One 'shutterbug' who faults Metro

By Noah Van Gilder
Washington

You can take my name off the list of “local shutterbugs” who give Metro “higher marks” for educating its employees about photographers’ rights [“When freedom doesn’t click; Officers often clamp down on photographers, even when shots are legal,” Metro, July 26].

I’ve been incorrectly told on at least three occasions that photography or videography is restricted in the Metro system. One Metro employee told me in March 2009 that I couldn’t take pictures because of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Another told me last month that I was allowed to take video only of other people, not of structures.

Metro policy explicitly allows noncommercial photography that does not involve a tripod. All of those incidents involved either a hand-held camera phone or a point-and-shoot camera, and none involved commercial activity.

I can’t say for sure whether my experiences are representative, but if so, Metro has more work to do to educate its staff that photography is not a crime or a threat.