Photography during daily exercise whilst lockdown in force

Following other peoples images being published on my local news website I ask these questions. Is there a line between taking your camera with you while you exercise and going out to take photos' using exercise as an excuse?

Going out once a day is allowed but going out to take photographs are not. So if the primary purpose is photography but during your allowed exercise what are your feelings. I would love to walks the streets taking pictures during this time, but should I?

What are your feelings

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I don’t see the difference, you are allowed to take a dog for a walk so are you exercising or walking the dog? A walk is a walk as long as you keep your distance.

Absolutely no issue doing both at the same time, I've always combined the two - the difference now is I can't go as far and don't stop and dawdle when photographing. The downside is that to compensate for the distance we've decided to walk straight up one of the valleys of the Malvern Hills, boy you certainly know when you've done it

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LennyBloke

I’ve been taking my camera on my daily dog walks lately. In maintaining my distance (others are not, which irritates me), I’m out for the one walk only. I am not with anyone else during that time and I’m working in a key industry so need the mental relief of it (though that’d apply for those in isolation too).

I think the discrepancy is if you were to travel to various places with your camera with the sole focus of taking photos. If you’re walking and conscious of others then it’s double benefit to you and adhering to guidelines, right?

I take the view that providing you maintain social distancing, etc, a walk for exercise is just that.

It surely can't matter if at the same time you whistle, sing, take the dog for a walk or take photographs?

I did and have! Western Mail and Echo published my image in the Saturday rag also!

As long as its part of your local permitted daily exercise walk and you're not stopping with a tripod and filters etc so it's a quick snap and away then I don't see the harm in it.

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Gareth
Welsh Photographer

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Keep calm and carry on, but without obstructing anyone along narrow paths.

Philip

You've answered your own question. The rules are very clear, the restrictions apply to the purpose for leaving the house ("You should only leave the house for very limited purposes..."). So if your purpose for leaving the house is not permitted, do not do it. If the purpose is to take exercise, make sure you really are taking exercise and that any photography you do is incidental. If the reason you're going out is to take photographs, do not go out. If your reason for going out is to take pictures for publication, that is clearly not going out with the purpose of taking exercise.

Dog walking while taking human exercise is explicitly permitted, it's a matter of animal welfare. And you are permitted to walk a dog that belongs to a person who is isolating because they or a member of their household has the virus.

Of course, take a K1 + DA 560mm and you can legitimately claim that it's turning a walk into serious exercise.

Steve

Well carrying a 70-200mm lens was so tiring I had to lay down for a bit.

Communing with nature is not permitted I took the K1 and an FA*300 with me today on a four mile local circuit. I was exercised!

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Thanks for all your comments. I think Steve hit the nail on the head with the main purpose for going outside. So minimal equipment and not to take lots of images. I suppose if stopped by police with hundreds of images it could be quite awkward. I think I might take my camera next time I go out for a walk.

Jeff

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Yeah if you were to rock up on your walk with a full backpack, tripod, filters, selection of lenses, drone etc they may not believe you're on an exercise walk

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Gareth
Welsh Photographer

My outfit: K1 gripped - K3ii - two Z-1P - Pentax D FA 24-70mm - Sigma 70-200mm OS HSM - Pentax modified DA* 60-250mm f4 - Irix 15mm Firefly - Pentax FA 35mm - FA 50mm - Sigma EX 20mm - FA 28-70mm f4 - Tamron SP 90mm macro - Pentax AF 540 FGZ II

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I think trying to insist on what are and what aren’t acceptable reasons for going on a walk strays into the same category of inspecting shoppers’ trollies to see if they are buying essentials or not. It has been shown that photography benefits mental health as do times spent in woodland, as long as the social distancing rules are followed then whyever not?

The problem for government is that there must be one rule for everybody (urban and rural, young and old, sensible and idiot) and it must be both clear when it is being broken and capable of bringing the epidemic under control. Of course, some people would keep to social distancing etc. if the rules were more flexible but a lot wouldn't and the consequences would be bad. Don't forget that the lockdown was introduced because the more relaxed regime of the previous week wasn't going to bring the epidemic under control (yeah, that seems a long time ago but it really wasn't...).

Steve

I don’t disagree with you and there are always those who will be stupid and potentially infect and kill others by their selfishness. I just don’t think it is unreasonable to do some photography whilst out on your walk as long as you don’t inconvenience others. How about birdwatching, should I be stopped for carrying binoculars?