National Park filming legislation

[Eric Olson]

Originally Posted by Kevin Railsback

"The fact that it is illegal to take a video of Old Faithful from your iphone and publish it to your blog is absurd!"

Did Christopher say what the penalty is for filming Old Faithful with an iPhone without a permit?

If the law were uniformly enforced, I think more people would be busying getting it changed. It appears to me that photography and videography are ideal ways of appreciating natural landscapes. I think these activities also help to prevent exploitation by publicly documenting the current environmental condition of the park.

[Kevin Railsback]

It depends on what the judge decides. Not sure what the max is but I know people have been both fined as well as banned from the park.

The law only effects video and filmmaking. Photographers were smart and lobbied for an exemption before the original law was passed. So you can stand next to someone taking pictures for National Geographic magazine, they can shoot all they want but you need a permit and possible a ranger escort.

I'll see if I can do some more research on what the max penalties are.

[Alex Chamberlain]

Kevin, Thanks for all the information you've passed to me. I believe that if you're caught in the park, your equipment is confiscated. Beyond that, I'm not sure. I know Yellowstone has been among the most heavy-handed, but I had to "hire" a ranger escort in Grand Canyon (North Rim) as well. $65/hr, which is exactly what I charge for my time. Doesn't take an accountant to crunch the numbers there.
P.S. Just checked out your website. Looks like we know some of the same people. Jay Diest?

[Mark Williams]

The best I can determine from reviewing the Code of Federal Regulations Title 36, the maximum penalty if found guilty is $5,000 or imprisonment for 6 months or both as well as payment of court costs. Different penalties my apply at National Military parks and battlefields. There is no mention made of confiscation of personal property.

[Kevin Railsback]

We're up to 148 people signed on the petition. I sent out another round of Tweets, Google+ and will send out some posts on FB later today.

Keep sending it out to people.
Just search for Allow Professional Videography on Public Lands to find the petition and pass it on to everyone you know.
Nature and wildlife filmmakers is a small niche. We're not going to get tens of thousands of signatures. So every one counts.

[Alex Chamberlain]

Sounds great. I'll do another round too. Thanks!

[Kevin Railsback]

149. Who is going to be 150?
Not sure how many we need to make a difference but 150 doesn't sound like very much.

[David Elkins]

Kevin,

May I use parts of your letter posted on your blog to Sen. Lee to craft my own letter to my lawmakers here in California? Mostly want to use the facts you lay out and your proposals. I'll tailor it to my location and specifics.

Thanks.

[Kevin Railsback]

Sure David. Are you talking my blog or Alex's though? :)
Alex is the one that started the petition. I just wrote a blog about are you filming illegally in our national parks.
But if you're talking about anything I wrote of course you can use it any way you see fit to try and get the law changed to allow us to film on public lands.

[Alex Chamberlain]

Just to be thorough, if David is referring to my stuff, he's also welcome. In other news, I had a good day today. My latest Facebook blast garnered a response from a gentleman in Kanab, UT who has something to do with the film industry over there. (Kanab used to be something of a Mecca for western movies) He forwarded my petition, etc. to the Utah State Film Commissioner (Marshall Moore) who called him back and indicated his support. We're going to have a conference call with Senator Lee after congress re-convenes to hammer out language for the legislation.

[David Elkins]

Sorry! Yes, meant Alex!

[David Chilson]

Canon is adding a video workshop sessions to their presentation at the National Parks this year, maybe they could help with the legislation. Especially if somebody from Canon got fined for not having the correct permit!

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., June 4, 2012 – Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, is once again joining forces with several of the country’s acclaimed national parks to offer free photography workshops to visitors this summer. The Canon Photography in the Parks Program provides participants with free equipment loans and professional photography instruction as they take part in a guided walking photo tour. Following the tour, participants have the opportunity to print images for free and take home a CD of their image files. Visitors of all ages and experience levels are welcome to participate.

New to this year’s program are Canon video workshop sessions. Visitors can experience and learn about shooting video by using a Canon VIXIA camcorder or EOS digital SLR camera and participating in a hands-on videography demonstration with experts.

