Your Equipment's Safety

We all know how expensive photo equipment is. How much time is needed to save money for a dream camera, let alone cool lenses. Buying gradually, the total photo equipment value can reach impressive numbers, and it all often "fits" in a small photo bag. Photo hobby can cost endlessly and you can lose it all unwillingly. "Chasing" good frames, photo equipment news and upgrades, we don't think about photo equipment safety. Sometimes, spending quite a small amount compared to the value of purchased photo equipment, we can protect it. This article will compile a painful topic - photo equipment safety at home, work, daily life and in the car.

 

Losing Photo Equipment

    In my work experience and communicating with colleagues, acquaintances and friends, I've evaluated and compiled the most common reasons for losing photo equipment and will offer my solutions how to avoid them.

Reasons for losing photo equipment:

• Car theft
• Apartment burglary
• House burglary
• Leaving equipment briefly while shooting
• Mugging in Latvia
• Mugging while traveling
• Lending photo equipment
• Fraud
• Data security
• Internet security

Let's examine each case separately.

Car Theft.

    I won't start teaching that you can't leave photo equipment in the car. Even during daylight. There are situations when you can't unload all photo equipment from the car once and need to go back several times, and moments arise when expensive photo equipment stays unattended for a few minutes. Often people rely on the car's dark window film, because through it you can't see what's inside, and the bag cover. Experience shows there are situations when photographers are watched from a distance and as soon as the car owner is away for a few minutes, the window is smashed and the equipment is gone.

I myself was saved by the lens' transparent protective film (photo above). It can be installed at car tinting salons and costs about 100-200 euros for the whole car. I recommend using tonesana.lv transparent film against smashing. The window was smashed twice and nothing was got inside. On the other hand, Antons' film was the cheapest and only slightly hindered breaking into the car salon :(. The lens with protective film is very hard to smash. The lens shattered, but the film held it in place. In my case the thief tried with all his might to smash the lens, but nothing happened. Even the thief's smashing device broke and fell through the window hole into the car salon, but the lens stayed in place. Recommendation - put film on all windows - side passengers and trunk (except front). This can be done in addition to tinting by putting protective film between the lens and tinting film.    
    Additional safety can be given by car alarm with the ability to send notification to the car key (remote) about alarm activation. This way, if the lens is smashed and someone has broken into the car salon, a notification is sent to the remote (key) and the car owner can react quickly. Newer cars are equipped with such option, but it can be installed in any car as an additional smart alarm. Some psychological comfort it can give, you just need to be able to run quickly and be ready to fight with criminals. For adrenaline lovers it can even be liked :)  

Apartment Burglary.

    A very painful topic. The most common burglary methods are lock picking or door smashing. Remember that apartment keys should never be left anywhere, the most common mistake is putting apartment keys in a jacket pocket in a restaurant, but the jacket is left on a coat rack. Without noticing you, they can make a copy of your apartment key to later create a new key and enter the apartment without breaking. Door smashing is already a much rarer breaking method. Another most common mistake is leaving keys in the lock from the inside. Under certain conditions with special tools the door can easily be opened from the outside.

The funniest thing is that these tools are easily purchasable by anyone on the internet. Thieves have learned to rob apartments and houses even when residents are sound asleep. They use sleeping gas introduced through the door lock gap, ventilation or window crack if it's open (for ground floor apartments) and calmly, without hurry, not only rob but even find time to sleep in the refrigerator. Moreover, from experience, alarms don't help. If you're not home, thieves act so quickly that security can't arrive, but if you are home, then the alarm is turned off. The recommendation here is to install an alarm that is divided into zones, and when you're home, turn on the alarm for a specific zone, for example only for windows and doors, turning off motion sensors in the apartment. Modern alarms allow this to be done.     Against apartment burglary the easiest protection is property insurance. It's mandatory in the insurance contract to write down the list of property with its value. Such insurance doesn't cost a fortune and will protect not only from thieves, but also from fire or neighbor floods. Next are doors and locks. If you can't or don't want to change doors to better ones, at least install a good lock. If you live on the ground floor, it's advisable to enclosed the loggia. Also protective film against smashing can be installed on apartment windows. Replace window handles with ones that lock only with a key.
    If you don't have funds for an alarm, I recommend buying GSM alarm. It costs about 50 euros and through SMS or call notifies you on your phone if a window or door opened or motion detected in the room. Such service costs only the additional number in the same mobile network, which costs 3 euros per month. In case of break-in you can call neighbors or come quickly yourself to deal with thieves.
    In my opinion, the best solution is property insurance. Costs from 5-10 euros per month depending on the value of insured property. You'll be protected not only from thieves, but also from fire, floods and other circumstances.

