Blogfinger

Ocean Grove Boardwalk Pavilion. July 18, 2025. 8:35 am.  Paul Goldfinger photo. All sides were open, and passersby were free to step inside.      Blogfinger.net

By Paul Goldfinger, MD, Editor Blogfinger.net.

It was a sunny and humid morning 7/18/ 2025.  I was walking around looking for some photography subjects when I came upon the Pavilion. A group was setting up for some event, and loud rap music was playing.  I had no interest in the setup for what I assumed was a religious event.

What interested me was the dramatic lighting, so I took 5 frames  from different vantage points, inside and outside,  when I was approached by a burly unpleasant  guy who did not identify himself.  At that point I was outside the building, shooting in.

This welcoming character disapproved of my photography and demanded that I cease and desist. He did not identify himself .    I told him that I am a journalist.  But he followed me around, blocking my camera with his  body.    I was forced to leave even though others were walking in and out.       Paul Goldfinger photo at the CMA Boardwalk Pavilion in Ocean Grove.  7/18/2025.  8:40 am.

This aggressive bully  demanded to know what I was doing. I told him that ” it was none of his business.”  He said the the CMA instructed him to question in this manner.  He said that there were kids inside whose parents would not want their picture taken.

I told him that he was denying my free speech, and that includes photography, especially as practiced by me–a journalist.  He evidently was unfamiliar with America’s value of a “free press.”

He then hounded me as I tried to change my location at the site.   So I left, feeling that my rights were denied.

Ironically, I have been photographing CMA events in all their facilities  for over 15 years without a complaint. In fact my articles promoting events such as the Choir Festival and Summer Stars helped to provide publicity, and I was sought out to help by the CMA’s own public relations person.

The irony here is especially rich since the CMA was found guilty in 2007 of discrimination in a case involving a Pavilion event.  Another irony is the selective way that today’s  demand was  applied. Double standards won’t hold up in court.

After all, each summer the Asbury Park Press sends a photographer to the CMA’s beach to get about 50 images of half naked folks,  and they publish those images in their newspaper and on-line presence.    And no one has to sign a release.  And do you think that the CMA complains?

BLUE OCTOBER:   “Into the Ocean.”