Know your Photographic rights

From Jeremy Zawodny's Linkblog is this flyer of legal rights for photographers - this is only applicable in the US, your mileage may vary. It's becoming increasingly common for people to try to restrict where photos may be taken. Stores now routinely prevent customers from using cell phones because they might be a cell phone (my wife ran into this at a popcorn store in Chicago) and both the New York MTA and San Francisco MUNI are trying to ban photography on the subway - usually due to vague security concerns. At the same time it's becoming increasingly common for people to have a camera with them all the time (cameraphones or small digital cameras) so when something does happen, you'll be more likely to have a camera. And blogs and Flickr have given the individual to publish their photos to a much larger audience. Given all this, it's much more crucial to know what you can and cannot photograph so that someone says "Don't take a photo of that!" you'll know whether they have the right to enforce it. From the flyer (please read the whole flyer):

Permissible Subjects Despite misconceptions to the contrary, the following subjects can almost always be photographed lawfully from public places:

• accident and fire scenes
• children
• celebrities
• bridges and other infrastructure
• residential and commercial buildings
• industrial facilities and public utilities
• transportation facilities (e.g., airports)
• Superfund sites
• criminal activities
• law enforcement officers

Who Is Likely to Violate Your Rights Most confrontations are started by security guards and employees of organizations who fear photography. The most common reason given is security but often such persons have no articulated reason. Security is rarely a legitimate reason for restricting photography.