House Burglary.

    In this case everything the same as in apartment burglary, but the topic is somewhat expanded. I'll tell a friend's case. Thieves cased houses in a suburban area and knew how the security company works. They triggered false alarms at a distance from the house. They disarmed the alarm from outside through the siren block. Smashed the window and quickly emptied the house. After the burglary the owner installed additional sensors on the perimeter, and windows were covered with protective film against smashing. From several acquaintances' burglary cases I concluded that the existence of an alarm doesn't protect property. The alarm limits the thieves' break-in time, but as thieves rarely work alone, 10 minutes is mostly enough to take everything valuable and necessary. Therefore, whatever protection you install (anti-smashing film, additional locks, etc.) is only a thief obstacle, which together may result in not getting robbed.
    In the house variant a good guard dog in the yard is a good solution. I've seen such for many wealthy people and better two at once.
   
    Another interesting solution is a safe. I don't recommend taking a money safe, but rather a data safe. A money safe is made to be hard to break into. They have complex locks, but don't protect against being taken. However data safes are designed to protect discs from being burned in case of fire, therefore their walls are thick and the safe is heavy (100-300kg). In such a safe your photo equipment will also be protected in case of fire and it will be difficult to carry away. But for complete protection I recommend property insurance.

Leaving Equipment Briefly While Shooting.

    Story from experience. A wedding photographer was shooting a wedding ceremony at a church in Riga. As always the photographer's bag with lenses and other "accessories" was briefly set aside so it wouldn't get in the way while moving among guests. It's difficult to shoot anything оперативно with a bag on one's shoulder. And in that brief ceremony moment the photo bag was stolen from the church. The funny thing is that one of the video operators accidentally filmed (filming the church compound) the thief who took the photo bag. Unfortunately that didn't help recover the photo equipment.
    What would I recommend in such situations? First, already evaluate how much you need to bring equipment. The safest is to bring only the most necessary, instead of stuffing the photo bag with lenses you won't even use. I recommend bringing an assistant to a photo session who can watch over the photo equipment during critical moments or shoot with unnecessary equipment while you help. If you're alone I recommend using vests or harnesses where you can hang lenses or the camera. Also experimenting, you can buy bluetooth special clips (bluetooth anti-lost alarm device) and connect them with your mobile phone. Put the clip in the photo bag. When the bag goes out of the zone you'll be notified on your phone. I don't know how well this works in practice. When mostly shooting I'm so busy that I probably wouldn't notice additional notifications on the phone.
    I myself had a bad situation. I went to photograph at the Olympic Center pool. There was a lot of equipment. There was also an assistant, but during the loading process some passerby took a military bag which had cheap things (which served as floats under water), a swimsuit and an underwater housing for the photo camera. You could say the most inexpensive bag was taken, but most importantly, the underwater photography housing. Therefore when unloading, leaving photo equipment you must be very careful and attentive. Even in the most unexpected places photo bags can "grow legs".

Mugging in Latvia.

