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Turner Reich
2-Oct-2008, 14:32
Should a lock box that is welded into the car or truck be considered a required accessory for photographers who travel? Do you take all of your lenses and equipment or just what you can afford to loose in an accident or theft? When you are out is your equipment safe at home?

Vaughn
2-Oct-2008, 15:02
Shit happens -- insurance is a good thing. All my 5x7 kit was stolen from my truck on my way to Yosemite. I used the insurance money...plus another $1000 to bump up to 8x10.

The most painful thing I lost in that theft -- my notebook of past exposures, and my wool shirt I bought in New Zealand. I photocopy my notebooks now every once in a while. To add insult to the pain, the thieves obviously thought my framed print in the truck was not worth stealing...

Vaughn

Ash
2-Oct-2008, 15:39
I wanted to take some photo's at a fairground, the person I went with was very uncertain about leaving his dslr in the vehicle. We hid his camera, then drove around to a different area to another corner of the car park in case anybody tagged what we were doing.

He had a hiding place within his car that would be impossible to think of, a serviceable area. I simply pulled up the rubber mat and hid my camera under it in the passenger seat. At night the whole area was in shadow so the bulge wasn't obvious. We all have our levels of precaution.

Michael Kadillak
2-Oct-2008, 16:18
When I travel and photograph and need to spend the night, I purposefully select a motel that has a parking place allowing me to park directly in front of my room and I unload my lenses and my cameras from my vehicle and physically put them in the room with me each and every time along with my .45 automatic pistol. Yes, it is a pain in the ass because I have some very heavy cameras, but I simpy cannot take the risk that my equipment could be stolen by some meth addict. I have stayed in some less than desirable motels because of this criteria but so far I have not been a victum of theft and I hope to keep it that way.

Insurance is important to have but I would rather not have to use it. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

I have heard horror stories of auto break ins and theft in remote areas of Utah and Arizona. You go on a guided tour and the person conducting the tour lets the thieves know that you are not going to be back for a number of days and his conspirators methodically steal you friggin blind. Nothing can be as humilating as having someone break into your house or automobile. If you don't think it can happen to you think again.

Steve Hamley
2-Oct-2008, 16:31
Insurance is only good for replaceable items. Where are you going to waltz in and buy a 24" Dagor or a 19" Series IV Dagor, or a mint Cooke Triple? Or a proven 14" Dagor or Double Anastigmat that you know covers 8x20 or 12x20? there are so many lenses and cameras that are simply not replaceable.

A friend has a safe welded or bolted in his van because he does do stuff overnight in locations, and it isn't a bad idea. They're not going to spend hours with a torch to get an uncertain return.

So install a safe then hide your stuff somewhere else...

Cheers,

Steve

Ron Marshall
2-Oct-2008, 17:35
On location I only take what I intend to carry, and it is with me at all times.

Brian Vuillemenot
2-Oct-2008, 18:37
I prefer to photograph in seldom visited wilderness areas where few others go. If there's no one there to steal the lenses, it's less of a concern. Also, drive a beat up looking dirty car, and litter the backseat and floor with used coffee cups, fast food wrappers, junk mail, and other garbage. Rotting fruit and even the occasional meat left in the car will contribute an olfactory deterent. Using these tips, I've never had so much as a cable release ripped off in over a decade of photo trips...

Hollis
2-Oct-2008, 20:03
When I travel and photograph and need to spend the night, I purposefully select a motel that has a parking place allowing me to park directly in front of my room and I unload my lenses and my cameras from my vehicle and physically put them in the room with me each and every time along with my .45 automatic pistol.

I do the same thing but carry a .44

One of the best ways of preventing theft is to not look like a target. Therefore, don't flash your gear around when you don't have to. For example, don't get out to shoot something away from your car and leave your case open with all your shiny glass visible. Also, the beat up car trick works pretty good but if you look like you haven't showered for a week and are wearing shitty clothes, even better.

Brian_A
2-Oct-2008, 20:12
I have a large bag that I use for hiking that contains my 4x5 field camera, three lenses, ReadyLoader, film 6x17 back & ground glass, a DSLR and lens along with my meter and various other accessories. It stays by my side wherever I end up going. Stopping to eat at Waffle House? It comes in. Going to bed for the night? It comes into the hotel with me in bag. If it's with me, it stays within arms reach.

