Photography Travel

My illegal LDN underground picture

Posted on November 19, 2007

apparently it's illegal to take photos in the ldn underground

Apparently it is illegal to take pictures in the London Underground. Oops. I guess video footage isn’t cool either… I swears I didn’t know. Peace loving Canadian here. I love England. Hooray for the Queen and drizzly grey days and darkness that sets in shortly after tea time and Top Gear and access to the iPhone and crisps and breakfasts that come with baked beans…

Lisa Bettany is a world renowned photographer, travel writer & tech entrepreneur. When she is not capturing the beauty of the world or making iPhone apps, she enjoys flying small planes, reading books about Spitfires, hiking in the mountains and drinking tea.

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  • Graham
    November 19, 2007 at 9:56 AM

    Top Gear ftw! Ahem, yes. Likes the photo. Last time I tried to take one I got a tap on the shoulder from pc plod.

  • Rika
    November 19, 2007 at 11:03 AM

    Whaaaat? Why is it illegal to take pictures?
    That’s a really cool shot though. :)

  • Mel
    November 19, 2007 at 2:59 PM

    oh whoa.. oopsie. I did exactly the same thing. Well, the picture is worth the potential finage/jailtime/tolchock from an officer. The london underground is toooooo picturesque (for an underground) for picture taking to be made illegal!!

    *pumps fist in the air* power to the photogs!!

  • RBeezy
    November 21, 2007 at 3:59 PM

    if you were Brazilian you would’ve been shot.

  • Mostly Lisa
    November 22, 2007 at 2:03 PM

    @Graham — Top Gear is totally booyah. Also loved Gordon Ramsay’s Nightmare Kitchens. So ace that BBC 1&2 have no commercials and they allow Ramsay to swear like a hot damn.

    @Rika — oh yes. very illegal without a permit and it is very pricey to obtain a permit.

    How much does it cost to film or photograph on the London Underground?

    This varies depending on whether you have a two-hour permit, a location permit or student permit.

    Two Hour Permits
    Crew size: Five to ten
    lightweight equipment only
    Permit cost: £250.00 plus VAT

    Location Permits
    Quotes on application
    Rates start from £350.00 plus VAT per hour

    Student Permits
    Crew size: Five or less
    lightweight, handheld equipment only
    Permit cost: £25.00 inc VAT – valid one month from date of issue
    Filming in drivers cab: £250.00 plus VAT

    @Mel — totally worth it. *power to the people*

    @RBeezy — yikes. wow. serious? yiiiiiiikes.

  • Nik
    November 23, 2007 at 7:44 AM

    Whoops, I spent a whole day taking pictures of the underground for a pitch. I guess I was lucky there was no PC around…

  • Mostly Lisa
    November 23, 2007 at 12:41 PM

    @Nik — hi-5! you are now an official member of the LDN underground stealth photog club. so stealth. so cool.

  • Marcus Holland
    December 10, 2007 at 2:22 PM

    Wait a second. You don’t have baked beans with breakfasts in Canada/America? (Perhaps I could understand Canada, were it not ajoining) Does that mean you have no English breakfasts at all? Bacon? Sausage? Egg? Hash browns? Mushrooms? Fried bread?
    How do you get through the day?

  • Mostly Lisa
    December 13, 2007 at 3:24 PM

    @Marcus — as a mostly British Canadian i grew up on English breakfasts. but i must admit to being much to lazy to cook such extravagance now. and if i do cook a breakfast i often lean towards pancakes with blueberries on top. mmm.