Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Banff proposal for one-day business licences targets out-of-town photographers, wedding planners





I may have edited the above quote mildly. Raise the cost for outsiders to come in and do business and they'll go elsewhere.

Actually, it's a cheaper day license instead of the $749 yearly or $248 monthly licenses that are the only other options. It's not like they've slapped a new license on all newcomers.

True, it's the locals whining about enforcement. The whole premise of this type of licence irks me. Greater enforcement of such nonsense only increases irk potential.

Seems fair to me.

Photographers are quick to defend their rights when someone makes use of thier imagery without concent or compensation. Why should a property owner be the bad guy for wanting the same rights?

An image a photographer creates being used without consent is not comparable to a mountain created by geology a photographer takes a picture of. I can't compare those apples.

Hey! Don't lookit my mountain! That's my sky over there! Don't take a picture of that...

National parks are protected environments that cost money to maintain. If you enter the park with professional gear and want the right to make money from the images — pay up. There's no rule against just looking (provided your not trespassing) or shooting from outside the parks boundaries. I would also guess that those who use P&S cameras will slip under the radar as that isn't their main concern. Pro camera users are being treated as pros. That's all.

Banff didn't invent the intellectual rights of property owners. They simply changed their long term photography permits to include daily permits.

Albeit it's not an apples to apples comparison but it does have similarities.

Fair enough. Based on your argument I agree, we should pay (sort of, isn't that what park fees are for? Again, this sort of licencing irks me). Unfortunately that's not the argument the people in the article are making as I understand. They're more concerned about making sure occasional/rare shooters pay to, potentially, keep them away. To me the article came across as local shooters trying to pressure Banff officials to tax outside shooters so they're not as likely to go shoot on what the locals probably perceive as their turf. TS from this position imo.

Is it for any photographer or professional services only?

How would they distinguish.... Really stupid if you ask me

A difficult question that gets answered by a toll taker of potential limited intellectual capacity. Makes it worse. Sure if you're shooting a bride it might look obvious but hey, what if you're her cousin taking her picture there and not the photographer...

Just say you're a tourist

Exactly