval to clear koala habitat at Narangba to make way for a ...

Conservationist says Narangba koala relocation a death warrant
NEWS.com.au
The Government proposes to relocate 12 koalas from bushland at Narangba north of Brisbane to make way for housing. Wildlife Preservation Society president ...
'Koala AIDS' Spreading at an Alarming RateDiscovery News

all 3 news articles »