There’s a discussion going on in Germany about “Google Street View” and the violation of privacy rights and I still wonder what the german and international laws say exactly to that matter. What are you allowed to take pictures of and what not? I found out that as a photographer you’re permitted to take pictures of strangers on the street as long as the are part of landscapes or architecture, a fullsize portrait of a stranger would be against the (german) law. If so it sounds to me like it wouldn’t be allowed to make portraits or classic street photography without asking everybody for permisson. And also, is it true that if it your work considered to be art you’re free to do what you like? What would people like Brassaï, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank and Garry Winogrand or, even more interesting, a young passionate street photographer do today?

Comments are open for discussion.

I found a work of former “Stern” photographer Michael Wolf who used Street View in an artistic way:
MICHAEL WOLF | PHOTOGRAPHY | HONGKONG

Here’s an interview with Michael Wolf:
http://holyghostzine.blogspot.com/2010/08/interview-with-michael-wolf.html

via the very good “Street Photography Now” site at Facebook:
Street Photography Now