Uwe is a well known photographer in the local advertising scene and he’s lived in Kuwait since 1983. I’ve known him for a few years and awhile back when I posted about the new Kuwaiti currency he emailed me a very interesting story regarding the photo of the Court Complex on the back of the old KD20 bank note which I thought was interesting to share. This is what he told me:
Shortly before the invasion I was contracted to photograph the Court Complex which was to be used as part of the design on the soon to be introduced KD20 bank note. I headed to the Court Complex on a Friday morning with someone from the Central Bank to shoot the building. We parked our Toyota 4-Runner on the side and I got up on top of it with my camera and tripod to take photos. A short while after two police cars with sirens on showed up and told me to get down from the roof of the car. They asked us what we were doing and when we told them they asked for our permission papers. THe person who was with me from the Central Bank had forgotten to bring the permission papers with him so the police took me into the court house and held me there until the person went and fetched the permission slip and came back. It took him 7 hours to bring that paper! From then on whenever I look at the KD20 note I remember that messed up Friday.
On a side note, why does the Central Bank of Kuwait website ask you if you want to visit their old website or their new one? Why not just automatically load the new one?
23 replies on “A Story About the Twenty Dinars Note”
Interesting lol..
Btw, I’ve known* him :p
For your website question: The new site has been launched recently and i think they r in a kind of testing mode to see if it can handle the load n stuff. may be after some time they will go directly to the new one.
what load n stuff? It’s a static website, it’s not like they’ve built a new social network or something which they’re beta testing.
FYI, the Central Bank of Kuwait website is not a static website. It has a lot of dynamic contents. The website has loads of statistical data coming from various sources (https://new.cbk.gov.kw/en/statistics-and-publication/statistical-releases/monthly.jsp and https://new.cbk.gov.kw/en/statistics-and-publication/statistical-releases/quarterly.jsp).
Anyways, they have other reasons for still keeping the old website online.
Well if he is well known photographer then……..how come he don’t know that permission paper is required………..
What are you talking about did you read the story? They had permission but the guy who had the papers forgot to bring them.
Loooool -.-
Did YOU read the Story? a well known photographer should check all documents/permission papers before getting up on top with his camera and tripod to take photos.
and also well known photographer should ask the smart guy with permission paper if by mistake he bring the paper or not? Anyways he got his lesson in hard way and thanks to him now all well known photographers will check papers before getting to roof top…………..
You’re a dick.
Lol!
+1
š
What are u some kind of supervisor with a checklist on what should and shouldn’t the photographer do! and in your world, professionalism is ranked based on remembering to bring documents?
The story is about the incident that took place, so what is the logic of your statement.
Also, yes he could be a professional photographer that forgot or his friend did, just like normal people THEY MIGHT FORGET THINGS, that has nothing to do with being professional or not! last, the only lesson learned here is that no one learned anything and the only hard way was trying to reason with your twisted logic š
This story is nearly 25 years ago and the person from the Central Bank, was present, but forgot the papers. In those day’s Photographers where taken by the Police, for only unpacking the Camera and Tripod, any where. The amount of hours I spend in Police Stations in the 80s, are countless, along with confiscated Gear and processing films in the labs, with police officers present ! In those day’s young males in Salmiya, would be taken into Police Buses, because they had long hair. If in those day’s Photographers, would have checked and tried to get papers/documents for any picture, we would have no Pictures of those days ! “Hard Way learning”, is something different “Q8Insight”!;-)
Mayb they kept the selection option cuz the new website might take time to load on a slow internet.!!! so you can select the old one if you have a slow, 3G or some dialup connection.!!!
Hey I have a question. Is public photography a crime in Kuwait? No rukhsa, no permit, nothing. I want to go out right now, and start filming the buildings around Kuwait (including gov’t buildings), will I be breaking the law?
It’s sad that even as a Kuwaiti, its so hard for me to find the legal status of issues like this one.
Maybe Fajer would be the best person to answer this..
it is common across many countries to have some sort of consent before photographing sensitive locations i.e public office / buildings for security reasons.
Good to know, but doesn’t really answer my question.
Sorry Maz i might have not fully understood your question. if you are asking “Is public photography a crime in Kuwait”, then i believe i answered that. if you don’t have a consent then u might be under the risk of getting caught and interrogated to understand the purpose of your photography! wont go as far as crime, but u will be under serious questioning depending on the site you are shooting. if you are asking for where to get an approval, then its the administration managing the site! they would give u documentation and might align with the authorities to wave off any faulty act on your part.
@Maz;
I’ve been caught a couple of times by security and police for photography in public places so I think I’ve got enough experience to answer your question:
1. Most public places like parks, gardens, beaches are ok for photography (as long as you don’t point your lens at ladies or try to bother people with your heavy gear/equipment)
2. Embassy areas, Gov offices, power stations, military zones are absolutely off limits and you WILL be detained for questioning
3. Private buildings and malls can be photographed (with mobiles and pocket cameras) but if you’re using SLRs you require permission to shoot. One of the guys in the forum organized a photo-walk at Avenues Mall and he had to get a signed approval from Mabanee Real Estate Co. before they let us use our cameras there.
https://community.mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com/topic/26224-google-photowalk/
Also when you’re shooting private buildings be sure that there are no sensitive areas in your frame. I was once questioned by policemen for shooting the Hamra building during the LED tests since the area I was shooting from was near the Dasman police station. Luckily, the project manager and the Kuwaiti sponsor for the project had our permission letter at hand so I didn’t face any problems.
But overall, photography in public places in Kuwait is fine as long as you don’t use an SLR and a long lens. Use a mirror-less system and no one will ever bother you.
I wanna see the photographer’s portfolio. Any info about him?
I had a rather interesting experience when I got married in Kuwait about 7 years ago. I had my two witnesses (good friends of ours), I got married, went outside to take wedding photos and were immediately scurried off by the police because you can’t take photos of a government building! Even if you have just got married…
My e-mail is [email protected]