Richard K.
2-Oct-2008, 20:19
When I travel and photograph and need to spend the night, I purposefully select a motel that has a parking place allowing me to park directly in front of my room ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Michael, I have spent a few nights in fairly desolate locations where I was pehaps one of only 2 or 3 guests staying at the motel. In that situation, I was more comfortable with parking my car several rooms away so any "home" invasion thieves (and I read about just that in the area happening the previouis night) would be knocking on /breaking down the wrong door. Well now that we've put everybody off travelling and photographing...:eek: :)
I also am not adverse to spending a bit more money and staying at a larger "name-brand" motel with security etc. given the chance and yes I too haul all my stuff into the room...and then worry about a room break-in or a careless maid forgetting to lock it when delivering towels while I'm out for dinner....:eek:

Quite nerve-wracking in Kansas once. I was with my wife and (at the time) 2 young sons. We were in a very small town in a very flimsy motel and all I could see on TV was news bulletins of how we were surrounded by tornados....

Jim Fitzgerald
2-Oct-2008, 20:52
Now this is just the thing I needed to have to worry about. I just got back from a trip to the Eastern Sierra. Camped out mostly with my 8x10,11x14 and 8x20 in the truck. Truck looks kind of beat up but I would do great bodily harm to anyone who took any of my equipment. Torture would not be out of the question. I spent a lot of time building my 11x14 and 8x20 and I would "go postal" if this happened. I can't carry all three at once.

Jim

Renato Tonelli
2-Oct-2008, 21:39
I prefer to photograph in seldom visited wilderness areas where few others go. If there's no one there to steal the lenses, it's less of a concern. Also, drive a beat up looking dirty car, and litter the backseat and floor with used coffee cups, fast food wrappers, junk mail, and other garbage. Rotting fruit and even the occasional meat left in the car will contribute an olfactory deterent. Using these tips, I've never had so much as a cable release ripped off in over a decade of photo trips...

The things we have to go through to get that shot!

I keep the stuff with me even when I go into a diner unless the car is in sight. So far so good. Having a companion is also nice: s/he looks out for you while you are busy setting up the shot and it provides you with some sense of ease and security. It has take me a lifetime to buy my gear and losing any of it would definitely put me in a very bad funk for a very long time.

IanMazursky
2-Oct-2008, 22:00
99% of the time i take someone with me. The few times i have went out myself i felt way too exposed...Pardon the pun! I was in Rome at the Coliseum, a place known for roving gangs and pickpockets. I was walking around with my Crown Graphic on my fully extended tripod and the nail tips out. It looked like a javelin and I could see a gang or 2 staring and trying to make heads or tails of me.
They stayed away!

When im in the room, I sometime hide the cameras under the bed or in my clothes. When im out, the backpack always stays between my legs or with a friend/family.
So far so good ;)

Chuck Pere
3-Oct-2008, 06:07
What about car alarms? I had a rock through the window once in a nature preserve parking lot. Car was full of stuff but nothing taken. So either the alarm worked or they were just vandals. When by myself I normally use a large ice chest chained to the car. Figure it will slow down the smash and grab people. A determined thief will go through anything or just take the car. Around here kids run around the suburbs looking for unlocked cars. Guess they figure unlocked is an invitation to take anything they want.

goamules
3-Oct-2008, 07:22
I had a rock through the window once in a nature preserve parking lot. Car was full of stuff but nothing taken.

Was it in New Mexico? I lived there for 9 years and often saw nicer vehicles at the trailhead with smashed windows. It was a "cultural" thing there. You had to have 4wd so you could hide your vehicle in a gully or such, to protect it from the roving gangs.

J. Patric Dahlen
3-Oct-2008, 11:48
Also, the beat up car trick works pretty good but if you look like you haven't showered for a week and are wearing shitty clothes, even better.That doesn't work if you also have a beard and are somewhat overweight. Then you look like a stereotype photographer. :cool:

Hollis
3-Oct-2008, 15:22
you could just pile roadkill on our car as you pass it along the way. They will either be deterred by the smell or think you are just freakin crazy.

Hollis

Maris Rusis
3-Oct-2008, 15:38
My mistake was handing out my photographer's card too often.

Using an 8x10 camera in public attracts attention and trying to turn that attention into commerce made me vulnerable. The thieves got my name, traced my address, waited until I left my apartment, and busted the place.

They got a nice Nagaoka 8x10, nice tripod, and a sweet 360mm Commercial Congo lens. The fools left the film holders because, I guess, they didn't recognize them as sexy photographic gear. I did not know it at the time but leaving the film holders did me a great favour.

My insurance company sent an investigator whose brief (apparently) was to unearth a fraudulent claim on my part. They would not pay; I sued. The case was about to go to court when it dawned on the insurers that if I had "stolen" my own gear I would have "stolen" the film holders too! They paid up, I dropped the suit.