“Canon is incredibly excited to help people improve their photography skills and capture the beauty of our national parks through our Photography in the Parks Program,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, executive vice president and general manager, Imaging Technologies & Communications Group, Canon U.S.A. “Our nation’s magnificent and pristine national parks offer the quintessential location to help people improve their photography skills and inspire creativity. In doing so, Canon hopes to also help those who visit parks this summer create and preserve lasting memories and leverage their newfound skills throughout their lives, for all of their important moments.”

In addition, Canon is sponsoring the new National Geographic iPhone application, National Parks by National Geographic. Available as a free download from Apple’s App Store, the app provides users with park information and photo galleries, travel tips from National Geographic editors, and information about park events – including the Canon Photography in the Parks Program. The app also features photo tips to help users capture beautiful photography throughout their summer travels.

The Canon Photography in the Parks Program will take place at various dates through the summer at the following national parks:

Grand Canyon: May 31 – June 20
Zion: June 24 – July 9
Yosemite: July 13 – July 17
Yellowstone: July 23 – July 31
Grand Teton: August 1 – August 2
Rocky Mountain: August 5 – August 11
Acadia: August 18 – August 29

[Phil Murray]

Just a note, for what it's worth. I am in Denali National Park right now. My wife and I used the shuttle bus system to travel out into the park for about 9 hours. While the bus drivers are not rangers, we did pass several park rangers and none of them paid the least bit of attention to my EX1r. I didn't use n external mic and my tripod was a basic Manfrotto with a 701HDV head. (Trying to find a middle between low weight and usefulness. The 701HDV worked quite well under the circumstances.)

I know that didn't look like a commercial videographer at all, but I was afraid an overzealous young ranger might think so and become concerned that I was. I was tried to be aware of any "looks" that rangers might give to my equipment, but no one did. (Of course, all the other tourists were staring at it a lot. Sometimes it's nice when people tend t defer prime filming spots to you just because you look professional even if you're just on vacation same as them.)

As far as the camera's usefulness here, it seemed that I made the right choice in bringing it instead of a smaller consumer camcorder. Despite not being able to get off the bus when we spotted wildlife, I was able to get some decently steady handheld shots. I'll know more later this evening when I look at the shots on my laptop.

Weather permitting, tomorrow we are planning to get off the bus and do some more serious filming. While the drivers won't let you off when wildlife is spotted, they will take you about 1/2 mile down the road and you can walk back. Obviously, we won't be trying to get too close to grizzlies, but a filming a bear from 300m away will look infinitely better using a tripod!

Phil

[Kevin Railsback]

Well at least Yellowstone is getting better at spelling it out that if you shoot video or record audio for ANYTHING other than vacation video you need a permit:
"Film And News Crews Capturing Yellowstone May Require A Permit

Film and video crews and news reporters wishing to capture the sounds and imagery of Yellowstone this year are reminded to review permitting regulations before setting up their tripods inside the park.

If you're simply shooting home photos and videos for fun, you need not worry about obtaining a permit. However, federal regulations and National Park Service (NPS) policies do place some restrictions on film and media activities due to concerns over visitor safety and impacts on fragile park resources:

Film and Video Crews: As a general rule, a film permit is required for any individual, business, group, organization or institution that may be paid, reimbursed, or provided any measure of financial or in-kind support for any costs associated with an audio, film, or video produced within Yellowstone National Park. This applies not only to those shooting feature films, but those who capture audio, film or video footage for school projects, documentaries, product demonstrations, Web sites or training films."

Oh, and if you've never applied for a permit to shoot in Yellowstone wait till you see how much it's going to cost you in ranger escort fees! $65 an hour to have a ranger stand next to you on a boardwalk while a pro still photographer shoots for free right next to you with the same tripod because you're is a tripping hazard and somehow theirs is not.

[Steve Siegel]

This is just such complete and total b...s..., and it gets thicker with each post. I regularly get membership request mail from a non-profit group called the National Parks Conservation Association.
The last time I sent the pledge card back with a note about this problem. Most likely opened by someone in India, but it was the best I could do.

I wonder what sort of pressure a group like that could put on the Feds.