Controversial Locations - Where do YOU draw the line?

As an Asian with many boundaries I think it is disrespectful for someone to take pictures at a Graveyard. Yeah yeah I know, you must be like, 'it's just stone with carving on it, what's the big deal?'.
The BIG DEAL is, that is not just a stone with carvings on it, it's a Gravestone. A gravestone to mark that someone DEAD is lying in the floor trying to rest in peace.
So the dead can't exactly react(or so people think no one has died and told us how it feels XD) but the families can still feel that you are being disrespectful.

I think I'd be shocked to see someone use my grave as nothing more than a mere backdrop for a doll and for somebody I don't know or care two hoots about.
Heck, why WOULD you even want to take pictures in a graveyard anyways where possibly ghosts or poltigeist stick to you and follow you home?
There are much more homey places than a frickin' GRAVEYARD! XD

Try not to take any offense.
TLDR post yeah??? XD

 

Hmm.

I'm not sure if I were take a photo in a graveyard. If I wanted to I'd be able to without offending anyone because the closet graveyard to my house, which is walking distance, has some of my family members in there an I doubt they would mind and neither dose the family. I also respect the graveyard alot, I go there at lest once a month and clean alot of the graves that are just slabs facing up from the ground and I also pick up alot of sticks. I also clean up all those stupid baseballs that I find in there all the time. But I can see where people find it disrespectful.

As for other places I think it could be okay to take doll photos in a church as long as you're not being disrespectful and you ask the owner/priest if you are allowed to. Like the church my dad goes to, the priest wouldn't mind as long as I am not doing anything disrespectful. Like one thing that would not be disrespectful would be having him sit on one of the benches reading a bible but... I could do that here cause we have one of the old benches in the garage somewhere. XD
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what about pictures of PEOPLE in graveyards? is it not the same? if it is a public place, i do not see it as controversial, unless your doll is posing over or near like, roadkill or something disturbing.

 

I think you should be able to take pictures of your doll any where you want to. If I had a doll, I wouldn't think twice about going into graveyards to take pictures. I mean, I don't see what's so disrespectful about taking pictures in a graveyard. I don't even think you should have to worry about it being disrespectful.

Then again, I don't really know If I would want someone taking pictures of their doll in someone I love's grave. I might be offended, or I might be honored that they're using that grave to make a beautiful piece of art. I might be offended if the doll was doing something disrespectful, like defecating... But people should be able to do what they want. If you want to show your disrespect to someone's grave, then you should be able to (as long as you're not physically harming it)

As for other locations, I can't think of any. Again, I think you should be able to take pictures where ever you want.

 

Hmm... Well, I guess for certain religions graves are far more sacred (such as many Asian cultures; India, China, etc) than graves or graveyards you see in... I dunno, for the sake of example, America or something where it's just a granite stone placed in a field with other granite stones.

With that line, graveyards I see in my town, most of them are forgotten. I feel that when I take pictures of them, people can see that grave and wonder who that person was, what type of life they had, etc.
In a way, it's like their memory gets to live on through a meaningful portrait of the granite slab.

Although with the other cultures I mentioned above (all of which I've seen/been to, so I can speak from experience!), I find those have a bit more meaning in general (with shrines and such) so I think I'd feel a bit guilty taking pictures of those without the family's permission or something u__u;

 

When I was a teenager, I lived in a small town that had its own cemetery. Five months out of the year, the grounds would not receive much in the way of maintenance due to long winters. I recall walking there a fair bit and cleaning snow, moving big branches and generally picking up from the snow. I ended up going there when it was warmer as well.. I believe that if you're doing artful photography in a public place, few people will object. Random sex acts, violence and mistreating the grounds would of course be a different story.

 

Graveyards. You take a picture near my relative's grave, and I'll go bat S**T. So I avoid cemeteries altogether. Are there people who don't mind? Yes, but since that means you'd have to track down a living relative, and tell them you want to take pretty pictures of your doll near a grave.....see what I'm getting at?

 

Aren't cemetery land plots property of the person buried in it/their family? It's kind of like walking up on someone's private property because you thought their back yard flower bed was a great place for a shoot.

I think I'd do a shoot of some kind in a cemetery as a back drop, but I wouldn't climb onto someone's grave to take pictures. It's weird and I don't know the person at all, so I can't say it's a "respectful tribute".

Personally, I'm dying to drag Michael into some of the cathedrals/chapels/churches around here to take photos. It can't be much worse than tourists posing and pretending to interact with a religious painting via optical tricks and camera lenses, can it?

 

Hmm. Well, since cathedrals/chapels/churches are public places, I can't see why you can't...unless someone who "works" there (dunno the term) has an issue with it.

 

I would not take a photograph in a modern graveyard, but where I live there are a number of very old cemetaries that are quite beautiful and I think of them as historic places. If the graves are 100 years old with lovely statuary, then I see no disrespect to people who may be freshly mourning a death like in a newer cemetary. So no, I have no problem with photographs taken in old, historic cemeteries which are basically considered historical monuments at this point.

 

I think it's okay to take pictures in graveyards as long as you aren't destroying property or disturbing mourners. Where I live, most graveyards are pretty empty and could use some company from the living. Someone visiting and keeping things tidy would be welcome, and if that person picks up some fallen sticks and cleans some tombstones, it wouldn't matter much that they took some pictures, providing that they don't take anything from one of the graves and move it to the other (like moving flowers because they look better next to the nice tombstone, or something intrusive like that.)
The same would go for churches. As long as you aren't disturbing anyone (like walking in at the middle of mass or flashing your camera as people are trying to pray) and have permission to be there and don't disrespect your surroundings, what's the harm. It's easy enough to ask for permission if you aren't sure. Tourists go to cathedrals and take pictures all the time.

