> Yesterday I was in a park trying to photograph bees on flight leaving
> the flowers after feeding (or is the right name "collecting"?). It was
> a bit late already, around 20h and at a given moment the people that
(snip)
> I stayed in alert state until we left, and once we got home I had this
> awful feeling of being violented mixed with the "being lucky" given that
> nothing really happened and I still had my camera and no injuries.
> Anyway, the bitter event made me think about all possible scenarios and
> there's not much you could do in those cases.
>
> By standard lines I was in a "safe" place, and luckily not completely
> abstracted in my own 'world through the lens'.
>
> I'd like to hear about your experiences. Is somebody carring some kind
> of active theft prevention device (pepper spray, electric shock, etc...
> (all illegal to carry over here anyway)). Best practices, etc...?
>
> Regards,
> Gerard.
Well, the world is not a nice place in some countries, and some areas.
Carrying expensive looking camera gear might attract thugs in some of these
places. It's a damned shame when it happens in a public park though. I hope
you called the police to alert them to the fact that those types were in the
park threatening you. About all we can do really is keep our eyes open for
such persons, and try and go on living a normal life. As to carrying pepper
spray or such - with multiple thugs, I don't think that would be wise. It'd
likely make them madder and you'd end up hurt worse if they did catch you.
The sad fact also is you're not any safer in a crowd. Most people will just
stand by and watch you get mugged, or run like hell themselves. This is a
situation women face all the time. Thankfullly I've always lived in very
safe cities, but I realize that it can still happen anywhere, you just never
know when or where bad people will show up.
Try and forget it, and just be a little more aware of things around you.
Self defence courses are one way of evening the odds, but a bit drastic.
Another deterrent is a big ugly looking dog with you at all times. A
doberman would likely be a good bet there. Drastic yes, but a dog can be a
good thing in more ways that defence. It's tough shooting nature though with
a dog around - I know, most of my photo excursions are with my dog. I'm not
likely to get close to any birds for instance, and have to keep one eye on
him around people as well. Perhaps one solution is to find a buddy to shoot
with. A big guy if possible... keep your chin up mate, don't let the
bastards get you down!
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