![]() ![]() He stayed for another 10 or 15 minutes taking pictures, then left. Wimmer says he put the 20 on the clipboard and handed it to the guard. And if anybody asks you, you can stay around for another half an hour or so.” Pretend you’re filling out the form, but don’t fill it out. Wimmer says the guard handed him the clipboard and told him, “Put the 20 under the clipboard. “I said, ‘What will it take to make this shit go away? Will $20 make this go away?’ He said, ‘Yeah, man. I’m going to leave.’ He said, ‘We have a problem here.’ I said, ‘If I leave we have no problem.'”Īt this point, Wimmer says, he thought of a classic Chicago way of handling the problem. “I said, ‘You people are out of your minds.’ He said, ‘This whole park is copyrighted.’ I said, ‘Pardon my ignorance, but how can you copyright a park?’ I said, ‘I’m not going to pay this money. “I was laughing–I actually thought it was funny,” he says. ![]() Wimmer thought it was preposterous that the city would even think of charging photographers to take pictures in a public park. “I didn’t get a copy of the form,” he says, “but I remember it said something like $50 an hour for wedding photographs.” Wimmer says he stood there with one guard until the other returned with a permit form attached to a clipboard. We will keep you here until this is resolved.'” I said, ‘You guys have to be kidding me.’ He said, ‘This is not a laughing matter. He says, ‘Your permit that lets you take pictures of the park.’ I said, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, my friend.’ He said, ‘I think we have a problem here.’ I said, ‘I don’t think we have a problem–I’ll take my pictures and get out.’ He said, ‘You’ve got to have a permit here.’ I said, ‘Where do you get a permit?’ So he tells the other guard, ‘Go get a permit.’ I’m laughing. “But he said, ‘Where’s your permit?’ I’m just looking at him. “I thought he’d leave me alone if I said I worked for a paper,” he says. Wimmer identified himself as a photographer for the Chicago Sports Review, a monthly newspaper for which he freelances. “One of the guards says, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘I’m taking pictures–what does it look like I’m doing?’ He said, ‘What are you taking pictures for?'” ![]() “I had my tripod set up so I could get the night exposure correct, and these two guys on Segways swoop down on me,” he says. Wimmer, a freelance photographer who sells photos of local landmarks to tourist shops, had his encounter with what he calls the “Bean police” at around 8 PM on Saturday, November 13, as he was about to shoot the Bean. I said, ‘This does not say anything about photographs.’ He said, ‘I’m just doing my job,’ and walked away.” I saw the parts banning Rollerblading and roller-skating, etc, but it didn’t say anything about photographs. The guards left, and a few minutes later one of them returned with a two-page memo titled “Summary of Millennium Park Rules & Regulations.” Horsch says, “I read that thing twice. ![]() “One guard said, ‘You can’t take pictures.’ I said, ‘Says who? This is public domain. “I was in the back, away from everyone, not interfering with anyone’s view,” he says. Horsch tangled with two security guards while taking pictures of the band shell one evening last summer. I’ve never had any problems like this anywhere else.” “I’ve shot Water Tower, the Wrigley Building, Wrigley Field, the Art Institute lions, the new Soldier Field, the old Soldier Field, the new Comiskey Park, the old Comiskey Park, the Picasso statue, the Michael Jordan statue–you name it. Michigan where he sells pictures he’s taken, including ones of the park. “I’ve never seen anything like this, and I’ve been shooting pictures in this town for 28 to 30 years,” says Bob Horsch, who owns a tourist shop at 30 S. The exchange that followed is one of the wackier tales told by local photographers who can’t understand why the city wants to stop them from snapping pictures in Millennium Park–which is, after all, a public space. The last time Warren Wimmer tried to take a picture of Cloud Gate, better known as the Bean, a couple security guards rushed over on their Segways and tried to shoo him away. Best of Chicago 2022: Sports & Recreation.Best of Chicago 2022: Music & Nightlife. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |