Controversial Locations - Where do YOU draw the line?

Er, I dunno about this. If it is a beloved family pet that has been put to sleep, yes, that is one thing. If we're talking about a dead animal on the side of the road or otherwise, I would suggest not touching it, period -- not to play, bury, photograph it better, etc. There's good or bad intentions, and then there's also just not knowing where something has been or what potential diseases and bacteria it may have been exposed to. For safety's sake, I would heartily recommend just leaving dead dogs lie -- literally.

 

I have pictures of His Majesty in Starbucks. Not that it's super obvious that it's Starbucks, but yes...

 

The surroundings is okay i guess, but on the grave itself, that's very rude -w-

 

I have a starbucks...maybe I should give it a try. I'll call and ask for permission then simply not press the issue if I get turned down. I'm not some starbucks addict who has to have their coffee so I'm ok if on some wierd circumstances they tell me to never come back. My homemade blend is better, lol.

That's too cool, chatvert! You have some nice officials, but I bet the no line no crazyness helped just a little. If you do have the picture *hopes you can post it* then post it! ^o^

 

I agree.

Graveyards have very beautiful architecture and sculptural details. But putting a doll on someone grave is disrespectful to them and the families memory. I know personally if I walked into the graveyard to visit and passed family member and I saw some posing their doll on it they would get a serious beat down.

 

I found out bout the styrofoam gasoline thing when i was like 14. Just something that happpened, that we won't get into LOL But you have to remember, that just because you can do it, and have for years, doesn't mean that everyone can. I know people who's artistic ability is NOTHING. Asking them to draw a line between two dots is a bit much. You really can't come in here, and just say "Oh, develope your creative talents, you might surprise yourself". It doesn't work that way.

I'm not defending people who want to have their dolls pervertedly defiling somone's tombstone. That's a bit wrong. However, i also do not see the harm in someone standing their doll next to someone's tombstone to take a photo.

 

Right, that's why I didn't say it couldn't be done... just that they don't allow pictures in their store as a general rule.

If you whip your camera out and start taking pictures of dolls, the most they can do is make you leave.

It's also a possibility that the barristas either a) don't want to bother with the hassle of driving you out, or b) see that you're obviously not trying to steal their trade secrets, and are, in fact, just taking pics of dolls... and let it be.

Whether or not you can wasn't really the point though, the point was that it isn't allowed, and often they'll ask you to stop, which is why you might not see many pics of dolls in certain places.

 

I feel the need to point out that one of the commonly commented upon 'controvertial locations' the cemetary isn't as controvertial as many would want to think. At the beginning of the century, people would go take picnics in the cemetary! Most of our cemetaries were deliberately designed as parks so that the living would be living among the dead. Foreset Lawn Cemetary is a perfect example of this in Buffalo. Yes, it houses the final resting place of many significant historical figures - and now people are encouraged to find those markers to pay tribute, but people are also encouraged to use it as a park - walking through it, biking, rollerblading...

 

Hospitals. I don't think I'd respect anyone who took pictures of their dolls in any part of the hospital - because it's not a place for messing around, y'know?

 

I'll never fully understand this hobby.

I love art and photography so I can see the beauty of some of the sculptures within a graveyard. However I wouldn't place my dolls on someone's grave or headstone. That is highly disrespectful. Just because you don't see a problem with it doesn't mean a family member won't. Just because you wouldn't mind someone doing this to your grave doesn't mean the same for everyone else, even those within the hobby. Have a little respect for people not interested in your hobby.

If it is the tombstone of someone within your family, then go right ahead...but on a stranger's grave is just sad. Photography in general of a graveyard can be just as tasteless. I don't think anyone could take a picture in a graveyard involving a doll [that isn't a tribute to someone you knew personally] and make it sentimental enough.

I have mixed feelings about a church. Churches can be very intricate and beautiful on the inside and some wonderful photographs have been taken. However, even though I am agnostic, I can respect the church itself and not photograph my dolls there. Though if you asked first and recieved permission then I don't see a problem with it.

Places like Ground Zero, Pearl Harbor, etc...I just don't see how some people can't think of other's feelings first. I didn't lose anyone there but I would never think of doing doll photography there for the same reasons as the graveyard.

Honestly...to most people outside of the hobby [and even some within it] see these kind of photohoots as just a step above [or equal to] Myspace shock photos. I understand some people love their dolls and love taking them out in public [well...I understand it to an extent] but there is a time and a place for everything : /

 

How about if it were the doll's owner in the hospital, and they were taking pictures of their doll in their own room to pass the time and make themselves feel better? I dunno. Just my opinion, but I think that'd be okay as long as no one else was being bothered.

 

Hospital shots, hmm. I was considering bringing my boy in with me when I had to get some shots the other day-- I'm scared of needles, ish-- but decided not to, simply because it didn't feel right. If I were in the hospital for a valid reason or visiting a friend who liked my dolls, or even if I worked there and wasn't violating any health codes or common-sense regulations on privacy, I'd be fine with it. But simply taking your doll into a hospital for some cool, stylish pinups seems like a no-no for me. It's a place of business, like a Starbucks. It's a place of respect, like a cemetery. And it's a place full of people who might not appreciate being treated like backdrops in your adorable resin-baby photostory-- like, well, a lot of places. But pictures of someone with their dolls in the hospital as a comfort would seem sweet to me. It's all about intent.

 

Humm...I'm fine with Churches and Gravyards and other places where people gather, but I wouldn't (of course) disturb anyone who was using the space for a spiritual moment.

Hospitals...well, not during surgery. Too germy. But while visiting another doll lover? Sure! Beats bringing flowers or grapes.

Probably I wouldn't photograph my dolls anywhere they might be in danger...on rocks or high places.

