Had a press release come through from TfL gushing about their improved service for film makers and the setting up of a dedicated film office.

Great if you want to make films, but what about the remaining 99.99% of people who want to take still image photos?

Do we get a look in?

Nope.

As usual, the amateur photographer is left in a weird limbo land where there isn’t a clear rule. As DiamondGeezer noted the other day, a photography competition being run by TfL stated that photography on the tube network is FORBIDDEN.

However, chat over on District Dave notes that general photography is not explicitly banned and that a memo was added to the tube staff’s internal newsletter last year which says that general photography is permitted.

Add to that the many signs dotted around the tube network stating that “flash photography” is forbidden – but rarely commenting on other forms of photography. Indeed, by inference, non-flash photography seems to be permitted.

Now, I could buy a £30 monthly photography permit, but that seems to be aimed at student groups or professionals, and regardless of my pretensions, I am most certainly not a professional. You also have to seek permission from the station every time you visit, which is a bit much if you are standing on a platform and see something you want to take a quick snap of.

Regular readers may recall a nasty incident last year at Clapham Common station with photographers.

I understand the problem with flash on the underground, and support the ban on that – but a total ban on photography in general just seems daft. No one at TfL has ever come up with a defensible reason for the ban, and with the contradictory statements on the issue, isn’t it time they put some effort in to liaising with photographers to come up with sensible and usable rules?

I will accept the ban on tripods, although I would be interested to know why TfL thinks a small tripod at the far end of the platform causes more problems than a tourist with two large suitcases blockading the middle of the platform.

So come on TfL – do the same as you did last year with the Bloggers Briefing and pull in some photographers to discuss the problems and come up with a sensible set of rules for us amateur hobbyists.