JetPhotos.net Photographer/Spotter ID Card

[Vishal Jolapara]

With the increasing menace of people & authorities trying to play spoil-sport with our love all over the world, is it possible for JP to have people with lets say a hundred or 500 or a ceratin number of photos in the database to be issued Photographer ID cards (Under no liability on JetPhotos.net) which can/may help deter people wanting to cause unrest ?

EDIT : i just hit the quote button instead of the reply button & mistakenly the first & last para got deleted, as i was wanting to quote just this paragraph.

Dont think it should make too much of a diff as the topic title is enough. And again this is just a thought from my side which is up for debate.

Thanks

[Petertenthije]

What makes you think a police officer, or anyone really, will respect a home made ID card? But if you think it helps, you can make something like that yourself.

Personally, I always carry a few photos in my photobag. These photos include photos showing spotters near planes (think Kaagbaan spot at AMS, airshows, ZRH intersection). Other photos include high profile planes like air force 1 and concorde.

[Vishal Jolapara]

Mate if u glance over what i wrote, i only proposed the prospect of JetPhotos.net issuing us one of those !

[Petertenthije]

Yes, and how is a JP made card any different from a home made card? You think anyone will respect such a card more if it says Jetphotos.net on it?

[stef747]

It's a nice idea, but unfortunately unless the card was officially authorised by the worldwide aviation authorities (and therefore the holder would have to pass through some kind of screening process) it might not hold all that much weight.

But I'm sure several others who use this website would feel your frustration Vishal.

[Vishal Jolapara]

Peter just like you carry photos in your bag showing spotters going about their business at AMS & ZRH as a referance to authenticate or justify that what you are doing is not at all menacing or threatening to anyone & is something which people do worldwide for fun, on similar or parallel lines is exactly what my proposal is.

The reason i've put it up here is just to invite feedback on things we can do to bring more awareness & positive recognition so that we can go about our activity without disturbance/harrasment.

I have a great friend from Northern Ireland who used to work here for Kingfisher Airlines and we used to spot a bit whenever our freetime co-incided, one fine evening when the traffic was slow or almost nil we headed out to a cafe & were discussing the security problems that spotters face.
He recalled a very pleasent encounter with a female police officer in the US where he got talking with her & explained to her what we do & showed her photos of his work & his photos online on his laptop & stuff.......turns out she was absolutely amazed at the magnitude of the hobby and all its glory and for the remainder of his 2 days stay at that particular spotting location he has ZERO interferances.
Just goes to show asto how much differance the little things make at times.

Cheers - Vishal

[E-Diddy!]

A good idea, but something like that could be easily abused.

[Eadster]

NO NO bad bad bad idea.

[BA747-436]

Something like this carries no authoritative clout when issued by any organisation other than a government, airport authority, or forces body im afraid.

[exmanx]

I don't think Vishal means for it to be any form of authority, simply an identification of the hobby we all participate in. Many, many clubs and organisations issue cards which identify the holder and what club/organisation he/she belongs to without any pretence at being a formal ID card. It is simply an aid to identifying an individual member of that club/organisation.
At no point does Vishal suggest it would become a bona fide identity card enabling access or a right to be wherever the holder was. Simply something that supports his/her claim to be an amateur aviation photographer, doing it as a hobby and belonging to a certain website.
Poo pooing the idea out of hand is a very negative attitude and one I think helps with the villification of our hobby. Anything that may help us carry out the hobby with less hassle and pressure should be welcomed and not dismissed out of hand.
At least when stopped by authority it could be produced as an aid to corroborating the information given that what you are doing is simply a hobby and nothing else.
And yes, it could be abused, like so many other things, but if everyone did nothing because of what might happen then we'd all sell our gear and become couch potatos!
Be nice to see a positive response once in a while.
Andy

[BA747-436]

I understand what your saying Andy, but you have to admit the possibility of misuse is such by some, that I for one would not be happy to put this sites name and reputation on the line against anyone's possible actions around airport property. And not just misuse but we've all heard of those who cut holes in fences, leave exorbitant amounts of litter around photography areas and generally have no idea about common decency when shooting at an airport. This hobby is such, that someone brandishing a Jetphotos.net ID card who frequents in such actions could well be the unnecessary catalyst to bringing the entire community here down or at least becoming more limited in movements around airports. I'm not sure the rest of the people who work here would be too hasty in putting a 'yes' vote in either for these reasons alone im afraid. I don't like to be negative about such an idea but this hobby is such a delicate one with security forces around the world that although it has some plus points, the negative (sadly) outweigh these.

[exmanx]

Indeed Dan, and I share that view. However, all I was trying to say was, other clubs etc have a form of membership identity which simply denotes their membership status. And they are also in the frame for bad publicity or worse if their members do something to discredit whatever hobby or activity they partake in.
That doesn't mean that we should dismiss the idea as unworkable because it isn't. Organisations such as LAAS and Air Britain have membership cards simply to identify members. In these cases it entitles them to discounts on aviation books and stuff. It certainly doesn't entitle them to enter prohibited areas, drop litter and cut holes in fences. And they have their fair share of members who are willing to do these things. It doesn't stop them issuing cards.
I am fully aware of the security and social implications of a card carrying membership. But, handled properly, with decent conditions of use, then I believe they would strengthen our position rather than detract from it. If members were caught trying to do something illegal and were carrying the card, a caveat on the card would surely exonerate the site while at the same time put the onus on the member to behave in a responsible and civic minded manner.
It would also be of use if the site managed to come to some agreement with some airports, museums, bookshops etc, which would entitle the holder to a discount on services or admittance. This would, of course, involve the management doing a hell of a lot of work to set things up, but a simple membership card might just be a catalyst to start the ball rolling. And maybe instill a sense of pride and unity in the membership.
No, I do agree that the idea has some obvious pitfalls, but I also believe that properly handled it could work well and be of benefit to the membership. I just wish someone would look at ideas like this and find the positive side for a change instead of extrapolating problems to the nth degree. My wife does that and drives me round the bend!!
Andy

[Vishal Jolapara]

I understand what your saying Andy, but you have to admit the possibility of misuse is such by some, that I for one would not be happy to put this sites name and reputation on the line against anyone's possible actions around airport property.

JP's name coming under any kinda fire is the last thing i'd want.

JetPhotos.net has given me a lot in more ways than one.
The thing that i value most, far more than all of my photos here on the website are the friendships that i have made with great people from the world over & i've had the distinct pleasure of meeting a few of them in person, which would never have happened had it not been for JP. I can go on & on about other things but anyways getting back to the discussion, Dan thats exactly why i quoted the following in the second paragraph of my initial post

With the increasing menace of people & authorities trying to play spoil-sport with our love all over the world, is it possible for JP to have people with lets say a hundred or 500 or a ceratin number of photos in the database to be issued Photographer ID cards (Under no liability on JetPhotos.net)which can/may help deter people wanting to cause unrest ?

Something which merely states that a person 'X' is a photographer posting his work on 'Y' website. Which dosent allow him any special priviledges & the issuing authority is not responsible for any actions of the carrier of the card, it is just a document recognising the freelancer's contribution to the photography database.

And then just as Peter mentioned, one can show examples of his/her work as well as images of spotter friendly locales.

The icing on the cake has to be a laptop with good wi-fi internet so that one can show Brian Stevenson's photos & remarks.

Request to Moderators : Please feel free to delete the thread if it is creating any undue pressure or is not in line with our (JP's) vision.

Cheers - Vishal