Stop: THIEF!!!

[MLangton]

Sorry, was not sure where to post this. Evidently a well dressed thief just crashed a wedding and walked out with the photographers main camera under his jacket.

All caught on tape. I thought about posting this in the wedding section, but this could have happened anywhere, at any event.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/05/28/gile.wedding.pics.stolen.kcal?iref=videosearch

Keep an eye on your gear!

[Nikolai]

Sorry, was not sure where to post this. Evidently a well dressed thief just crashed a wedding and walked out with the photographers main camera under his jacket.

All caught on tape. I thought about posting this in the wedding section, but this could have happened anywhere, at any event.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/05/28/gile.wedding.pics.stolen.kcal?iref=videosearch

Keep an eye on your gear!
Ouch! :huh
Thanks for sharing! :thumb

[ssimmonsphoto]

:jawdrop Lesson learned. Always keep your gear on you.

[Cygnus Studios]

That is a darn tough lesson to learn.

[elizabeth_Luna]

That is a darn tough lesson to learn.

Yeah no kidding - thanks for posting.

[ChatKat]

It's been frequent that gear is stolen at a wedding. Thieves are easily concealed as a guest. The theft was in Orange County, California and on another board there have been several threads about wedding and event theft in the area. Sad for everyone involved.

[swintonphoto]

Man, how do we get around this? I take more gear than I can carry with me at all times to weddings... maybe I have just been lucky.:huh

[ziggy53]

Man, how do we get around this? I take more gear than I can carry with me at all times to weddings... maybe I have just been lucky.:huh

I did start accumulating the parts needed for a trunk, equipped with a proximity alarm system.

Basically the alarm system would be on at all times and defeated when a proximity transmitter comes close to the receiver. The transmitter would be on me and whenever I am around the trunk I would be able to open the trunk without instance. Anyone else opening the trunk would activate the alarm.

Someone would have to take the entire trunk out of view and out of earshot to steal anything important.

[dangin]

:huh that's just nuts. truly a shameless act. steal my equipment? that's one thing... those images are worth more than a camera. i've got insurance for that! that's just terrible.

that guy's got a reckoning coming to him one day.
<o:p></o:p>

[darryl]

At my cousin's wedding in Houston back in 2007 the photographer had his bag stolen during the reception.

Last year at a friend's wedding in San Francisco, I actually witnessed someone ripping off one of the photographer's bodies and lenses during the post-ceremony shots. Unfortunately I was on the other side of the rather huge sanctuary (St. Mary's Cathedral) and by the time I got over there and down the stairs, I couldn't find the slimeball.

What bugged me was that there was 1) *tons* of equipment - bags, trunks, etc. piled in a darkened hallway in the back right next to an elevator and a staircase -- brilliant, 2) with something like 3 assistants, nobody thought to keep an eye on things, 3) the nonchalance of the photographer when informed. No alarm, just a "Well, that's why you have insurance."

I guess he was just playing it cool, but do you pros always remove your CF cards when you put down a camera? I was more worried about lost photos versus lost equipment.

[ssimmonsphoto]

I only carry what fits in my Tenba medium sling bag or around my next. Although I don't have too much equipment, I can swap stuff out in my car when I leave the ceremony to head to the reception. The bag can take a bit of getting used to, but I love how much I can cram in to it if I need to. I'm too paranoid to leave my stuff laying around anywhere.

[Blurmore]

I heard a story through a friend who is buddies with a bonafide celebrity wedding photog who had his ENTIRE Nikon kit in a rolling case stolen from a valet stand the day after a very high profile wedding. This was in the the film days, and he had the film on him, but the thief walked away with 3 f5s and 14k dollars in lenses and flashes. I'm usually progressively careful with my equipment depending on a location's threat profile. In that hotel I would have been on high alert. It also goes to the reason I don't use a card larger than 4gigs and I keep my cards on me. If all else fails I'm well insured against loss, AND liability for lost frames.

[JeffCanon]

i've seen some bags with build in locking cable, some think tank cases have them

[CookieS]

I need to remember to get insurance this year. Yikes. with the video I would have thought they could catch the guy . Hope so.

[Manfr3d]

Oh that sucks! I would never leave my equipment somewhere unattended, especially not in an area with public access.

[Photoskipper]

Thanks for sharing.

That is one of main reason I don't use backpack for the event photo sessions. The belt and vest system keep all accessories on the body and it cannot run away from you. Sling bag is good but sometimes difficult to squeeze thru the crowd with the bag.

One occassion at a remote scenic site in China, few guys tried to rob my sling camera bag while I was sitting down for a drink but lucky that I put the strap cross my thigh.

They other way is to use non-camera bag look bags. Such as modify the ordinary trolley bag to carry the equipment and tight it with a lock and cable.

[Manfr3d]

I use a Lowepro Flipside for events, it opens towards your back :wink