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A Mahon Point!
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This one is of the roof of Mahon Point Shopping Centre in Cork. It was a quick shot taken with a Fuji 9600 and hand held. I’d have had a go at getting the symmetry more organised but a gentleman with a walkie-talkie formed the opinion I was from Al-Qaeda and told me my hobby couldn’t be accommodated!!
It raises the question for me whether other people had had similar experiences. In general what are the relevant rights and protocols for photographing buildings? Personally, I couldn’t see what harm I was doing!!
(Afterwards, I went outside and mingled with my camera – and took photos – among the people at the Farmer’s Market and the hospitality was wonderful!!)Tom.
Security guards in shopping centres are trained to shoo away anyone with a camera-
it is private property, after all,
and a camera is a tool of industrial espionage-You could be a secret agent from another supermarket
looking to copy the latest cabbage merchandising tricks,
or something-
they really do take this stuff seriously-I think this could have been just a bit wider,
would have been good to see the floor,
and everything rising from it-j
I was strolling around Dundrum shopping center with my cmaera over my shoulder, I had no intention of taking photos because I fully expected to have a security guard kick me out. Interestingly, a security guard came up to me anyway and said that if I wanted to take photos I had to check in with the customer service desk. I was really surprised that they “confronted” me anyway but even more surprised that they allowed photography.
As for the shot, I agree that it would have been nice to see more floor.
//Cian
I made inquiries at Mahon Point myself once and was told I couldn’t take any photographs there because it was private property and they had a contract with a professional photographer who did all their photography for them. I think, in part, that’s a more likely reason for their ban on photography (protecting commercial interests) rather than any concern for security. After all, there’s nothing to stop someone from walking into the building with a little compact camera and secretly photographing strategic parts of the building. It’s a shame they’re not a little more open about it though such as they seem to be in Dundrum (as mentioned above) and in Cork Airport (where they even have a section on their website inviting photography).
Another thing to bear in mind is that very often there are insurance concerns, however unlikely and remote the possibility of an accident caused by your actions may seem. Supposing you dropped your camera from the upper level onto someone on the lower level, for example.
Many thanks, JB7 and Cian for the comments on the question and on the photo.
If shopping centres have this as a policy I think it’s unnecessarily restrictive since the buildings increasingly consume public space and landscapes and are principally funded by the user/visitor! (But I’m not about to launch a campaign!!)
I would have preferred to get a good part of the floor in the shot, too, but I cropped the bit I had out because of some silhouetted bodies in it.
Thanks for taking the time to view and reply.
Tom.
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