A keen amateur photographer was stunned earlier this week when he was reprimanded by police for taking pictures of a jet skier from a distance.

Garry Chinchen was driving by a public water-sports lake when he saw a great shot for his portfolio. He was taking pictures of jet skiers with a Nikon D200 camera and 17-200mm lens for around ten minutes before he was approached by the landowner who told him to “stop taking pictures of the children.”

The landowner made a complaint to the police who arrived and banned Chinchen from taking pictures. They also insisted that he tell them who his employer was and phoned the foster agency where he worked.

The pictures were deemed by the police to be perfectly legal and simply featured a man and a boy, both dressed in wetsuits, riding a jet ski.

Despite this, the police ran his name through a database check for previous convictions but found nothing.

Although all the checks came back clear and the photographs were clearly legal and perfectly decent, police told Chinchen: “If you take another picture you will be arrested for, at the least, breach of the peace [under the Public Order Act].”

PhotographyCourses.Biz