 

I dont think I would do that. If I want a photo like that, I would make a scene in my house. with props and stuff. But not a real place like that no.

 

Generally, my feeling is: if it makes you uncomfortable, don't do it.
Closely related: if it makes the people around you uncomfortable, respect their feelings.
EXCEPTION rule: if tourists are trapsing through and snapping pics, enjoy!

Ex 1: I definitely would not be caught dead (please forgive the pun) in a mortuary, or a graveyard being used currently, photographing a doll. Why? Because I'd be freaked out by the dead people. If someone else wants to go in and do that, more power to them. I'd love to see the pics, but I'm not taking them!
Ex 2: I might take pictures of my doll outside a church, or on a public statue or memorial, but if the people around me (ie: the churchgoers/statue-keepers) were uncomfortable, I'd politely explain what I was doing, and then if they were still uncomfortable with it, I would take mind to their feelings and leave. I wouldn't photograph my doll inside an active church for the same reason.

EXCEPTIONS: places of HISTORICAL or ARTISTIC value, I find are easier for me to photograph in/at/around. Really old graveyards- the kind you might see on a ghost-walk, the kind they don't bury people in anymore- I figure nobody's going to be offended if I go in there and take a picture of my doll next to a 80-year-old gravestone with vines up around it. Old buildings/churches no longer in use AS churches are also better to me, because I don't feel I'm being irreverant or offensive by taking pictures inside.

 

I agree with Luxuria. I really don't see it as offensive or disrespectful when it isn't intended to BE offensive or disrespectful, unlike other previously mentioned acts, such as vandalism or violence. Photographing a doll is art, imo, and art/expression should never be offensive in any circumstance.

 

I don't see it as offensive and agree with those who see it as an expression of art.

 

It entirely depends. I've been in graveyards for funerals, and I've walked in them for fun. I don't believe in limiting my exposure to art to conventional places, but I also disagree with using graveyards and tombstones for shock value. There is something very wonderful about graveyards that, no matter why I am there, makes me want to dig my camera out of my bag and start shooting. IF I ever took my doll to a graveyard, I would stick to the unmarked or very old headstones, and avoid taking pictures of names on the more elaborate or recent tombstones. As for places no photo shoots should take place in, churches, hospital rooms and bathrooms come to mind. But I can't help but think that is because those places are mostly off-limits, special circumstance kind of places that everyone likes to pretend they never have to go into (well, except churches lol). Plus, what would my doll ever need to go to any of those places for anyways? They never get sick, receive communion (yes, I'm catholic lol) or need to poop as far as I know lol. I'd rather keep my dolls "life" deeply rooted in fantasy and far away from the inevitable boring details of mortality.

(and I know people go into the hospital for other reasons besides being sick, and if your doll is there to keep you company or be placed next to a new baby, I am A-OK with that, Just don't let the baby chew on your BJD!)

 

I think using the whole graveyard as a backdrop is ok, but taking a picture of your doll standing next to an unknown individual's grave (especially if you can see the gravestone's inscriptions in the photo) would be disrespectful.

 

I don't think it matters if you're in a graveyard, but taking pictures ON someones grave, especially if you don't even know who the person was, is extremely disrespectful. Sure you're a photographer and all that, but i think there should be some boundaries. If you want a gravestone to take a photo of maybe people should make BJD sized ones? I'm not sure, but i just think it's a bit absurd standing over someones dead body just to get a shot of a doll next to THEIR gravestone.

 

I am somewhat torn on this issue, for different reasons.

I come from a family that instilled deep respect for its history, and yes, the family cemetary plot. I have taken pictures of those graves because they were my family members, (grandparents, great grandparents, and further back over a 100 years) for documentation & geneological records. However, I would have a HUGE problem with someone trotting into the family cemetary and propping their dollies there 'because it looks cool- old graveyard, spooky pics with my weird looking doll' ...

So yes, it is disrepectful to take pics of graves of unknown people with your resins for shock value, or what you consider 'art'. What one person describes as art- showing a doll on a grave in a shocking pose maybe very offensive to said relative of dead person. So a great deal of this question goes into the perception of the beholder. It really doesn't matter if the person is dead- graveyards are a place of rest for those that have passed on, and are no longer with us....imagine if that loved one died in a tragic manner- would you really want to get on the internet and see your loved one's grave used in an art photo, beautiful or for shock value? I know I would not want to see my families' graves used in either matter-- period.

Many times if it is a family cemetary, family members will allow you to photograph, but you should ask. I know of a little island here in the NOrthern Neck, Tangier island, and no photographs are allowed at all- since the cemetaries sit directly next to the homes, and are almost 200 + years old...it is not a tourist attraction, and many of hte direct descendants are still living in those homes on the island, which is accessible only by ferry boat. This is just one example I know of in my state, where I have visited, and they even have signs posted to that effect...

 

Like some people have already mentioned, headstones can be very beautiful things, especially the really tall ones with angels or things like that, and even moseliums.

I don't find anything wrong in photographing in a cemetery, I would like to do it sometime myself.

However, If I were to take pictures in a cemetery, I would be very careful not to get the names on the gravestones in the pictures. I think that that is just a little bit of a respect issue. Legally speaking though, it's public property, so there's nothing wrong with it.