G20, Brookfield Properties and street photography, originally uploaded by PJMixer.
I had a few minutes to kill while I was recently at Yonge and Bloor, so I thought I'd do some street photography and see if I could capture some interesting people. I took a few shots of this guy and a few others before a security guard approached me. I have been told on quite a few occasions that I'm not allowed to take photographs in a particular location (library, mall) but this was the first time it has happened while on the street. My exact location was just outside the doors exiting the Yonge and Bloor subway station, next to the Hudson's Bay store.
I can understand that photography may be formally restricted in certain buildings and I appreciate the concerns around taking pictures of children in public, however I was rather puzzled in this case. The security guard tells me that Brookfield Properties owns the sidewalk where I was standing. I asked where their property ended and I was shocked to hear that they own the property right to the curb - the whole sidewalk ! How can that be ? Could Brookfield Properties go a hop skip and a jump further and restrict certain people from walking on the (sorry, their) sidewalk ? I was rather taken-aback by this and found it quite absurd. I thought it would be funny to ask the security guard if I could take his photograph - I thought this was an interesting encounter and a perfect addition to my 100 stranger project ! Of course he said no, but maybe not for security reasons. The security guard was part native and he said there were very few photographs of him because of his belief that a photograph takes something away from their being. I of course, respected his position, but it made the encounter even more interesting. His name was Sherman, a real nice guy. He also said that they had been asked to step up this type of security because of the upcoming G20 meetings.
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