SANParks.org Forums

Good day all, I was going through the posts within the forum as I was looking for the answer to my question or more my situation.

What is needed to be a member of the SANPARK camera club?
Membership to this forum application signed sealed and delivered
a camera 20D in the house 7D enroute

Now something to take a picture of

Last year November I applied via Vanessa Flecther to gain access to their parks with the purpose of taking photos and still no reply.

I have emailed, faxed and even called her ... even asked higher powers to intervene
I have even welcomed and said farewell to two seasons still not a permit in sight.

My question then is, is there an alternate method of gaining access to these places with the intention of taking photos on sight legitimately or do we go out there like poaches and if caught spend the day in court and pay the necessary fine?

As a member with a camera you are a member.
And you are going to see a huge difference between the 20D and the 7D!

Eh, help me out here? Which parks are they? And do you intend to use the photos commercially, or for your own use?

I am but a novice at photography, so all photos taken will be for my own use and not for commercial purposes at best the good ones will go on a SD card to be displayed via a digital frame in my lounge and the great ones to be printed and framed to adorn the rooms of my house as a reminder of places within my country my wife and I have visited.

As far as area's are concerned, I would say all of them thus I would not have to bother SANPARKS or have to endure such a lengthy waiting period to gain access or the frustration of dealing with Vanessa Fletcher's sloth pace of getting things approved, the area's are as follows;

Signal hill, Lions head, Table Mountain, Deer Park, Murray and Stewart Quarry, Glenco Quarry, Kloofneck Parking, Tafelberg road, Animal camp, Rhodes Memorial, Newlands Forest, Silvermine, Noordhoek beach, Cape Point, Boulders, Scarborough beach, Misty Cliffs, Slangkop boardwalk, Red Hill, Oudekraal beach, Kraalbaai, Langebaan, Preekstoel.

See you through the lens
Crighton

As I understand it, if you go into any SANParks with the intention of taking photographs to sell commercially - a book, calendar, postcards etc - then you need a permit and there are other restrictions as well.

However, if you go with the intention of using the photos for your own use then you do not need a permit. If you subsequently sell a photo, say someone requests you to sell if to them, then that is permitted.

What I am unsure of is putting up photos on a website, the sole intention of which is to sell photos. There was a whole discussion on this subject somewhere. I'll try to do some searching when I have the time.

Hi Saraf

That would be appreciated it, for as things stand now the permit that Vanessa issued is for a "window shopper"

look dont take

i.e. as per point 4; no additional equipment allowed. no setting up of sets, scenery, lighting, props, models, fires, specialised equipment, smoke machine generators, wind machines or similar will be allowed.

so forget about a tripod for a landscape shot or a bean bag for your window to capture any wildlife with that sigma 50-500 or no models, thus forget about a self portrait saying "I have been to Table Mountain"

To be honest this makes one feel like a six year old who is been made to jump for candy held up high be a spiteful adult

Hi crighton
still puzzled by this
If you are no commercial photographer why the fuzz
no need imo to work with the permit
unless you want to go off the designed routes.

and a tripot wont classify as additional equipment, but the standard equipment to make a normal photograph

If you have a look here and here we have discussed this issue before. I'm not sure we ever came to a real conclusion.

As I said, if you don't intend to sell your photos, as Bert says there really isn't a problem. And as long as you aren't protruding from your vehicle you'll be fine.

And yes you can use a tripod from your car, I've seen it done. A few contortions but it is doable. And we all use bean bags.

crighton welcome to the forums ..
Take a look in the travel tales at the photos taken there Some of them are fantastic (good enough to be professional) and there are self portraits of mites taken at designated get out points. Perfectly allowable with no permit.

I am a bit confused qith this question!!

Why do you need a permit??

Hi crighton, don't know the answer to your question. But what I would like to know is, when a publisher(anyone who wants to publish anything) wants to publish one of your photos, what to do then?

Good day Virtual Ranger

Apologies for the late reply as I was not notified via email of responses.

My understanding is that if by sheer luck of my work lands up in a magazine or generates some form of a revenue a portion of the commission would go to SANPARK what percentage that is I was not told, however the reminder I would be entitled to do with as I please, that being the case I would donate my portion to the save a rhino or vulture campaign.

Bert,
The fuzz is about tales told around camp fires of novice togs and or camera owners been arrested, fined or hauled into court for taking a photo of someone on a beachfront (see link) http://pixmag.ning.com/group/westerncap ... ollate-our
So to avoid all that I decided to do the right thing as per the chairperson of the Pix mag western cape and apply for a permit.

Today I received an email from Vanessa asking me to report to her office for a discussion which is the norm if you want to take photos at Boulders and Cape Point

Now I am totally confused.

Good day Virtual Ranger

Apologies for the late reply as I was not notified via email of responses.

My understanding is that if by sheer luck of my work lands up in a magazine or generates some form of a revenue a portion of the commission would go to SANPARK what percentage that is I was not told, however the reminder I would be entitled to do with as I please, that being the case I would donate my portion to the save a rhino or vulture campaign.

Bert,
The fuzz is about tales told around camp fires of novice togs and or camera owners been arrested, fined or hauled into court for taking a photo of someone on a beachfront (see link) http://pixmag.ning.com/group/westerncap ... ollate-our
So to avoid all that I decided to do the right thing as per the chairperson of the Pix mag western cape and apply for a permit.

Today I received an email from Vanessa asking me to report to her office for a discussion which is the norm if you want to take photos at Boulders and Cape Point

Now I am totally confused.

Morning everyone

The contact details have been rectified for both Vanessa Fletcher and William Mabasa.

Vanessa Fletcher
E-mail: vanessa.fletcher@sanparks.org
Tel: (021) 712 2337
Fax: (021) 701 8773
For Kruger National Park applications, contact:

Mr William Mabasa
E-mail: william.mabasa@ sanparks.org
Tel: (013) 735 4363

Aha, I found an active discussion after starting my own, on the same subject elsewhere under the Camera Clubs Group.
Yes, the SANParks rules governing commercial photograhers have spilled over in the amateurs' world. There actually is no provision for a permit for amateurs because they do not require one.
Last year I had a sit down gesels with the head honcho of SANParks WCape (Vanessa was there too) to thrash this matter out, but still issues arise. As an exercise, I applied for a annual permit (it is free) - it took absolute ages to appear.
On a number of occasions I and friends have been stopped by SANParks personnel at the gate of the Tokai Arboretum because we needed a permit. Now, to the untrained eye, a person with a camera bag and a tripod is seen as a professional. Had we walked in as ordinary hikers with cellphoens (they have damned good cameras these days) or a compact camera in our pockets, SANParks would be none the wiser. The size of the camera makes all the difference and we are given grief.
As Crighton has illustrated, there is very little feedback from SANParks when pinned to the wall for an explanation. Their personnel at the entrance gates must be aprised of the situation so that unpleasant scenes are not repeated. It also does not do well for SANPark's image as an overbearing Big Brother being all officious.