Police arrest OccupyBoston protesters at their second encampment at Rose F. Kennedy Greenway a block from Dewey Square, in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, USA. - M. Scott Brauer

While covering these events police may ask to see your images, recordings or files. Be aware that you do not have to consent to such a request. They may try to intimidate, coerce or threaten you into doing so but “consent” must be voluntary. You should know that absent consent or “exigent circumstances” an officer may not seize your camera. Exigent circumstances only exist where an officer has probable cause to believe a crime has been committed AND that you have captured evidence of that crime on your camera AND that there is also a strong likelihood that such evidence may be lost if the camera is not seized.

Are you planning on covering the Republican or Democratic National Conventions at the end of August and beginning of September? You should be aware of legal and practical issues that may arise during the process of documenting both the conventions and the protests around the conventions. The National Press Photographer’s Association has a handy guide that covers the basics of covering both conventions, ranging from what to do if you’re arrested to how to stay safe in a crowd to dealing with the heat. The guide also includes a brief survey of local and federal ordinances and laws that will apply to people on the scene and educated guesses on how police may treat journalists based on recent actions of police in Chicago during the NATO summit protests earlier this year. For instance, items that could be considered weapons will not be allowed close to the convention areas and include items photographers might bring along such as tripod, monopods, and ladders.

Stay safe out there!

“The 2012 NPPA Business Blitz will help its students develop the fundamental building blocks for creating a sustainable business in a changing marketplace. Lectures will build on basic business principles to address challenges faced by freelancers as they navigate a brave new digital realm. Topics will cover methods for monetizing and negotiating new media projects, long-term legal and business considerations in the year 2012, and marketing methodology for reaching new clients.” -NPPA Business Blitz Roadshow

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years as a freelancer, it’s that you’ve got to get your business right. In the coming months, the National Press Photographers’ Association will run a series of “Business Blitz Roadshows” aimed at helping photographers figure out their business strategy. The event, which also includes an exhibition of Best of Photojournalism award winners, will be in Boston this weekend (July 13-14), Austin (Sept. 28-29), Chicago (Oct. 19-20), and San Clemente, CA (Nov. 16-17), and the ticket price is much less than most workshops: $30 for non-members to attend both days. Only the Boston schedule of events is available as of this writing, but all stops will feature talks about the business of photography from discussions about the future to the practicalities of dealing with contracts. Hope to see you at the Boston event!

In this vein, the book Best Business Practices for Photographers will probably be useful to you. I frequently flip through the book when dealing with contracts and client issues.

Winning the Gold in the Documentary category at this year’s College Photographer of the Year competition was a moving and interesting set of images by San Francisco-based photographer Alex Welsh. He photographed the rapidly changing and troubled neighborhood of Hunters Point in San Francisco over a long period of time, gaining deep access to the community. This project stood out, far and away, from other cpoy work I saw this year for its depth, consideration and visual language. And more recently I’ve been impressed by this interview with Welsh published by The Visual Student blog from the NPPA.

(c) Alex Welsh

At times, I was extremely scared for my own safety and well being, and over time the dangerous lifestyle that the kids around me were living began to take a toll on my sanity, but the more time I spent with the them, the more my convictions about the importance of the work deepened. No journalists in San Francisco really spent enough time in the neighborhood to gain access to the gangs, so it upset me that if I just bailed out of the project, the story simply wouldn’t get told.

This is incredibly strong, personal and important work from a young photographer and I look forward to seeing more from Welsh in the future. Be sure to visit his website for more images from this project and many others.

The 2009 Women In Photojournalism contest winners have been announced, and the NPPA has published a gallery of the winning images, which will be exhibited during the Women In Photojournalism seminar taking place June 10 in Las Vegas. I’m surprised I haven’t seen this linked elsewhere; maybe it isn’t considered a prestigious contest…. Regardless, it’s great to see a seminar and contest that directly addresses gender in the photojournalism field.

As I sit in beautiful Seattle awaiting the final CPOY results I thought I’d pass along a couple of interesting things I just came across.

First, via Sportshooter, an NPPA story of the US Army handing out a manipulated photo to the AP.

And two, Alec Soth just posted on the Magnum Blog a handy PDF of ‘Advice to Young Photographers’ which he compiled from his Magnum colleagues. Personally, I think I’ll take Dworzak’s advice today, “… forget about photography”

PS – look out for our next interview on Monday with the amazing Djordje Jovanovic, a friend of mine from Belgrade, Serbia doing cool things. Here is one of his pictures.

(c) Djordje Jovanovic