I don’t know much about photography. But I do have a roommate who is pretty big into it. He recently, he applied to Brooks, a fairly well known photography school in Santa Barbara, CA, and for the past few months has worked weekends on photo shoots for Little League sports photo sessions, or Girl Scout troop gigs, or Little Miss Sunshine competitions. I may have made up the last thing, though it would make sense given the direction I’m about to take this topic.
Joe (my roommate) informed me that he was hired without a background check. Now thankfully, Joe is not a pedophile or a predator, although he does appear to have the characteristics of a hobo or otherwise indigent person at times, especially when covered with leaves, dirt, and oil as part of a character immersion thing (in preparation to shoot a death scene in a wonderfully cheap short film, The Canal, written and directed by yours truly). That is not to say hobos and homeless folk are pederasts. They are truly not; most, if not all of them, are content to shuffle along aimlessly, collect and recycle cans and bottles, and not shower.
However, according to Joe, it wouldn’t be that difficult for a child predator with genuine photographic talent to be thrust into a life where they have full access and right to shoot kids, all in the name of these wonderful little photo sessions. It’s the perfect environment for a lurker to ensconse himself in. All the better if he is good at photography. After all, Joe didn’t get hired because he looked like a hobo. He got hired because he brushed his hair and beard, put on a clean pair of underwear and pants, and showed up with a Nikon SLR camera. Nikons are impressive, and the fact that he had an SLR and not a digital camera was quite impressive to the recruiter, who signed him without a moment’s pause or consideration.
I don’t want to give any ideas to any predators who might happen to read my blog. I’m going to encourage Joe to encourage his employer to start running background checks on their photographers. I’m just saying.