    Such cases are quite rare but happen. Mostly in the dark part of the day. There's either robbery with taking away property, "mugging" from behind or threatening (even with a knife or gas pistol). To avoid such cases don't shoot alone. Bring a friend, acquaintance, or find a model and go shoot in pairs or larger company. In some cases a confident posture can scare off potential muggers. If you often need to walk through dark parks and alleys, I recommend buying a pepper gas canister, don't get into any conversations with passersby. If you feel there will be trouble, run away, and while running spray the gas canister behind you. It will immediately stop the pursuer. Protect your health and photo equipment.
    If however you travel alone often, choose streets that are as lit up as possible and with more passersby. If there's a lot of photo equipment and you need to go a long distance, better call a taxi. Consider it as health and equipment insurance costs. Under this link you can see where most often robberies and muggings happen. Get to know your neighborhood where you live, and areas where you most often travel. Take out your photo equipment only when you need it, instead of always having a camera around your neck or in hand. If walking in the dark around alone with a photo bag, I recommend making a more "bombastic" cover for it. Take some old grandmother's used bag and make a photo bag cover. I recommend using the LCD screen as little as possible or cover it completely. That will indicate from a distance that you have a expensive digital camera. You can also buy a cheap LCD protective cover and cover it with "magician's" tape.
    If you've done all this but get into a dangerous situation when you're surrounded by several attackers, first try to talk your way out that you're a student/schoolchild who is photographing a homework assignment with an old film camera. That the camera has no value, so it wouldn't be worth spending time on you and asking whether they could photograph your homework. Be smiling and friendly. If there's a chance, try to escape.
    If a dangerous situation arises, it's better to give up the equipment, because your health is much more important than equipment. Remember that there will always be an opportunity to earn for new photo equipment. If the worst has happened, report to the State Police as soon as possible. Fill out all declarations and carefully fill out documents showing photo equipment list with its value and serial numbers and special signs.
    I put stickers with my name on all photo equipment, even stick such a label inside the battery compartment of the camera. After a mugging it's worth checking nearby pawnshops, there's a great chance to find your photo equipment. If not immediately call the police and clarify the situation. Every lens, flash and camera has a serial number. Try to write them down and keep them. Nikon even has a web page where you can easily send them and keep them.

Mugging While Traveling.

    This topic is very hard because it affects everyone sooner or later! Coveting new unseen frames, many of us take our best photo equipment and sometimes even overdo it, taking much more than needed. I too once took a big photo bag full of expensive lenses, but after experience now travel with one small body and some small prime lenses. I take Nikon Df with 50mm 1.8 or Leica with 35mm 1.8. The most shocking thing to me is thieves' imagination. It's sometimes bordering on genius how theft is planned and organized:


    Example from real life: a photographer's van arrived, from which several normally dressed foreigners got out, showed foreign police identification, and claimed to be conducting a drug inspection, conducting a search. They checked the photographer's clothes, pockets, and when they got to the photo bag, they worked so professionally and easily that in the end they got into their van and drove away. Left stunned, never thought something like this could happen.
    Another case. At the airport someone spilled ketchup on the photographer's back. Suddenly a passerby points to where the toilet is. In the toilet the photographer puts the photo bag next to himself. Also waiting for a doctor who would help clean the jacket during the cleaning process. This is how both the doctor and the photo bag disappeared.
    Another very cruel theft scheme is when from behind you "rub" with a cloth soaked in chloroform. You fall unconscious, thieves pretend to be your friends who try to "revive" you or claim you're very drunk and passed out, and slowly the photo bag, wallet and all other valuables disappear from you.
    Another popular scheme that works during daylight. Several women run up, surround and start going through pockets. The photographer probably tries to resist pushing them away. Then several men suddenly run up, seemingly defending the woman, start attacking the photographer and a fight starts one against several, during which the photo bag is taken and everyone suddenly disappears.
    Each scheme is rehearsed and shocks with imagination and organization. Therefore you must be ready for anything. In my opinion, the less adequately you act, because you'll more likely encounter organized criminals. Muggers abroad never work alone. Mostly they operate in groups and have their people both in police and security. Therefore very rarely stolen property is found. You can only rely on yourself.


Recommendations from me:
1. When traveling don't bring extra equipment. Try to take the smallest and one body. I try to manage with a small body and 1 or 2 small prime lenses. For example 28mm 1.8 and 85mm 1.8. Don't bring bright large lenses, let alone large zooms like 70-200mm 2.8.
2. Don't bring a classic Lowepro or Kata (or other) photo bag that from a distance identifies you by its contents. Or remove/cover the bag's emblem and make a less noticeable cover for the photo bag.
3. Cover camera and lens brand logos. Replace the camera strap with something simpler, plainer and without logo. Additional black electrical tape on the camera or lenses will make it less attractive from a distance.
4. Don't get into conversations with strangers. Play dumb or deaf. Most muggings start with innocent questions from strangers to distract attention.
5. Don't let strangers get close to you. Turn on the third eye on your forehead. Look around and strange glances.
6. Abroad, if I'm alone and walking around shooting city environments, my walking speed is above average with which local people move. This will very well show if someone is following you. Also you'll photograph much more when moving around faster.
7. Don't bring a laptop. Practice shows that it rarely is used against risk of losing it. Better buy more memory cards and each day put a new memory card and leave the day's photos at the hotel.
8. Always put the camera strap around your wrist or arm. If putting on shoulder, then crosswise. If putting down the photo bag, then hook its strap around a chair, leg, arm, or some object. Or sit on the strap with your hip. This is done so the bag can't be grabbed, and also so you feel when the photo bag "grows legs".
8. Always remember that health and life are 1000x 1000x times more valuable than any photo bag contents!

