In the years before being professional I used to do a lot of night photography, on a tripod, more than a half hour in a location, all NOT for profit. New York is looking to make this illegal. A seventeen year old with a four by five shooting 'art' would be required to scout, get a permit, and an insurance certificate for each location (I would usually shoot at five in one night).
All I'm saying is, if you're shooting on public property, (and a sidewalk is that), with a tripod, is it worth risking your house for an image? Of course, if it's at night, and it's an obscure area, of course, you're going to take the risk, because the risk is minimal.
And were you shooting for "yourself', Eric, as in, you never had any plans on selling prints yourself, or in a gallery? Because once you begin selling prints, you become a for-profit enterprise, and you've got to drop the "I'm just an artist, man" complaint. That would even apply to a fine-art student in Manhattan, because they are laying the groundwork for a career in print sales.
You might say, "Hey, what does a student have to risk, they don't own a house?", which is true, but their parents might, and if a suit happened, for sure, the parents would be named, if the parent was footing the bill for that NYU education.
It's just that I've seen these "sidewalk film productions" on the streets of Manhattan, and you know, many times, they're just, as they say, "trashing the location", as in, no one applied for a permit, but there they are, on a windy day, with a boom for a microphone, and maybe an HMI on a stand, ready to blow over and hit some kid in the head.
All I"m suggesting is, think about the risk. All it takes is one guy tripping over an extension cord coming out of that tiny Honda generator, or one gust of wind blowing over a C-stand, and you find yourself in a legal nightmare that could go on for months. Especially in this sue-happy country of ours.
