Photo clutter bugs Little Corona beach

The way aggressive photographers have been flocking to Little Corona beach in Newport, you’d think they heard Paris Hilton would be sunbathing nude there.

No one’s reported any Paris Hilton sightings, but commercial photographers have caused enough problems at the beach that Newport Beach city officials have started handing out citations to enforce the permit requirement and are mulling new restrictions on film and photo shoots.

Permits are required for commercial filming and photography on all public beaches. The city has had a permit rule on the books since 1968, and signs were posted in January at Little Corona to let people know about the rule.

But photographers continued to pack the picturesque slice of shoreline, triggering complaints to six city departments. So about a week ago, the city got tougher.

The problem is that Little Corona beach isn’t huge, but it’s pretty and secluded ? a perfect setting for wedding photos or portraits.

Greg Figge, a photographer whose studio is in Newport Center, only shoots at Little Corona if his client demands it because there are usually too many other photographers there.

“I’ve seen actual fistfights at Little Corona, over backgrounds, like ‘You walked into my shot!’” Figge said.

And they’re not always careful where they work. Some of the complaints to the city have come from tide pool rangers, who say photographers set tripods in sensitive spots or bring dogs to appear in photos.

Newport Beach revenue manager Glen Everroad said a wedding planner who books events at Little Corona told him she’s seen up to 25 photographers working there at a time.

Corona del Mar photographer John Blom, who has been shooting at Little Corona for 27 years, said sometimes photographers are rude to people trying to enjoy the beach and ask them to move out of a shot.

Therein lies the problem: It’s a public beach, so even though photographers have a right to use it, they don’t have a greater right than the people who want to picnic or get a tan.

Memorializing your vacation and taking your own family photos are fine ? and so is shooting for a news organization, by the way ? but if you’re selling your photos for profit, the permit rules apply.

“There is no other business that I can think of that we would allow to operate on a public beach, because it’s not a public use,” Everroad said. “If you wanted to rent boogie boards or you wanted to sell suntan lotion or you wanted to sell hot dogs, you couldn’t do it.”

It’s a widespread problem, whether people are ignorant of the rules or just don’t want to pay a permit fee.

“California state parks owns some of the prettiest coastline in the whole state,” state parks film Supt. Lynette Hernandez said, adding that in Malibu she sees about three to five photographers per day who don’t have a permit to shoot.

Permits to take photos or film in state parks, issued by the state Film Commission, cost either $65 or $200 a day depending on what kinds of activities are involved.

Newport Beach charges an application fee of $149 ? or slightly less if the city’s film liaison helps you file it ? and the permit is $259 a day. The permit fee is waived for people who hold a city business license from Newport.

Everroad said Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach have similar permit charges.

Some photographers aren’t sure the permit fees or the enforcement are fair.

“If you’re down there taking photos, you’re down there for half an hour, 45 minutes out of the whole day,” Figge said.

Blom said while the fees are supposed to cover the city’s costs for administration and maintaining the beach, “I don’t think that I cause [$150] worth of damage to the beach.”

At Crystal Cove State Park beaches, officials have gotten compliance with verbal warnings, park Supt. Ken Kramer said. That’s no longer working for Newport, where rule breakers will now get a citation. Everroad said about six have been given out so far.

As an added measure, Newport officials may ban photo shoots at the beaches’ busiest times, such as summer weekends. Everroad said he is also proposing a reservation system that would limit the number of permits available at any given time.

Although Blom said he thinks the city’s fees are too high, limits on professional photography at the city’s beaches may benefit him.

The permits and enforcement may be an annoyance, but “having a bunch of photogra- phers down there that have caused the problem is more of a problem to me,” he said.

And for city and state officials in charge of beaches, it’s about balancing the interests of people who want to use the beach for pleasure with those who are doing business.

“We think that there should be preference provided to the public uses because it’s a public beach,” Everroad said. “It’s not a commercial location.”dpt.17-photos-CPhotoInfoU81T0EJS20060717j2hcg3ncCredit: MARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT Caption: (LA)A sign stating commercial photographers require a permit is posted near the walkway down to Little Corona beach.