Is photography dangerous?

Hi everyone,

 

I was just wondering what other people thought about Photography as being

dangerous. I never thought so, until I was jumped. I mean it makes sense,

alone shooting at the times when there are less people around, shooting during

the 'magic hours'.

 

I was totally taken by surprise with my face buried in the viewfinder. Before

I knew it I was being choked and taken to the ground. Eventually I passed out

and awoke to a beating that I wont soon forget. This was over a month ago, I

just now look normal again. I dont really care about the equipment, I would

have just given it up (it is insured).

 

I was in Amsterdam, in a busy part of town (not the RLD) at 7:30am total

daylight, with local merchants opening shop for the day. In fact there were

people no further than 250m away, which did nothing.

 

If you havnt ever thought about it before, just be cautious. I typically count

that when I am around people I am safe, not always so. I hope this never

happens to you.

 

Take care people.

Nicholas: Sorry you had to go through that. I keep a wary eye out when working in the NYC streets. Numerous times I have seen thugs sizing me up to decide if it was the right move to attack me. One of them even left and returned with help, by which time I was leaving the area. The rules are: always be aware of what is going on around you, carry the least amount of expensive equipment possible, and keep that hidden unless you are shooting. Also, be insured. Lately I have substituted a plastic Rollei throwaway for my Leica, for several reasons.

Glad you are ok now. I think I prefer taking my chances with the bears and mountain lions in the hills. Its pretty sad that nobody did anything to help.

It is very sad that no one did anything to help. Even sadder that it's not

<b>surprising</b> no one did anything.

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Fortunately, the most dangerous thing I've encountered so far is walking into traffic while

"composing" a shot. Thanks for sharing that with us; it must have been a nightmare. It's

a good reminder to the rest of us to be careful when walking around with expensive

equipment, and that it could happen to any one of us.

<br><br>

Glad you're getting back to normal. <i>Buy some pepper spray!</i>

Keep a friend to help you. Mine is named Colt.

I am sorry to hear about your terrible ordeal; and it was outrageous that no one even cared to call the cops. I hope these bad people will get what's due them.

 

I think it pays to buddy up when shooting in big crowded cities.

 

Mary

Being surprised means whatever you might have had to even the odds isn't going to do you much good. Probably a random opportunity robbery but maybe you stumbled across, even unknowingly, something someone didn't want photographed. But photography does have the risk that there are times you may be too focused on the subject matter or the camera than your surroundings. So there may be a somewhat greater risk than just simply strolling along.

 

There is a lot of sense to being buddied up wherever you are shooting because you do take your attention off the surroundings to concentrate on the subjects or the gear.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune.

 

Ditto on the buddy system. If I'm shooting somewhere a bit isolated, or really early or late, I will always enlist the help of someone to come with me.

If I'm going to an area that I know to be a bit unsafe, I always work with another person. That way, we can watch each others' backs while shooting.

 

There was an instance in So. Utah recently where a couple went out to photograph wild horses in the winter. When they didn't return, everyone thought that they had been the victims of foul play. Surprise was that they showed up 10 days later after being caught in a snow drift and having to walk out. But the threat was there, otherwise we all wouldn't have thought the worse.

 

My wife suggests that when I go out in the wilderness (which isn't so wild anymore--at least the four-legged variety) that I take our dog with me as she can sense something going wrong much sooner than I do.

Yes, photography can be dangerous. I had gotten vey sick on a shoot in the South Pacific, caused by mosquitoes. I was nearly hit by lightning in 2000 while trying to shoot lightning. I came across a hive of Africanized Bees and was too far from my car to have escaped if they had come after me. One has to know what the risks are, where you are shooting!

I am sorry to hear about that. I try to figure out what part of town is fairly safe (if I need to I'll do some research ahead of time) and stay away from shooting in unsafe areas, especially during 'bad times' of day. When I was in Chicago last year I did a fair amount of shooting at night, but I wouldn't consider the areas I shoot in to be particularly bad (Wabash Ave and some around Navy Pier). I do try to be congnizant of what is going around me when I shoot whenever I can, especially if I am alone. Most of my travels are with my wife however, so I always have a buddy along to keep a real eye on what is going on while I shoot.

<i>"Keep a friend to help you. Mine is named Colt."</i><br><br>

Your friend may help you at home (that is, if you're lucky enough to live in the US), but it won't help you while traveling abroad. I really doubt you could take him with you to Amsterdam (or to any European country for that matter). ;-)

Amen, Ronald. Smith & Wesson, or Herr Glock, are comforting companions, but Mr. Colt--as in Government Model M1911 .45--is a personal favorite. The great equalizer!

"Smith & Wesson, or Herr Glock, are comforting companions, but Mr. Colt--as in

Government Model M1911 .45--is a personal favorite. The great equalizer!"

 

As Nicholas poitned out " I was totally taken by surprise with my face buried in the

viewfinder. Before I knew it I was being choked and taken to the ground."

 

Can you please explain how having a gun, even it is visible to the whole world, is going to

help you in that situation while you are completely pre-occupied by doign something else

and are jumped from behind?

 

I wonder how many of you who are so macho about gun ownership have actually been

shot at? (I have had that experience three times: once by a biker who was trying to run me

off the road; once by a crack dealer who didn't like me taking photos in his neighborhood;

, and once by a drunk celebrating New Years) And how many of you , except possibly in

combat if you were in the military or living in a war zone, have shot at a person with the

intent to do serious damage to someone?

I see no point in carrying something that is lethal 24/7 when the chance of using it for self-defence is probably nil through one's lifetime, not to mention that it can potentially get one into trouble when misused under impulse. I believe we have all read news accounts where someone was killed in a situation where the murder or manslaughter would not have occurred if the weapon was not there.

 

Mary