Losing Freedom, One Lens-Cap at a Time

7/10/2009

While in LA, I went to a concert at the Hollywood Bowl to see Joshua Bell and the LA Phil play Bruch’s Violin Concerto. I wasn’t allowed in with my Canon 75-300mm cheapie lens. Its length exceeded the width of a credit card, hence it’s a professional lens and is not allowed. These pictures are from 2008, before this rule was enforced.

I grew up in Los Angeles, and the Hollywood Bowl performances were a constant treat that my parents and I really enjoyed. Come early to the Bowl, have a picnic dinner at one of the designated picnic areas, sit in the nose-bleed (cheap) seats near the back of the bowl for ridiculously small ticket prices, and enjoy world-class performances. It was not a perfect experience, with helicopters and private planes sometimes buzzing the bowl during a performance (even though it was illegal), acoustics that varied from terrible to modestly good as sound engineers kept fiddling with the Bowl’s shell, hard seats and the occasional chilly night. Overall, though, it became a family tradition, and one that my parents continued with my wife and me and then with our children. I remember my two year old son sleeping under one of the bleacher seats during an enjoyable performance.
Helicopter buzzing Hollywood Bowl

Over the years, I got interested in photography and often took a camera with me to the Bowl, to snap photos of family members who accompanied me, the surroundings, and the performers. Starting in the 1970’s, I have always had some kind of telephoto lens for my camera, which makes it possible to photograph events such as tonight’s concert, so that performers look like people, not distant insects. Apparently this is no longer allowed at the Bowl.

Now one might ask: how did this change in policy occur? In my youth, nobody was stationed at the Bowl entrance to check to see if your picnic basket contained a “dirty bomb” or anthrax or a rocket launcher or whatever. Since 9/11, I assume, they do that. So of course in the past there Cross Facing Hollywood Bowl

was never a question of keeping people with SLR’s out because there was nobody to notice that you had an SLR. Today, those checkers exists in the name of security, but while they are at it, they can also be asked to enforce rules that have nothing to do with security. One of the security supervisors explained to me tonight that any long lens was considered “professional” and therefore could not be brought into the Bowl. I’m sure the Bowl has some legitimate commercial interests in the images of their performers, but I find it egregious that they now prevent me from taking photos for my own pleasure.

The scary thing is that I’m not sure they are doing this for any considered reason. After all, I have been able to take my camera equipment every time I have been there, even since 9/11/2001. But the creeping “rule-itis” means that they prevent me from doing what I’ve always done just because they can, enabled by the need for security.

P.S. I did get in, even with my camera and lens, by burying it in my picnic basket and getting checked at a different table, where they didn’t notice the camera under the sandwiches. Nevertheless, I didn’t use the camera. Sure is a good thing it wasn’t a dirty bomb.

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