Photos, video of state ferries are usually OK
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Although state ferry workers were told last summer to watch for two men taking suspicious photos, there's nothing wrong with shooting photos or video on Washington ferries.
Just stick to the public areas.
What is against the rules is taking pictures in nonpublic areas, said Susan Harris, customer information services manager.
In August, the FBI asked for public help in identifying the men who had been taking pictures, going places passengers don't normally go and asking technical questions about the ferries.
Authorities received hundreds of tips, but the men have not been identified, Harris said.
Meanwhile, dozens of videos taken aboard state ferries are available through Web sites such as YouTube.com. Many are edited into short films, showing cars and people crisscrossing Puget Sound.
"My aunt actually lives on Bainbridge Island, and I go to visit her every summer. I've taken the trip, like, 100 times, and I wanted to shoot some time-lapse video," said Brian Lange, who posted his video of the passage on YouTube.
Lange, a professional filmmaker who lives in Chicago, said he wondered if ferry personnel would challenge him.
"I was concerned about that because after 9/11, everything got stricter. I didn't ask permission; I just carried the camera by my waist and set it on the railing. I wasn't going to turn it off until I was told to turn it off," he said.
Beth Marsau of Ferndale shot video of Seattle's waterfront from a departing ferry last summer without causing alarm.
"I was just going to a wedding, and I always carry my camera around and decided to shoot to the seagulls," she said.
A member of the Bellingham Nonprofit Music Association, she later edited to video to go with a song by a friend and posted it on the Internet.
"I did send an e-mail at somebody at the Department of Transportation and got a message back saying they couldn't watch videos on YouTube at work," Marsau said.
Harris reviewed some of the online ferry video at the request of The Olympian newspaper. None presented a problem.
"What you see are just basically tourism videos," she said. "Some of them are very talented pieces."
Just stick to the public areas.
What is against the rules is taking pictures in nonpublic areas, said Susan Harris, customer information services manager.
In August, the FBI asked for public help in identifying the men who had been taking pictures, going places passengers don't normally go and asking technical questions about the ferries.
Authorities received hundreds of tips, but the men have not been identified, Harris said.
Meanwhile, dozens of videos taken aboard state ferries are available through Web sites such as YouTube.com. Many are edited into short films, showing cars and people crisscrossing Puget Sound.
"My aunt actually lives on Bainbridge Island, and I go to visit her every summer. I've taken the trip, like, 100 times, and I wanted to shoot some time-lapse video," said Brian Lange, who posted his video of the passage on YouTube.
Lange, a professional filmmaker who lives in Chicago, said he wondered if ferry personnel would challenge him.
"I was concerned about that because after 9/11, everything got stricter. I didn't ask permission; I just carried the camera by my waist and set it on the railing. I wasn't going to turn it off until I was told to turn it off," he said.
Beth Marsau of Ferndale shot video of Seattle's waterfront from a departing ferry last summer without causing alarm.
"I was just going to a wedding, and I always carry my camera around and decided to shoot to the seagulls," she said.
A member of the Bellingham Nonprofit Music Association, she later edited to video to go with a song by a friend and posted it on the Internet.
"I did send an e-mail at somebody at the Department of Transportation and got a message back saying they couldn't watch videos on YouTube at work," Marsau said.
Harris reviewed some of the online ferry video at the request of The Olympian newspaper. None presented a problem.
"What you see are just basically tourism videos," she said. "Some of them are very talented pieces."