I meant in general, do people feel threatened being alone with thousands of $ of gears?
Once I was in San Fran. taking this picture late at night all by myself. It was almost pitch dark and no one's around. It got very scary when all of a sudden I heard someone came up behind me on a bike. It turned out to be a cop on bike. He was just checkup on me and commented that it has great color that night and there was another photog further down by the water. I was lucky it was a cop cause it could have been much much worse.
Everywhere I go I seem to get all the attention.
I am 4 foot 10 and carry a Canon 1000mm F5.6 L USM lens attached to 1Ds Mk3 on a huge tripod all the time.
The question I found hard to answer is : Are they looking at me or the lens and the camera or both?
Venus wrote:
Everywhere I go I seem to get all the attention.
I am 4 foot 10 and carry a Canon 1000mm F5.6 L USM lens attached to 1Ds Mk3 on a huge tripod all the time.
The question I found hard to answer is : Are they looking at me or the lens and the camera or both?
1000mm f/5.6? Good lord. You are toting around quite a rig.
Venus wrote:
Everywhere I go I seem to get all the attention.
I am 4 foot 10 and carry a Canon 1000mm F5.6 L USM lens attached to 1Ds Mk3 on a huge tripod all the time.
The question I found hard to answer is : Are they looking at me or the lens and the camera or both?
Sux, but true. Been attacked by people in the neighborhood for photographing their junk. They attacked me and called the cops, who told them to get a clue.
I do not mind people talking with me. I find it interesting at times to hear thier opinions as well as answer thier questions. I have done a lot of public speaking so they don't bother me. I have learned to both talk and work at the same time. And a few times I have enlisted a curious bystander to lend a hand. I always shoot with my camera bag either in front of me at my feet or under my trtipod. If I have one or more assistants then they look out after my camera bag.
No I have never been worried about my equipment being stolen
I must admit that at times I feel a bit nervous with my setup but it's that or nothing and that isn't an option. If I'm abroad I try and go with the guys. At home I travel with a 100lb german shepherd that seems to deter everyone except young kids who like to hug him...go figure! As far a folks asking about the camera, I'm as much to blame for looking at their setup as well!
Alan Kefauver wrote:
I wear yellow Bermuda shorts, a Hawaian shirt, a large floppy hat and mutter to myself in German. No one seems to bother me
I love that! ! The areas I usualy like to hike are the advanced trails that tourists usualy dont frequent, thats when I use the Mark3. But when I hit the town or more touristy trails I use my 5D to be more low key, and when people ask me if I'm a pro, I just tell them
"no, I deliver Pizza!" and they usualy just give me an odd look, smile then walk away. I shall give the German tourist routine a try some day.
Ever thought about just walking around in a pink tutu with a 4 week beard growth and indiana jones hat and whip outfit? I'm pretty sure most people would avoid that?
The only thing that bothers me is when people ask me how much my stuff costs. I don't want to be rude to them, but I don't even know how to respond to such a question. Usually I just say "I buy a lot of used gear, so not as much as you'd think."
I've had people try and get me to reveal an exact figure. All I would say is "more than the car I drive".
I get asked at least once a month.
Do you guys encounter this behavior as much as I do? How do you handle it?
jaems wrote:
The only thing that bothers me is when people ask me how much my stuff costs. I don't want to be rude to them, but I don't even know how to respond to such a question. Usually I just say "I buy a lot of used gear, so not as much as you'd think."
I've had people try and get me to reveal an exact figure. All I would say is "more than the car I drive".
I get asked at least once a month.
Do you guys encounter this behavior as much as I do? How do you handle it?
Yep. Annoys the hell out of me, too. Just seems like a nosy thing to ask. I usually just say "A lot." and they usually get the hint.
wkhc168 wrote: I meant in general, do people feel threatened being alone with thousands of $ of gears?
Once I was in San Fran. taking this picture late at night all by myself. It was almost pitch dark and no one's around. It got very scary when all of a sudden I heard someone came up behind me on a bike. It turned out to be a cop on bike. He was just checkup on me and commented that it has great color that night and there was another photog further down by the water. I was lucky it was a cop cause it could have been much much worse.
Yeah, I had a similar "bad feeling" taking that exact same shot last year. At the time I was with someone else so it wasn't so bad, but that's why I don't take the expensive stuff with me when shooting citiescapes and the like. OK, the 24-70 goes with me, but the mk2 doesn't.
This post is silly!
If you are a professional, then it makes no difference.
I guess I'm used to shooting most weekends for either HS or college sports.
I never stopped and worried about it because I know I'm highly confident in my abilities. Who cares what they think! At least you'll get the shots while they hope they can get them.
trenchmonkey wrote:
I find it rather amusing. I try and size 'em up and guess what kind of comment or question is coming.
Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised but more often than not it's the " how far, how much,
who do you shoot for " variety. Over the years I've come up with some great replies...
just last weekend out with the 1DmkII 300 2.8 on a BushHawk guy asks how much ya got
in that rig? I told him I just stole it this morning, ya wanna buy it
Give you 100$ for it. :P
I haven't had too many run ins with people (I'm still a beginning hobbyist), but I think I wouldn't like too much attention. If I'm running around with expensive gear (to me my gear is expensive, I could only imagine the professionals rigs), the last thing I want is attention. You never know what prick will try and steal your camera bag. While I have no problem handling myself, I'd rather avoid any and all confrontation. The last thing I want is someone grabbing for my camera bag.
timbop wrote:
Yeah, I had a similar "bad feeling" taking that exact same shot last year. At the time I was with someone else so it wasn't so bad, but that's why I don't take the expensive stuff with me when shooting citiescapes and the like. OK, the 24-70 goes with me, but the mk2 doesn't.
This photo is amazing. I can only hope I'll be able to get shots like this someday.
I'm pretty sure this was not directed toward commercial photographers who were working.
Frankly, photo geeks look like geeks carrying big gear... I prefer less geeky equipment when I can get away with it... small mechanical rangefinders etc... (when someone even notices my Retina IIa or similar they usually just smile and say something like, "wow! cool camera!" and that is it.)
mongoose777 wrote:
This post is silly!
If you are a professional, then it makes no difference.
I guess I'm used to shooting most weekends for either HS or college sports.
I never stopped and worried about it because I know I'm highly confident in my abilities. Who cares what they think! At least you'll get the shots while they hope they can get them.
I meant in general, do people feel threatened being alone with thousands of $ of gears? 
