[jaguar]

Nice mental image vsp.

I carry a p800 that has a camera, I can't honestly say I've used it more than once or twice, I don't seem the amusement in taking blurry, crappy, JPEGS full or artifacts, generally you can barely recognize the subject. I do feel though that there are many situations where they should be banned.

On the flipside, street photography is a rapidly growing hobby of mine (though I really need to get myself a nice little Lycia or something) and has a very long history, while there is potential for abuse I think banning or limiting public photography in most situations is counterproductive. There are laws to protect you from being stalked as it is. If you do something in public, where you know people will be able to see, you also must understand that may be recorded. The fuzzy line I find is with windows, the legality of shooting though a window is private space (restaurant, house or office) varies widely and I'n not sure of it's ethics. It does however have a photographic history all of it's own. I've shot some nice stuff though restaurant windows but I avoid houses and other non-public private property, including gardens.

There other issue is whether the photography is obvious or not. I feel if you're going to shoot people on the street you should be open about that fact and preferably engage with them rather than hiding with a tele. There are many great shots (and I've taken some) where the subject is unaware but many of the best are often when you connect with the subject, just for that second. Some people don't appreciate it and obviously aren't too happy, I just avoid them, the shots would be crap anyway.