DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Photographer and model arrested over nude photoshoot at ancient Egyptian temple

Sep 14, 2017 by Dunja Djudjic 42 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

From time to time, photography could get you in trouble. For Photographer Jesse Walker and model Marisa Papen, the trouble came while they were shooting nudes in an ancient temple in Luxor, Egypt. They tried hiding from the guards to take the shots, but they got busted. As a result, they faced extremely unpleasant situations and spent a night in a jail cell.

The Australian photographer shot the photos for Enki Eyewear back in April this year. But a couple of days ago, the backstory was published on the Belgian model’s blog. As it turns out, this wasn’t the first time they got busted. It also happened in other locations around Egypt, but they were able to talk their way out of the situation or bribe the guards.

In the Luxor temple, the guards caught them and called the police. According to Papen, Walker deleted the photos from the memory card, and they said they’d just tested the light and hadn’t taken any photos. This didn’t convince the officers, so they strip searched the photographer looking for another card. Papen believes they thought they were shooting porn and “they couldn’t see the link between nudity and art.” After this, as Papen writes, they were “sent from one police station to the other, to court back to jail, back to court.”

They spent the night in a police station that doubled as a jail cell. When they appeared in the court, they played “the role of stupid tourists” who didn’t know dancing nude on Egyptian ground was forbidden. Eventually, they only got a warning from the judge never to do it again. As soon as they got to the hotel room, Walker retrieved the deleted images and they are now published.

Nudity is beautiful and I have nothing against it, but it doesn’t mean you can strip your clothes anywhere. Whenever you travel abroad, I assume you respect the culture of the country you’re visiting. It takes only a little research to find out what’s allowed and what isn’t, and it doesn’t look like the photographer and the model did this research. Or they just didn’t care about the customs and laws, which is a more likely scenario. In my opinion, Walker and Papen acted disrespectfully to the Egyptian culture and probably even their laws. They broke the rules multiple times, so they should be happy they got off with just with a night in a cell and a warning.

I believe this case brings out some questions about respecting other’s culture, rules, and laws as photographers. Art is supposed to push the boundaries, that’s true. But in my opinion, this isn’t the way to do it. Other than obeying the law, I think we should respect other people and their culture when we travel and take photos. I follow the logic “When in Rome…” and try to comply with the rules of the country I visit, both from the respect, but also for my own safety.

I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this matter. Were they “pushing the boundaries,” or it’s just plain disrespect? What would you do?

[via 9News; cover image credits: Jesse Walker]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

At least a dozen arrested in nude balcony photoshoot in Dubai (NSFW) Photographer under fire for using a nude photo in a book after the model asked him not to [NSFW] Revisiting Shinichi Maruyama’s “Nude”; 10,000 Photos Of Nude Dancers Composited Into One Police Capture Fugitive Turned Model by Setting Up a Fake Photoshoot

Filed Under: news Tagged With: arrest, Arrested, Egypt, law, legal, photographer arrested

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.net

About Dunja Djudjic

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

« Phase One takes on the human eye with new $45,000 IQ3 100MP Trichromatic digital back
Why the iPhone shoots 4K 60fps but your camera doesn’t »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy