Would you leave a claimed 200k of gear in your car?
An Australian acclaimed wildlife photographer has his car broken into and has a claimed 200k of gear stolen.
I know he is doing an Australian tour at the moment, so maybe carrying more gear than normal. He gives free sessions to interested groups, so no, I wouldn't call him stupid...just extremely unlucky.
This is a quote from his FB page
"Thanks everyone. Blown away with the support. On channel 10 and 7 tonight Adelaide and Ten's breakfast show tomorrow. I had just started shooting Adelaide after a five year absence when this happened. Nikon are generously lending me a camera, arrives tomorrow. I have been sprooking of late how to deal with adversity, now I will have to practice what I have been preaching. Thanks for your kind words guys. The cameras were in Two kits, see attached list."
There were 2 Nikon D3s body and a Hasselblad HD-50. None will be easy to on sell, as he has all the serial numbers listed.
I don't know this guy's circumstances at all, but I know I frequently leave gear in my car.
My full drumkit is probably worth over £10k in total (not as much as these cameras, admittedly, but still a lot of money!) but if I have gigs on several consecutive nights, there's no way I'm dragging all of that stuff in and out of the car every day! And if I'm touring with a band, whatever gear I take with me stays in the van all day, and all night - except when we're actually playing.
I don't think it's quite fair to call this chap "stupid". If it's true that he's uninsured, then that seems quite risky, but as a seasoned professional I'm sure he thought he knew what he was doing, and has just been quite unlucky.
I leave mine in the car when I'm out during the day. It's worth no where near that and it is insured after another 365 member dropped their camera in water and it was uninsured... made me think I can't afford to replace it so I better insure it lol. I am a tad surprised he didn't have his gear insured though, especially worth THAT much! Stupid? The only bit I think is stupid is not having the insurance. Leaving in the car, seems a lot of us do that.
If this was your business and what you do for a living why on earth would you not have them insured? As he said some of them were irreplaceable, but to be out $200,000 is absurd. If I had $200,000 worth of anything I would certainly be insuring it!
I can understand leaving gear in the car for a short period of time...where else would you leave it, especially if you were hauling that much around?
@nod OUCH!! I was shooting along a jetty on the weekend... right on the railing... quickly popped the strap over my head cos I thought... oh crap... deep water lol. I hate using the strap!
@newbie agreed Stacy, I have been self employed in my own business for many and I never drove around with my tools uninsured on my truck, if its your money maker you do what you can to keep that safe, you wouldn't leave 200k of cash sitting on the back seat of your car in a bag.
@nod haha, I drove around with around 1/2 tonne of gear, it stayed on my truck...guess what it was insured and i didn't miss a job.
Why are people getting so hung up on the idea of leaving valuables in vehicles was the reason I said this guy was "Stupid"
The point I made was this guy with some 30+ years of experience and equipment left his "Uninsured" livelihood in his car while staying at a family members home.
@flagged because most people (like myself) do it all the time, and naturally and perhaps unconsciously some are offended by it :-) bruising ego....if you know what I mean. Good and honest point you made, by the way. IMO don't warry about your remarks. It's a good point, and people like myself should be... Less careless :-)
My husband and I were once returning to the airport in Portugal, feeling very relaxed - we stopped off at a bar and - without thought - left EVERYTHING in the car (including passports) The lot was stolen.
We were both left standing in shorts and T shirts - I discovered the essentials in life that day!
(A pair of jeans, a toothbrush and kind kind people to help you out!)
The things I (still) miss from that episode are the photos I took. the holiday was our first without kids and I had some super pictures of the huge Atlantic waves.
@newbie "I can understand leaving gear in the car for a short period of time...where else would you leave it, especially if you were hauling that much around? "
See my story above - we were only gone ten minutes!
Sometimes the best place to leave the camera is in the car depending on the situation. I heard a talk from a photographer from National Geographic whose office when shooting is basically his car and that he keeps loads of stuff in the trunk. Sometimes you are not in the situation where carrying five lenses and three bodes is going to work well, so you leave it locked in a car. I do feel bad. Who knows he could have been shooting a scene underwater and thought it was better than leaving it on a beach. @onie I am actually looking at adding it specifically to my homeowners insurance (non professional).
