TMNP getting carried away with their owm perceived importance.

[HiltonP]

Has anyone heard about this nonsense?

It appears to me as if TMNP is getting a little too full of themselves.

First we have attacks on visitors in the park of which they deny knowledge,
then we have the debacle of the Chapmans Peak office block development,
and now it seems they want to hassle photographers.

Somebody needs to explain to them that they are public servants.

[Johan Grobbelaar]

Absolutey ridiculous!

[Trevor Ives]

a free permit? count me in...

FYI, that email addy above is vanessa.fletcher@sanparks.org.

I suspect someone's going to get a full mailbox pretty soon.

[Chris F]

Trevor and my email will be one of those in her inbox tomorrow morning.

Lets see how this one plays out.

[Mike Wrankmore]

It's beyond ridiculous.....are they now going to stop people in Cape town center from taking pictures of Table Mountain.....?
I have a full wild card for all parks in S.A(R560)........and i still have to get a permit to walk a dog on Table mountain(R155).My wife cannot walk the dog with my permit......she has to have one of her own ......for the same dog(R155).So it seems the permit is not for the dog....but the person walking the dog......how f.......g ridiculous.Now i need a permit to carry my camera......over 10MP.So if i have my backpack with all my gear in...2 Bodies,multiple lenses.....they will probably arrest me....???????

[Forgiss - Sean Nel]

The rule about shooting for profit in a national park has been there for years. That is why ODP Safaris buys shooting permits for all their trips. I can accept that. If I am going to make money with my work in the park they need to sustain, then I need to pay for the access.

The ridiculous thing about 10mp is a bit ... well... stupid. Some cellphones already go past this... A 20D is safe, and a 1DmkIII is borderline, but my GoPro is already a no-go?! seriously?!

[Trevor Ives]

It's a tough thing to police, but that's no excuse for getting to SO wrong. If they are going to make SUCH a big thing about it, they should give officials proper training in the matter. I'd say it's laughable, but it's worse than that.

That said, I have pics that I CAN sell, and I'd be wrong to profit in such ways (as Sean says). It's pretty tough to shoot out and about in Cape Town without TMNP being involved.

[Mike Mac]

Hi.

I have been kicked out of Silvermine by Rangers and threatened with a fine. As soon as you have anything that looks like semi pro equipment, flash, tripod etc, the Rangers will confront you.

I then followed up with Vanessa at National Parks. If you can satisfy her that the shoot is not for commercial purposes, she will issue you a free permit for an administration fee of R150. LOL. The big problem is that you have to be specific about where and when (day and time) you will be shooting as the permit is only valid for that specific venue and time. Not very user friendly in an area where weather is unpredictable and one may need to change venue at short notice.

We in SA must be one of the most taxed nations out there. Everyway you turn, a new form of tax is being introduced for the use of public property.

Regards
Michael

[mervin]

The problem today is that some of the P&S cameras (example the Canon SX240/SX260 that has an incredible 20x optical zoom with a 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor) has some better IQ and reach than some of the older semi-pro bodies with lenses. The 'controllers' are not educated and like to 'stamp' their authority because they can. I think lots of negative publicity will make (possibly) TMNP rethink its position (?)

[Petervdh]

I was also confronted by a TMNP ranger last year on Noordhoek and he was very rude from the word go. He targeted only the South Africans no tourists

[visagieh]

Everyway you turn, a new form of tax is being introduced for the use of public property.

One of these days they going to tax you on wind tax, or good weather tax, or ....

Nee bliksem, this is getting ridicules.

[jab2]

Interestingly Act 57 of 2003 does not contain the words photo, photographer or camera, neither film or film crew. When one go further into it it is in fact mentioned in the regulations to the act, but does not prescibe the narrow interpretation by TMNP as mentioned here.

[Mike Wrankmore]

I rest my case.......so all the tourists on top of Table Mountain....do they get harrassed in the same way.Silvermine is getting a bad rep for the photography issue......as well as Noordhoek.
But to quantify this.....i have yet to be stopped and harrassed.....and i go to Silvermine and Noordhoek often.

[Chris F]

It is a 250km return trip for me to shoot "on that side" of the peninsula. Usually this is day-trip, and the weather ans position of the sun etc dictates where I stop or just keep driving.

Absolutely IMPOSSIBLE for me to get a permit for "one venue" - or should I rather say that permit for "one venue" will be USELESS as I might be there for an hour at most then of to the next spot.

As an amateur this is how I enjoy my day behind the lens.

I can fully appreciate that pro's will setup camp at one or two spots for the day to do a pro shoot - but then the "R150/free permit" does not apply in any case.


So just because:
- am a local
- bought an expensive camera

I may now no longer shoot at leasure in my own "backyard" ....



I am pretty sure the TOS does not allow me to use the kind of words I want to, to describe these "burocrats" ......

[jab2]

To see this issue within the context of the act's objectives;

Objectives of Act

objectives of this Act are
(a) to provide, within the framework of national legislation, including the National Environmental Management Act, for the declaration and management of protected areas;
(b) to provide for co-operative governance in the declaration and management of protected areas;
(c)) to effect a national system of protected areas in South Africa as part of a strategy to manage and conserve its biodiversity;
(d) to provide for a representative network of protected areas on state land, private land and communal land;
(e) to promote sustainable utilization of protected areas for the benefit of people, in a manner that would preserve the ecological character of such areas; and
(f) to promote participation of local communities in the management of protected areas, where appropriate.

The sole purpose of the act is to preserve the ecology of designated areas, and manage it towards that goal. I find it strange that the act of photography as such, if it is done from the exact same place as non camera baring tourists, can have any influence on the protection of an ecological system, and that therefore regulations must be in place to regulate it, much less regulate with the purpose of making money.

With regards to prohibiting the taking of pictures on Noordhoek beach, para (f) is totally at odds with this. Was Noordhoek’s residents consulted on this. I bet not. Hilton?

[jaytee]

I haven`t read the Act, or the regulations, but I`m pretty sure this Act is designed to stop film crews from taking over beaches and reserves without permission, and now it`s being enforced over-zealously. I`d suggest that an e-mail a bit like jab2`s last post be sent to Vanessa Fletcher, along with an invitation that she, or someone from the TMNP, comment on this forum, and perhaps clarify their policy.

[HiltonP]

Was Noordhoek’s residents consulted on this. I bet not. Hilton?

Definitely not.

[Leo Theron]

OK…

Now what are the powers of a SANPARK/TMNP Ranger?

Can he arrest you? Confiscate your equipment? Deny you access to certain areas? Demand your camera? Erase your memory card?

[mervin]

I think really we need to get clarity from all the SANPARK/TMNP board as this is BS... similarly when a G4S guard told me I am not allowed to take photos of a building in Sandton and need to ask permission although I was standing in public road taking a photo of the street and trees.... I told him to get knotted, call his boss and sent an email to G4S (no response) the building owner (told me they will give me permission after I asked them what is their right (perceived) which I do not ask for...)

[mervin]

SANPARK Link
http://www.sanparks.org/groups/filming/