The Tachihara 810HD I bought with the money still works fine.

Turner Reich
3-Oct-2008, 16:24
Shit happens -- insurance is a good thing. All my 5x7 kit was stolen from my truck on my way to Yosemite. I used the insurance money...plus another $1000 to bump up to 8x10.

Poor attitude and not very helpful.

John Bowen
3-Oct-2008, 16:42
I unload my lenses and my cameras from my vehicle and physically put them in the room with me each and every time along with my .45 automatic

Personally I use a 35mm Nikon manual. Who makes a 45 automatic? :p

NOTE TO SELF....... NEVER knock on Michael K's door if we are ever on a photo shoot together. :eek:

Steve Hamley
3-Oct-2008, 17:54
Insurance is good, my auto insurance is with State farm and they will insure my gear for 1% of the declared value annually - a good deal.

But in Michael's case, the lenses are almost irreplaceable on short notice, it may well take over a year to find replacements. You can't just go out and buy what he had at a reasonable price.

This is a business strategy in Michael's case; if the lenses get stolen does that put you out of business?

So a good solution is to have replacements stashed for critical lenses. In Michael's case, a 450 Nikkor M, a 355 G-Claron, and a Fuji 600C in the closet might be a life saver, along with a lens that would convert to 30-35". Of course, technique may have to be altered a bit.

Of course, if you just happen to be a lensaholic, you'll always have at least 3 of every focal length, so if catastrophe happens, you're biggest problem is deciding which of the 2-3 replacements you want to use.

Cheers,

Steve

beemermark
3-Oct-2008, 19:29
I lived in a very nice neighborhood, well lite and patrolled. Driveway was hidden by tall bushes. One night I got home late and, not even thinking about it, left a camera bag with a Leica M7 and a number of nice lenses in it. I never leave a camera in the car now. The theft is covered under your home owners insurance policy BTW.

Chuck Pere
4-Oct-2008, 04:24
Was it in New Mexico? I lived there for 9 years and often saw nicer vehicles at the trailhead with smashed windows. It was a "cultural" thing there. You had to have 4wd so you could hide your vehicle in a gully or such, to protect it from the roving gangs.

No, mine was at Clifton Gorge in SW Ohio. Pretty much the same everywhere I suppose.

John Powers
4-Oct-2008, 05:37
Out of sight, out of mind, making things invisible helps. I have a tan Toyota Highlander SUV with tinted windows. There are millions of them, common as dirt. A little dirt helps as a matter of fact. Most SUVs come with a sliding cover for the area behind the seats to the back door. I went to an automotive upholstery shop and had them make a cover that fastens to the head rests of the front seat, has snaps on the sides and extends to the top of the back seat. They made it of factory seat vinyl. There is an unbroken line of the same material at the bottom of the window line from the back of the front seat to the rear door. They even made a little hang down piece that dangles between the two front seats, so you can’t look through the windshield at what is in the back seat.

For a week long event like Bill Schwab’s APUG Gathering 2007, I carried a 7x17 mounted on an extended big Ries tripod and an 8x10 mounted on a small extended Ries, film holders, a 54 quart cooler, bag of lenses, and a baby jogger, all out of sight under this cover. For 2008 I blew cover and went a little over the top with a 9’ Avon rubber dingy inflated on the roof and a 4 hp outboard inside . I was having so much fun, I figured the Avon would give me a soft landing if I rolled over.

John

jnantz
4-Oct-2008, 06:29
i have a business owners insurance policy in case my stuff is stolen from my studio
or my car or jobsite. it would stink of course if i ever have to use it, especially because
some lenses i have would be hard to replace.

jenn wilson
4-Oct-2008, 15:58
i certainly have my fair share of horror stories, and have learned that anything can and will happen anywhere. therefore...

1. insurance - not only auto, but renter's insurance (or homeowner's insurance) plus floater policies for any particularly valuable items.
2. personally, if i can't carry it then i don't bring it. all of my gear stays on me at all times - even when i just really need a fresh dose of caffeine. yes it's a pain, but the alternative could be more painful.
3. if my husband or a friend or model is with me, then we take turns getting coffee, eating, etc. there's always a guard on duty (ready with pepper spray).
4. if there is no other way and you must leave something in your car, ALWAYS hide it well before parking at your final destination. never wait or someone may be watching you.

none of us ask for such unfortunate circumstances to befall us, but theives and other such wastes of flesh do not see it this way.

a healthy dose of paranoia never hurt anyone.