This was taken at Olympic Plaza in downtown Calgary. Upon seeing a sign saying "No SLR Cameras" I was of course compelled to take a picture with my DSLR camera.
They sectioned off half of the Plaza, and gave it to a private commercial business (normally it’s obviously open to the public). I find that annoying. This is the heart of the city, and it shouldn’t be privatized, even temporarily.
The rules were quite a joke. You could break all the rules outside the fence, which wasn’t that far from the stage, if you’ve get a telephoto lens. I was able to take a clear shot of the stage, but there just wasn’t anything really going on at the moment.
I was particularly annoyed by the large security setup, including lots of police. They did lots of searches of bags, and patted people down, if they entered.
This is an all ages show. So, there really wasn’t much of security problem. If there was a security problem, it didn’t belong in this venue. I am becoming increasingly annoyed at how government arbitrarily takes away public space, privatizes, and strips people of their civil liberties. I know this is peanuts compared to other things. But it’s a peanuts in a big turd, and it stinks.
From what I read, the only person to get slightly disorderly, was a performer, who stripped on stage. I didn’t see that. And was happy not to (trust me, you should be glad I didn’t get that picture).
I know some people will say "so what". But, my feeling, is we should always challenge limits on freedom, and restrictions on public space.
Photographer: Robert Thivierge
| Date Taken | 2010-07-03 14:26:52 |
| FlickR Views | 1,094 |
| FlickR Faves | 0 |
| Location | 51.045947,-114.059532 |
This page was created by Rob’s FlickR Importer on August 6, 2024 @ 3:05 pm EDT.