Listen while you read: “Flashing Lights” – Kanye West

This story of Kanye vs. Paparazzi is burning up the wires! From the AP:

Airport police arrested [Kanye] West and his road manager, Don Crowley, who also serves as a bodyguard, on suspicion of felony vandalism shortly before 8 a.m., LAX spokesman Marshall Lowe said. He said early reports indicated that a camera valued at more than $10,000 was broken.

I was wondering what camera might be worth $10K — even a 1Ds MkIII with a 70-200 2.8 isn’t quite that much.  I checked the video on TMZ though, there was a lot of smashing going on. It looks like a video camera got smashed by the bodyguard and Kanye himself smashes not a camera, but a speedlight! Kanye trashed a  flash!

Nooooooo! Kanye West hates Strobists!

Side note: The very first time I went to Coachella with a press pass, Kanye was the very first artist I tried to photograph “professionally” — but I couldn’t find the entrance to the photo pit! Dumb rookie! I missed it.

Music to read this post by: “Who Did You Think I Was (Live At The Nokia Theatre)” – John Mayer Trio

There’s a lot of hand-wringing in Los Angeles these days around the aggressive tactics that photographers use to get very valuable images of famous people

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Officials from around Los Angeles, joined by celebrities such as singer John Mayer, met on Thursday to discuss how to fix what some see as a growing problem of paparazzi dangerously hounding Hollywood stars.

L.A. officials at odds over reining in paparazzi

And, Mayer posted his statement on one of his blogs:

I don’t sit before you today to ask that you ban the paparazzi. I’m asking you to regulate it.

John Mayer’s “Testimonial”.

It is true that Mayer is well-known to be a photography enthusiast. He’s a better photographer than I am, damn him.

But, I think it’s a little silly when folks call for increased laws against (or to regulate) paparazzi, their main arguments focus around how the paps break existing laws. Why not focus on enforcing existing laws? Eight cars running a red light? Guess what? You don’t need a new law to stop that. Licensing paps? They already have a driver’s license they’re not adhering to. Trespassing? It’s already a crime. If those existing laws are not enforced, then address your energy towards changing the culture of law enforcement that allows such selective enforcement of existing law, rather than make additional laws and bureaucracy that will be at once guaranteed to be poorly worded such that non-paparazzi photographers somehow will be additionally persecuted, and mostly ignored by the unscrupulous photogs that break laws now.

Also, here’s John Mayer leaving Samy’s Camera on Fairfax. No confrontation here. I just think it’s neat he was at one of the camera shops I go to.