Street Photography in Brazil--how dangerous?

[Richard M. Coda]

Thank God I live and photograph in the U.S.

When I was younger (in my 20s) I would take the 4x5 and 8x10 down into Paterson, NJ. Didn't realize that once I was under the dark cloth I was at risk. Luckily I never had a problem.

Lately I have again been on an 8x10 street photography kick.

Now I live in Scottsdale, AZ and go down into Phoenix very early almost every Sunday morning. The "downtown" area is a ghost town then. I have set up the 8x10 actually "on" (in a traffic lane) Central Ave. and not been hit by a stray car or bus, or even approached by anyone. I took a photo looking north up Central at the San Carlos Hotel (an historical boutique hotel) and there was ONE homeless guy looking in a Jewelry Store window. Got another one a few weeks ago, a modern "Meudon, 1928," by Kertesz, with jumbo jets caught inbetween skyscrapers and two elderly people crossing the street. I have other photos where there's no one in site (seems everyone's inside the Starbucks!). Amazing, for the 5th largest city in the country! I love it.

Last Sunday I was able to get off 7 new 8x10s (all keepers BTW) in less than 3 hours, over a fairly large area. Maybe 4 or 5 people walked by total.

[Carioca]

What do the people in the family with whom you will be staying say about potential dangers?

You might consider bringing your equipment and leaving it indoors untill you can asses the situation yourself.

Cindy,
if you're staying with a family, that's a good thing. As Ron suggests, keep your valuable gear indoors until you feel comfortable with the situation. Nothing is worse than having a good and safe situation to take pictures, but not having the camera at hand...

Sidney

[Cindy_4701]

I've e-mailed the family and asked them for an assessment of the situation in Salvador. At any rate, I don't think I will bring my 4x5--shooting in some US cities is dicey enough with my head under a dark cloth. It's kind of sad to come up against these social realities--but I guess photography does not exist in a vacuum. Maybe, that's why we have all these meditative photos of natural settings since it reduces the intrusions--but that's precisely what I like to get in my photographs with my LF cameras, a clinical look at the way things are now without bracketing all kinds of stuff out.

I'll post again once I've heard back from the family, to let you all know what their on-the-scene assessment of the situation is.

[BrianShaw]

FWIW, US State Department assessment and traveler warning for Brasil: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p.../cis_1072.html

[Ash]

I live in the UK and honestly there are places in my hometown I wouldn't pull a camera out. Only a general note, but be aware that whenever you go somewhere new you want to be carrying as little as possible as safely as possible.

I could have been robbed by a old bloke in Rome if it weren't for the friends around me shouting over my daydream as we got on the metro. We even had a group of women with children try and rob us whilst getting on our coach at one point.

No matter the location, don't carry more than you can keep hold of and run with.

[legs]

I was searching for info on Brazil and came accross this thread in google.

I am going to Brazil in July for two weeks. I will be visiting my wifes family in sao Paulo.
We plan on going to Iguazu Falls, Rio and nature places along the coast.

I am worried about getting robbed as well. I will have a lot of digital equipment with me and will be shooting stock work in the cities. So I will stick out like a sore thumb.

Have any advice for me?
I will have my wifes sons with me who are pretty good size boys.
They are 21 and 18 and 200+ lbs. Plus I carry weapons for self protection.

Also, for you native Brazilians, I am mainly a lanscape photographer and would like any pointers on places to see
on my trip between sao Paulo and Iguazu Falls and points between Rio and sao Paulo.

I'l like to go to Serra dos Orgaos, Itatiaia National Park and Velha State Park.
Any advice, pointers for me with these places?
Any other awesome natural landmarks in the southern area to go see?

[Nathan Potter]

Cindy, you could consider hiring a couple of big body guards just while you shoot. A friend did this while in Morocco and he felt very safe, even in rough areas. They were found by the hotel staffers and vouched for by them. The cost was pretty modest for the times they were needed. All depends on how badly you want to shoot.

Nate Potter