    If going to very dangerous places, then better take several film cameras which aren't expensive. Keep one as backup at the hotel and use only if the first one gets stolen. Used Canon or Nikon film cameras start from 30 euros. Scanning them in good quality will get you quality comparable to a DSLR.

Lending Photo Equipment.

    Many don't think about it. But there are situations when lent photo equipment "doesn't return" back. Be prepared that lending your photo equipment, it might not be returned. Even from people who seem "reliable". You can write all kinds of papers, but they only have power if signed by a notary. My recommendation, if you still decide to lend, take something of equal value as collateral.

Fraud.

    The most common fraud in photo equipment sales is selling used equipment. A buyer appears for your advertisement who is ready to buy and pay, but without direct contact. Ready to transfer money and receive goods through an intermediary (courier). Often fake bank receipts are sent and they want to receive the goods as quickly as possible citing various reasons. Never give the goods until you've received real money. Never!
    Another most common fraud is buying photo equipment, new or used, through the internet. Citing various excuses, the seller asks you to transfer money through WesternUnion or some strange bank account. Don't get caught! Through these services you're not protected as a buyer. Money "goes" and you won't receive goods! Use only PayPal. If the seller doesn't use it, walk away from the deal, no matter how good the price. This applies to purchases through ebay, forums or other private advertisements. Sometimes a stranger appears who is ready to rent your photo equipment. I've heard all kinds of stories. Take something more valuable than the used equipment you want to rent.

Data Security.

    Each of us reaches a point in life when the photo equipment is no longer as valuable as the memories stored in digital files kept on a computer or external hard drives. When an apartment or house robbery happens 99% of the time along with the computer "goes" also the external hard drives connected to the computer. In such a situation only a data safe or storing additional copies of photos in another location saves.
    Data safes are usually very heavy and can't be easily carried away. They also protect equipment and hard drives from fire. I recommend once a year buying a hard drive and making backup copies and storing them in a safe.
    As an additional data security option is to purchase an external hard drive with Network or network capability. Install it at work, at parents' or friends' houses where there's internet. This way you'll get your own small data server where you can backup your photos. It's advantageous if this hard drive is in another location, not your computer. If you don't have funds for a hard drive or no possibility to store it in another location, you can use various paid data storage services, for example, Blackblaze. This is a rare service that offers unlimited data storage on their servers. Only it's not as fast as you'd want. If you don't want to pay for such services, you can use somewhat less convenient http://flickr.com/, which offers 1Tb web space for free. A very good option to copy JPG files. RAW unfortunately isn't yet supported.
    If you don't create data backups, there's a very high chance to lose photos over time. Hard drives tend to fail, thieves can take hard drives, and computer viruses start working in unexpected ways. For example, there are viruses that infiltrate the system and encrypt all your data, but leave the computer itself working. After data encryption they offer to buy a data key so you can access your data. Be smart and cautious. Use anti-virus programs and don't open unknown emails. Criminal ways are endless and in time we'll experience many new fraud and robbery methods.

Internet Security.

    Many don't think about it, but publishing on the internet about yourself and photos, you often give those around you sensitive information: about when you're not home, what your habits are, when trips are planned, what the home interior and equipment is. The biggest mistake is during trips "checking in" and posting photos that you're abroad.
    Posting photos on Instagram or Facebook pages, "checking in" on Swarm (Foursquare) you show those around you lots of information that criminals can use against you. Even if your accounts are private i.e. closed from public eyes, you can never be sure who sees this data. Imagine that a new friend appears who is completely stranger to you, and it turns out he's a former criminal who easily gets all your information.  

 

Conclusion.

    Already today do at least a small part of recommendations. Evaluate your "weak" places which can be attacked as described above. Because no one else protects us if we ourselves don't take care of security.

If you've been in any similar stories, share them. Also share your experience in protecting photo equipment.

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