would you comply with this?

Gee. . . as long as the weather holds . . . :-)

What "nudity issue?"

I AM surprised that a group of people wants to assemble in a public place and display themselves. Prohibiting photography strikes me as a lost cause and contrary to their logic. Exhibitionists generally crave the attention. Naturists in a private, secluded setting generally do not want the attention and I can respect that.

Go ahead! Test the law!

Interesting question. Tempting event to photo as I'm sure a lot of good candids will arise. I don't see how they can enforce this, but it would be interesting to ask a policeman on the day what advice they have been given. The English police seem to be developing a habit of arresting people for suspicion of taking obscene photos. A nude event certainly puts you at risk of this charge. I've never understood why they don't arrest the person doing the obscene act rather than the photographer, but that's another question. I'd personally click away and ignore it, but might run the risk of having my photography gear confiscated for a month or so and my house and computer searched. 1984 approaches ever nearer!

It is outrageous. It is the sort of petty, tidy-minded policy I would expect from a borough council but to get this from a supposedly open-minded environmental group is absurd and worrying.

I propose that people protest to the names given freely on worldnakedride's website.

As WNR provided the following info on a public web site I am sure there will be no objection to repeating it here:

CONTACT US: For photos from 2004 or to schedule interviews with riders, please contact our UK Press Officer -

Graham glee194584 [at] aol.com 0795 626 1902 or from outside the UK call (+44) 795 626 1902.

Alternatively, contact the UK Rides Coordinator

Jesse uk [at] worldnakedride.org 0781 458 7361 or from outside the UK call (+44) 781 458 7361.

Finally, this seems almost comedic. People who propose to parade their bodies through a city centre - which will undoubtedly offend many parents and other adults - are taking exception to photographers snapping a shot!

Should the bike riders perhaps get the written consent of all those they propose to expose themselves to, before they get on their bikes?

Mark

One needs to establish the ramifications of any permit granted to them by the City of London.

If general rules regarding public events apply, I cannot see how these people can make rules on photography in a public place. And even if it is remotely possible that they can, the rules will be impossible to enforce. If photographers want close-ups of nude cyclists they will get them via extreme telephoto lenses and aerial photography.

This aside, it strikes me as ironic (and altogether silly) that nude people riding bicycles through the middle of London should be this puritanical regarding photography. Somehow it defeates the whole moral purpose of riding nude through London if the purpose is to express personal liberation from the public shame of nudity.

On second thoughts, I think this is the flip side of political correctness.

One stated aim of politically correct language is to prevent the exclusion or the offending of people because of their differences or handicaps.

The flip side is to impose limits on language and the range of acceptable public debate. Or, in this case, photography as another language or means of communication.

So why don't we want pictures here?

What they are saying is, "We have the right to act as we please, to get in your face and if you object to our naked ride you are just showing yourself to be square and irrelevent.

"But we're going to do this within the boundaries of political correctness, so no pictures of naked women and no invasion of my personal space."

To get philosophical, PC is about relativism - every opinion is as good as another. Photography, fixed in time and place, is the enemy of relativism. In this instance, it would identify the rider as holding specific views and could force him to stand up and justify them.

I think that is the objection here. It is certainly not that you ride naked but are worried about people seeing you.

I'm not remotely interested but I might just turn up with three shooters round my neck just to p**s them off.

Mark

Mark Gay , jun 12, 2005; 09:22 a.m. It is outrageous. It is the sort of petty, tidy-minded policy I would expect from a borough council but to get this from a supposedly open-minded environmental group is absurd and worrying....

I am a journalist as well but based in the north of England. Had I been in London on the day I might have been inclined to buy 10 or 20 disposables and hand them out to people on the street just to test it out... WITH A COUNTER PROTEST - LOL

It is more than outrageous.

Hunter

My mother in law is coming from the States next week.

I can feel a 20-pack of disposables coming on!

Mark

Meanwhile in Scotland...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3800003.stm

Protest cyclists opt to cover up

"A group of campaigners has decided against riding naked through the centre of Edinburgh to protest about Britain's reliance on petrol.

The group had planned to strip off and cycle through the city as part of the World Naked Bike Ride Day against oil dependency and climate change.

But eventually they completed their ride with their clothing on....(break in text)

...Police were monitoring the event and had said that any naked cyclists would be arrested for indecent exposure.

The protest spokesman added: "There may have been people who got naked but they quickly disappeared on arrival of the police..." "

----- RE: Mark Gay

Ahhhhhhh, so now we know who was on the wrong side of the law. As far as London was concerned, then, the event might be viewed as merely having been tolerated (by the police). That certainly moves the photographer's right to photograph it up a notch or two.

Here's another view then. They were breaking the law; they knew they were breaking the law; and they were trying to prevent others, including the "press," from photographing them doing it.

There is the whiff of a Carry-On film storyline about this.

Hunter

- Mother-in-law

- States

- 20 pack of disposable cameras

- London

- Naked bike ride

Until just now, I'd have been willing to bet a decent amount of money that one couldn't come up with a sentence, or even a paragraph, using all these words/phrases together ... other than in a work of utter fantasy or fiction.

And here I see I'd have lost my bet !