apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Wow, way to be incredibly creepy. I hope people aren't hanging over my fencing and snapping shots.

There are worse things....like the faceless, abstract nakedness going on with the 'humans?' on the mural. Talk about creepy!

Ajax--if you don't have an awesome mural peeking out no need to worry!

It IS a good question, though. When is it "too much"?

Like the paparazzi, when is it too much?

If it's out front, is it OK to take a photo? What about taking pictures of balconies, that may or may not show parts of the interior?

I wanted to take pictures of a few balconies around here, and I know a few of the people. I would probably ask for permission. It seems slightly "peeping tom" or invasive not to ask for permission.

Because these ARE private homes. Peeping into backyards? That's a little much, I think. I would have been enchanted, and MIGHT have gone to the door to ask to view the mural, and ask if it was OK to photograph it. I would also be sure to say that it was for personal use, or if it was for a website.

There are a lot of homes that have great decor. But I'm not going to stand at their front window and take shots through the window. And I would assume that most people here would find that to be offensive and invasive, even if it was meant to be complementary.

It's only complementary if you warn me first. Because I would not want to see indoor images of my place, especially if you caught me on a hot day wearing only a giant t-shirt.

So you say, well, it's outdoors. OK. But what if that was also their nude sunbathing side? NO ONE should be climbing up over anyone's fence or peeking over the fence, especially with a camera.

Again, I realize that the INTENTIONS were good. If the mural had been painted on the exposed side of a public building that abutted the sidewalk and it was obviously for public display, take all the pictures you want.

Anyone remember what comedienne did the bit about seeing a man in the store that was cute?

Some of you gals and maybe guys might relate to the beginning of the joke. But at what part does it become icky, creepy, stalky, pervy?

Woman says in the bit something like this...
"So I see this cute guy in the store and I start to see what is in his basket. Just curious as to what this guy would eat. Then I follow him to the checkout to see what his voice sounds like. And I check out too. Then, I wonder what kind of car he drives? So I follow him into the parking lot and check out his car. Cool. Huh. I wonder what kind of house he lives, so I follow him home. Great place. Then I wonder about his decor, so I walk around back and start looking in the windows. And I wonder how his bed feels, so I climb in the window and lie down." Something like that.

That end part is very creepy. Right?

We have had people here on AT do wall murals. Inside. Is it then OK to press your face against their glass because you spot something really awesome? Um. No.

It would even be a bit creepy to have someone come to the door to say "Yeah, I was staring in your window while passing by and noticed you have a neat mural, mind if I come in and take pictures?"

Can you dial 9-1-1?

Maybe we can have a discussion on what is OK to photograph, what requires permission, and what is off-limits.

It's MY opinion, that taking pictures over fences or through windows of private residences are off-limits, without the permission of the owner or renter. There is the expectation of privacy in those cases. Right?

And yes, there IS law governing this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtilage

"Curtilage is a legal term describing the enclosed area of land around a dwelling. It is distinct from the dwelling by virtue of lacking a roof, but distinct from the area outside the enclosure in that it is enclosed within a wall or barrier of some sort.

It is typically treated as being legally coupled with the dwelling it surrounds despite the fact that it might commonly be considered "outdoors"."

======
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expectation_of_privacy

"While open fields are not protected by the Fourth Amendment, the curtilage, or outdoor area immediately surrounding the home, is. Courts have treated this area as an extension of the house and as such subject to all the privacy protections afforded a person’s home (unlike a person's open fields) under the Fourth Amendment.

An area is curtilage if it "harbors the intimate activity associated with the sanctity of a man's home and the privacies of life."[7] Courts make this determination by examining "whether the area is included within an enclosure surrounding the home, the nature of the uses to which the area is put, and the steps taken by the resident to protect the area from observation by people passing by."[8] Theoretically, many structures might extend the curtilage protection to the areas immediately surrounding them. The courts have gone so far as to treat a tent as a home for Fourth Amendment purposes in the past. [9][10][11] It is possible that the area immediately surrounding a tent (or any structure used as a home) might be considered curtilage."

I, too, am astonished that AT would do something so invasive simply to add fodder to their website. At least ask permission of the owner first. Maybe they don't want their mural splashed to millions of people on the internet, hence the privacy fence? I honestly think you should be ashamed of yourself. Just because it "make a nice post" doesn't mean you have the right to take photos of people's private property without permission.

laure--- get out while you can! just delete this post before AT-ers start chasing you with tar and feathers!

I didn't really expect anyone else to agree with me.

I just think it's a bit out of bounds to take pictures over someone's fence. The fence is obviously there for a reason, privacy probably being a top contributing factor.

For the record, I have a cute little vegetable garden in my back yard. I wouldn't be surprised if it were the sort of thing someone would make a post here about. But I really don't like the idea of someone intruding upon my space, without my permission, and taking a picture of it. I don't think the fact that my peas might someday peek over the top of the fence gives anyone the right to take pictures over the fence.

Who knows, maybe the owner/s of the home genuinely wouldn't mind, or would even be flattered, but I don't think it's right to take pictures over fences without permission. Personally, I'd be fine with showing a passerby into my garden to have a look if they asked, and I'd allow them to take pictures as long as they let me know where they'd end up.

Ajax's, as I said to someone, I don't care if the mural puts the Sistine Chapel to shame and makes Michaelangelo look like a hack, one should not be taking pictures over fences.

The people who live in that home also have a security system. ADT. The blue shield by the back fence.

Maybe those people who live their should have gone for the optional "Hulk" inflatable.
http://www.komar.org/hulk/adt_security/

Uh, that would have been funny. If looking over the fence, that inflatable popped up. Talk about Therapy. It would take YEARS to get over the "fear of fences" after that encounter.

Not only is is important, Ajax's, to tell the people that the photo will be viewed by many people, but also everyone who posts an image can have that image taken.

So it can be reposted again and again. Just like we see with this blog and other blogs on new or interesting products. Right?

The image I have up at Flickr of MY balcony, I took that picture. And that balcony could be Anywhere, USA. The mural, on the other hand, is only on one house. They may not want that out in the world.

And, for an example of how it feels to have your place photographed, one of my neighbors showed up at my door many years back. He had pictures of my balcony. He said he took them because the flowers were so pretty, and he gave me copies.

Yes, I loved the pictures, and I still have them, even though he has passed on.

And, yes, it was creepy having a man come to my door with pictures of my balcony.

If *I* want to post pictures of MY balcony, it's OK. If someone else does it, that is kind of weird. Which is why I hesitate even ASKING my neighbors for permission to do their balcony.

One I'm pretty sure he'd say yes, he's had me up so I can see the garden from the other side and we've talked plants before. He probably has a computer too, so what I COULD do is mail him the photos and have him submit them to this site.

And if he has his own camera, to suggest HE do the pictures.
Then there would be photos from the inside and the outside, which is GREAT. And I wouldn't feel like I was intruding.

I sometimes think that the words we write online and all the lovely things we see in our life journeys are not necessarily meant to be carved in stone or frozen for all time.

Regardless, Ajax's, it IS an excellent point and a very good question.

Now, about your peas...you don't want people sneaking photographs of them, but is it OK to sneak around the back and just eat them without photographing them? I love garden peas...

911 operator: 911, what's your emergency?

Ajax's: The..the...there's an intruder...stealing...my peas...

911 operator: Say again?

Ajax's: There's a dark-clothed individual eating my peas and when I hollered at the person, they held up a HUGE inflatable Hulk and it scared me, and I'm calling for help.