Being that some photographers end up victims of mugging and the stuff they have on them gets stolen, leaving some of that equipment in a locked trunk seems like a pretty smart option. If the photographer you are referring to has home owner's insurance, more than likely the equipment was insured and he doesn't realize it (although I think most homeowner's policies only insure around $5k of personal property that you are transporting unless you specifically pay for a larger amount)
I never leave my equipment in the car because it gets freaking hot in there and that's not good for any electronics, But then, I don't bring as much stuff as that guy, My tripod is always in my trunk, but that's not that difficult to replace.
OOPS! I just read the original article and realized that it was Steve Parish you were all talking about. You couldn't lift the amount of gear he carries.
Well, I feel if I would carry a lot of gear with me walking around, it would make me a visible target. But as I am unknown photographer, then it would be hard to predict for the villains, that there might be some expensive gear in my cars trunk. But if you have been targeted by people who know your hobby/occupation, then it's really hard to protect your gear anyway.
@flagged I don't leave my little antiquated point and shoot in the car ... and the mountain of kids' technicals are never left on view. Guess that's what comes of city living. WIth luck I hope any would-be-thief would see the crisp packets and sweet-wrappers on the floor/seats and be put off rifling through it just as much as I am....
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
This is a quote from his FB page
"Thanks everyone. Blown away with the support. On channel 10 and 7 tonight Adelaide and Ten's breakfast show tomorrow. I had just started shooting Adelaide after a five year absence when this happened. Nikon are generously lending me a camera, arrives tomorrow. I have been sprooking of late how to deal with adversity, now I will have to practice what I have been preaching. Thanks for your kind words guys. The cameras were in Two kits, see attached list."
There were 2 Nikon D3s body and a Hasselblad HD-50. None will be easy to on sell, as he has all the serial numbers listed.
Yeh...stupid :) Me, not him though.
https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?fbid=518781384805186&set=a.518781378138520.100760339.100000199888133&type=1&theater
@nod
I often leave my gear in the car for short periods of time. What I'm about to do now though is record all the serial numbers!
My full drumkit is probably worth over £10k in total (not as much as these cameras, admittedly, but still a lot of money!) but if I have gigs on several consecutive nights, there's no way I'm dragging all of that stuff in and out of the car every day! And if I'm touring with a band, whatever gear I take with me stays in the van all day, and all night - except when we're actually playing.
I don't think it's quite fair to call this chap "stupid". If it's true that he's uninsured, then that seems quite risky, but as a seasoned professional I'm sure he thought he knew what he was doing, and has just been quite unlucky.
PS - there is no insurance of property loss in a car from theft in Thailand ...wish there is.
I can understand leaving gear in the car for a short period of time...where else would you leave it, especially if you were hauling that much around?
Why are people getting so hung up on the idea of leaving valuables in vehicles was the reason I said this guy was "Stupid"
The point I made was this guy with some 30+ years of experience and equipment left his "Uninsured" livelihood in his car while staying at a family members home.
My husband and I were once returning to the airport in Portugal, feeling very relaxed - we stopped off at a bar and - without thought - left EVERYTHING in the car (including passports) The lot was stolen.
We were both left standing in shorts and T shirts - I discovered the essentials in life that day!
(A pair of jeans, a toothbrush and kind kind people to help you out!)
The things I (still) miss from that episode are the photos I took. the holiday was our first without kids and I had some super pictures of the huge Atlantic waves.
Ho hum!!
See my story above - we were only gone ten minutes!
@onie I am actually looking at adding it specifically to my homeowners insurance (non professional).
@flagged I don't leave my little antiquated point and shoot in the car ... and the mountain of kids' technicals are never left on view. Guess that's what comes of city living. WIth luck I hope any would-be-thief would see the crisp packets and sweet-wrappers on the floor/seats and be put off rifling through it just as much as I am....