Taking pictures of sleeping strangers?

[RainhaDoTexugo]

I'm watching the news, and they're covering an artist who goes around taking pictures of people sleeping on public transportation and posting them online.  They discussed the legal aspects of it (apparently it's fully legal as the trains are public property), but I still find this pretty creepy and invasive.  I suppose if you really think about it, there are much worse things that can happen to you asleep on the bus, but I thought it would make an interesting conversation topic.

Here's her website:  http://sleepyurbanite.com/

Have fun!

[jimithing]

Yeah, I would not be please to find out that pictures I couldn't give consent for are all over the Internet.

[MelJill]

I guess it's just one more instance where 'perfectly legal behavior' (if that is true) also equals 'extremely rude behavior'.

[ZipTheWonder]

This is going to come to an ugly end when the wrong person wakes up with a camera in his/her face.

[Hawkwatcher]

Yes, there may be many people who may protest being part of this art project violently.

[IndianInlaw]

When cell phones were relatively knew, my son and I had a homeless man threaten us because he thought the phone was a camera (this was before camera phones).

Anyways, we used it to call the police on him.

[Kaylee]

*Tsk*

If you'd just posted this a week later, it could have held the record for Most Consecutive Weeks at the top of the Worst Idea of the Year List.  Now it can only hold the title for a few days. 

 

[Trishlovesdolphins]

While I agree this is rude... If you're worried about this, don't go to sleep on the subway. 

[caz]

A guy I know used to do this all the time and posted the photos on his (open) website.  Three of us tried to tell him how wrong this was but he refused to discuss it and got defensive....Sweet monkey fritters!?!?

[sammycat]

I simply can't understand how this can be legal.  Suppose someone has escaped an abusive rel@tionship and doesn't want the abuser to know their whereabouts?  Suddenly the abuser spots a picture of the victim on line and is somehow able to track them down?  Whose going to take responsibility then?  Not the "artist" I'm sure.

[Hawkwatcher]

I am sure that the artist's lawyer would argue that they are in a public place so they were fair game.  I agree, however, that this could create potential problems for some of the commuters.   

[Ulla dances in a silly way]

As uncomfortable as it may make the "models" in these photos, when one enters a public space one is always on camera- security, tourists, cell phones, etc. I wouldn't suggest doing anything you aren't comfortable with the world seeing. That, and sleeping on the subway is very weird in itself.

I suppose it is rude by the idea that, etiquette-ly, one never takes part in any action that makes another uncomfortable (within reason, so on and so on.) I wouldn't say the artist has done anything wrong, just something rude.

-Ulla

[Audrey Quest]

There was a controversy about this where an ad agency was using candid photos of people in public to promote some product.  The people were not asked for permission nor were they paid. 
 
Taking pictures and posting them online amounts to publishing those images and the person posting should have permission before posting them.  Someone should sue.
 
Tonight driving home from the mall, sitting at a red light I was reminded that for some reason the town I live in has placed camera at about 15-20 intersections.  This is not like the cameras they have on the freeway to monitor traffic.  I find these around town cameras to be much more intrusive--for one thing the chances of standing still are greater and since many of them are very close to my home, an image of me in my car is being captured with greater frequency than I am comfortable with.

[Kaylee]

I think it's a lousy idea, but I doubt very much that anyone could sue.  You're allowed to take pictures of people in public places, and you're allowed to publish them.  They do it every day in the newspapers, and those photographers get paid for their pictures.

I also think that the artist knows perfectly well that this is going to raise controversy, and in fact is probably counting on it.

Ulla--I admit to having fallen asleep on the subway before.  Does coming home from an on-call shift get me out of being weird?   

[Ulla dances in a silly way]

Ulla--I admit to having fallen asleep on the subway before.  Does coming home from an on-call shift get me out of being weird?   

Sure, I'll give you a pass 

I suppose I meant that, in general and under normal circumstances, it is very weird to sleep on the subway