DSLR's banned in public

Ripping yarns or of things to come?

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Best regards

Different societies have different perceptions about things, so if people in Kuwait are intimidated in some way by the SLR camera that is something we should respect.

It does seem odd to us, but maybe the DSLR is something that has rarely been seen on the streets. It doesn't seem to be a problem for landscape photographers, just for people photographers.

Wont happen over here, were far too civilised.

Having been in the Arabic peninsular (incl. Kuwait) myself, I never had any problems.
The issue here is that people just taking pictures of strangers and do not ask for permission to do so and a lot of people (in particular females) in Muslim Countries object of having their picture taken at all.
I ALWAYS have asked BEFORE taking any picture where people may be the centre of attention and also I got the one or other 'NO WAY or NOT ME' in general you will find that people are quite happy to have their picture taken if asked before.
You will find this in most Muslim Countries and I for my part be only to happy to ask before taking a picture but is you see some 'Tourists' snapping away at everything that moves plus the heighten tensions due to some nutheads in those countries I am not surprised to see reports like this.
In a way it is the same way as with the Blackberry phones in Saudi Arabia and UAE because of their SMS Coding.
Do not forget that most Arabic countries are not as liberal in their ways as the west is.

They will have fun trying to spot the difference bewteen a compact DSLR and a large bridge camera

A bridge camera (with the current enormous zooms) is far more intrusive, than your average DSLR with a walkabout lens.

Not wishing to be provocative, and I know this is going a bit off-topic, but these Gulf states (and others in the middle east) wish to be accepted as modern 1st world countries; however even though they possess the wealth they still operate as feudal societies. Just look at the absence of any form of democracy and the way they carry out barbaric punishments.

That is off topic and it is provocative, so let's leave it at that.

Fair enough.

Well having worked in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the 80s, places very similar to Kuwait, I never had a problem waving my SLR and big zoom ( Vivitar S1 28-90 around ) and I saw loads of other people waving SLRs around.

I really hope this retarded bylaw doesn't extend to other Gulf states as I intend to revisit Dubai/Abu Dhabi one day and do 30 year shooting comparisons.

But lets pose a question ... if such a law did come into force here who would we as photographers react? Would be ignore it and be martyrs or would we bend down like little subjects and take it from behind? Such a move would be outragous and I for one would not take it bending over.

I'm very angry about this.

Here in Qatar there's no problem with using a camera in public places. You obviuosly have to be a bit sensitive about who/what you are photographing, but most people respond favourably to requests to photograph them. I did have one incident where a woman accused me of taking her picture when I was in fact photographing a building (she was not even in the frame) but apart from this isolated incident I have never had a problem even in the souks.

Of course I'm sure there are budding Kuwaiti photographers who will be affected by this, and possibly forced to stop shooting the way they wish to, or abandon photography. It's not something that's just going to affect 'insensitive outsiders' from the West. The decision might have its roots in the local pecularities of Arabic / Islamic culture but that does not make it 'acceptable'.

I really don't understand?

If a culture specifies something, then it's reasonable to adhere to that culture's limitations while you're there. Examples being here that *everyone* takes their shoes off when walking into a house. Or that everyone is on time. Or that they don't just pop round, they call first.

Is this "unacceptable"? Would it make you angry? If your hobby is to walk around the house in big, dirty clumpy boots spreading mud everywhere, then yes, maybe you could be angry about it - but it's part and parcel of the culture and local rules and as visitors you get to abide by them.

I'm reminded of the Thomas Cook survey (I think the answers are in the joke thread) where someone commented that "the local shop doesn't sell proper biscuits, like custard creams". Just because it's OK and normal at home doesn't mean it's OK and normal anywhere else. Driving at 17 is another good example. Just because you've got your licence doesn't mean you can go anywhere and drive, because they demand you're 18. Oh, and you might be limited in the speed you can drive or driving at night or motorways or maybe you can't drive until you've your own licence in anything other than a driving school car. These are all different conditions, depending on the country, and all within Europe.

Bret

Bret - I already made the point that this is something which will affect KUWAITI photographers. Why should we excuse their government imposing stupid restrictions on them because it's 'cultural'?

Of course when you visit another country you operate within that country's norms, but this is a case where the Kuwaiti government has made a law which will adversely affect some of it's own citizens, and is a step backwards in terms of freedom of artistic expression.

Understanding can be difficult sometimes, but isn't the point that people in Kuwait don't like being photographed by those who wave DSLRs at them, so the government has stopped it happening?

It may be that it isn't the case that people who are Kuwaiti nationals are being stopped from doing something, they maybe don't want to do it and don't want it happening.

Banning DSLR is not a cultural issue because if it was they should have banned all cameras, right?