 

I guess I'm just cold and callous, but they're all just earth and stones in a graveyard. The people below are decomposing and are no longer attached to the shell they once were. Obviously none of my shoots have been of anything lude, offensive, or sexual, they've all been spiritual or serene. I really disagree that all shoots are the same, saying that the types of shots I've done are the same as Myspace shock images? That's generalizing and not accurate at all. While the area has meaning to people, it doesn't mean I have to hold back. I'm not doing anything illegal, so I see no reason not to continue using the graveyard to shoot my dolls. I put a lot of meaning into other public places, certain parks, certain malls, the church my mom attended while I was growing up, but that isn't going to stop other people from doing whatever they want in those places, so its not going to stop me.

 

I'm a very religious person, raised in the church with a pastor for a grandfather and a deacon for a father, but honestly I see nothing wrong with enjoying yourself in a cemetary as long as it is a wholesome entertainment. Actually, I grew up having the annual Easter egg hunt in the graveyard behind our church! We kids would run all over the graves and find eggs inside vases and flower arrangements, and no-one ever said a word against it because we had all gathered together to celebrate a holiday and worship together. Besides, we were always taught not to fear death, and that the body we leave behind is an empty shell. It's disrespectful to the living to deface a gravestone, but the dead don't mind us enjoying ourselves on "their property". Even church members who have family members buried in the cemetary think it's rather sweet that the children are allowed to run freely out there.

I'm more concerned about interrupting the living. I'd much sooner take pictures at a cemetary than at a hospital where people were busy and stressed, with someone's newborn baby that they're already paranoid about, or on a city walkway where I'd be in everyone's way. Emotionally these might be less controversial than other locations like churches, graveyards or sites of death, but they're inconvenient to everyone. In the same manner, if I went to take photos in a cemetary and there was a funeral or even individual mourners there, I would at the very least keep a far distance and more than likely just not take pictures that day. But the dead really don't care what you do- they're not really there!

And on the subject of creating scenes in miniature, which I saw some time back- while this sounds like a great idea in theory, it's just not possible for everyone. I barely have enough storage room for dolls, much less photography sets for them, even if I did have the time and skills to put into making them, nor do I have adequate lighting for most indoor photos. I have to have makeshift sets or go outdoors. So yes, if you choose to make your own sets instead of doing something you feel uncomfortable with, I will applaud you. But I will not be following this example simply because I cannot- something I find some doll owners don't think of.

 

I feel like the idea of not going near a grave in order to respect it is kind of odd. If that's the family's wishes, that's fine, but personally I just don't get it, maybe that's just me. I would want lots of fun stuff happening on my gravesite! I'm social by nature - I wouldn't want to be left untouched after death, how lonely! ...which is why I want to be cremated XD so no one will be creeped out picnicking on me.

But yeah...from a graveside shoot, you don't know (a)what the person's cultural beliefs are and/or (b)that it's not their grandmother, sister, friend, etc. You don't know that this isn't something they're being deeply respectful of or that they don't have permission. There's no reason to dismiss it out of hand.

I also tend to think of things in terms of positive and negative energy and influence on the world, so I think the idea of something that someone loves and spends as much time and emotional energy on as we do with our dolls being placed near a gravesite is actually a really beautiful act.

Plus, stonecutters often spend a lot of time making those monuments beautiful, and it's only right that someone see them, oftentimes the very old ones have no one left to mourn for the people under them.

I guess the only reason I'd disapprove is if the setting is only being used to make the point that the doll is "omg so goth" etc...using the location as a shortcut to a (stereotypical) personality.

 

I must admit.. I do take pictures of my boys at the cemetary.. however it's not on a strangers grave.. I always take one of my boys with me when me and my family decorate my fathers grave.. I take pictures of my boy laying down on his grave gently touching his stone.. thats because my father loved my first boy Kraven and would always ask how he was doing.. it's like I never feel right if I go without taking him to see my father.. 'That' is when I feel it right to take pictures like that.. but on a strangers grave I can understand where it's disrespectful... I don't feel right doing that to other graves I do not know.. and I hope I worded this all right ^^;

 

Did you have a look at the link I added its awesome!! I didnt forget ^ as I was refering to an in-scale scene, the link that I added for the grave/churchyard diorama was built for a 1/3 scale doll, its amazingly detailed and I though it might be usefull for anyone inclined to build something of that sort I added up the cost based on a quick internet search of the list of supplies required with the tutorial and it came in at $146 so I wasnt far off the mark but I do know that a lot of shops may have cheaper products

Gah, I couldnt think of anything worse than building a life-size set LOL OMG.... You'd sacrifice your entire back-yard!! LOL

Soo not an issue IMO it can be easy to misinterpret posts in debate threads only because you cant hear a persons tone or see their body-language... If I ever get offended I walk away and do something and come back 10-15 minutes later and re-read it more often than not I've over reacted initially and there really is nothing to get up in arms about.... And I think you're doing a fine job in here

edit: unless someone directly attcks me by calling me a "mewling cabbage droping puritanical hypocrite" - yes it happened... LOL

 

Again...just because you think it's ok doesn't mean everyone else does. If you get permission or if it belonged to someone you know that is different. I would be very angry if I went to visit my father's grave and saw someone doing such a thing. I'm in the hobby and I would still find it highly rude and you can bet I'd put a stop to it. I wouldn't care how wonderful you'd think your pictures would be because you are disrepecting something wonderful to me.

It's nice some of you wouldn't mind if people did this on your graves or graves of your loved ones. Find the grave of someone you knew and have your photoshoot there. But obviously not everyone is going to like it and it's only fair you respect that. When I mentioned this thread to my mother she was sickened and pissed. This i how alot of people would feel especially outside of the hobby where they don't really understand the whole photography bit.