Why does every event have to be photographed?

[fortifiedwithtea]

Years ago we had film your took to Boots. Photos were for special occasions and holidays. Now we're in the digital, no joke getting up in the morning is celebrated. Look on Youtube for bods who do that for a year just to watch themselves get very slighty older.

So what has pissed me off. I'm living with epilepsy, that's what. And all these photos are a fucking nightmare.

Saturday 9.15am at ice rink have a massive seizure. Signs on walls No Cameras (properly for the safety of ice hockey players). I'm there to watch my DD2 who incidently has mild SN take her grade 2 badge. Its a big deal for her because she failed the first time owing to her disabilities.

So a granny has to photograph a child. And what do you know I'm off. Luckily DH with me and another father who turned out to be a nurse took charge and assured people there that no need for an ambulance. I can't thank him enough. Epileptics do not need to be whisked off to hospital on every occasion even if it looks scary.

Outcome is, I don't get to see DD2 take her test (she did pass). Have the embarrassment of being wheelchaired to the car. Have to go straight to bed to sleep it off. Miss a lovely sunny day. Am not fully recovered until Sunday ffs.

I could go on about the wanker tourist who clicked away in the sweet shop at Christmas but I think I've made my point.

I sympathise with your condition OP, although I think your last few replies are verging on aggressive. I get that it is horrible for you, but I don't know what taking it out on us achieves.

Tbf, I take lots of pictures, because I don't have many of when I was a baby/toddler/child. I kid you not, I have 4 as a baby, 2 as a toddler & a few more as a older child. The only reason I have the baby/toddler ones that I do have is because I needed an op on my face at 2 months old & they needed before & after pics. The toddler ones for the same reason. So forgive me for wanting to record my memories of my dc for not only me, but for them too. I would love to show my children my school photos, my Christening photos, Christmases, birthdays, special events etc! I would love to see comparisons of myself & my dds.

I make sure I don't take photos of other children, if I do I edit them out. I put photos up on facebook because my family/friends live in the UK & I am in Australia & it is way cheaper than sending a whole stack via post.

I can't not take pictures of my life or my children's lives. I don't take pictures if there are signs asking you not to, I certainly would not intentionally endanger anyone, and would be horrified if I did. But memories are a huge part of life & YABU expecting people not to record those memories on a day to day basis. It doesn't matter what people are doing, if they want to record it, they are allowed to do so unless specifically asked not to.

YANBU,

YANBU. But then I hate photos, so it's not surprising. I do have them, as people send them to me and dh's family are obsessed with photographing everything, and it took me some time to realise how much I dislike them. But I never look at them any more, hate people who insist on taking them and ordering me other people about, usually destroying a conversation that was going really well, making people stand about for much too long, or shouting at children for being children and making silly faces when they want a 'nice smile'. I think that if rules like that are made, they should be enforced, but how can you? Cameras are so ubiquitous now that they would have to stripsearch everybody which is never going to happen (nor should it).

Is there any way of protecting yourself from this, apart from not being there?

Tell them you're an Aborigine and so they can't take photos of you as it will capture your soul and prevent you moving onto the next life

YABU the world doesnt revolve around you,

I have severe hyper mobility syndrome, I wouldnt go ballistic at everyone who bumps into me because they could make my knee socket pop to one side.

Maybe get a bracelet or a jacket with something on it, you can't expect the world to stop for you im afraid. Or before taking a picture in a public place.

I take photos of my dc constantly just because, not for any special reason, i just love it!

YANBU concerning this incident though.

If it there is a sign that says no cameras then there should not be any cameras. If shouldn't be up for debate. If someone wants to take a picture of their dc or dg then they should wait until they get outside.

Whether YABU or not, you need to get used to this and find a way to adapt I'm afraid - I don't see the world taking less photos any time in the foreseeable future.

Are there any sort of filtering glasses that you could wear? As a lot of people have said, the general public will be unaware that they could be putting you at risk by using flashes, and as it's just not possible to tell everyone within flash radius of you. Could you and your consultant or epilepsy nurse look into ways of minimising your sensitivity?

I'm a photographer. I'm also driven mad by the need for people to capture every single fucking minute of their lives on camera in a way that makes them happy to ignore notices that ban flash photography (or any other photography for that matter).

This may sound odd given what I do for a living. However, so many events have now been turned into an amateur paparazzi shoot that often, the whole meaning of them is undermined. I try and avoid wedding photography but I remain amazed, on the occasions that I do some, by the need for registrars and vicars to get quite so fierce in order to stop the relentless clicking and flashing during what is supposed to be a meaningful ceremony.

It's also exceedingly unhelpful when you are out on a job to work around the ludicrous double exposure effect that arises when "unauthorised" snappers flash away at precisely the moment you take your (carefully exposed) shot.

All this must be made all the more difficult for people with photo-sensitive epilepsy although, in fairness, in public areas, it is difficult to suggest that people not take photographs on the offchance that someone will be affected. So YANBU about the ice risk since there were clear signs about flash photography and I'm sure you were confident about being there for precisely that reason. But the world at large isn't going to get any less snap happy so somehow I suspect you'll have to find a way of adapting to it.

i am on OP's side, sign saying no flash means NO FLASH

OP should have been able to rely on people obeying the sign when it said no cameras.

However I'm not sure that the ban is for ice hockey players' safety. I can see that flash might be distracting at a vital moment of the play and give an unfair advantage to the other team ... but safety wise I think the play itself and the checking would be much more likely to be dangerous (hence the safety equipment).

Actually if the signs were for no cameras rather than no flash isn't the safety explanation a red herring?