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therock
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p.2 #1 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

I had a bad one the other day. Posted it here.... http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/642770/0#5710370 .

May 09, 2008 at 01:37 AM

stanj
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p.2 #2 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

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.

In that moment I was actually pretty happy about my gear, as my 1Ds2 with L-bracket would have done some good damage to them if needed...

This image is copyrighted by the owner

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Edited on May 09, 2008 at 01:52 AM

May 09, 2008 at 01:50 AM

sivrajbm
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p.2 #3 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

I'm ok with it, people usually come up with something amusing to say.

May 09, 2008 at 02:36 AM

Jonathan Knight
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p.2 #4 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

chez wrote:
I think subconsciously, people who say they don't like the extra attention, really enjoy it.

No, actually I don't like the extra attention.

May 09, 2008 at 02:49 AM

jebrown
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p.2 #5 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

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

May 09, 2008 at 02:50 AM

Neill
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p.2 #6 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

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!

Neill

May 09, 2008 at 02:56 AM

Daniel K
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p.2 #7 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

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?

May 09, 2008 at 03:04 AM

jaems
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p.2 #8 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

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?

May 09, 2008 at 03:09 AM

Jonathan Knight
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p.2 #9 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

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.

May 09, 2008 at 03:13 AM

stanj
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p.2 #10 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

jaems wrote:
Do you guys encounter this behavior as much as I do? How do you handle it?

Yes. When a white lens is in use, it's almost a guarantee. I usually say "enough" and they get the hint.

May 09, 2008 at 03:23 AM

timbop
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p.2 #11 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

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.

This image is copyrighted by the owner

This image is copyrighted by the owner

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.

May 09, 2008 at 03:27 AM

mongoose777
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p.2 #12 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

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.

May 09, 2008 at 03:34 AM

RobertLynn
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p.2 #13 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

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.

May 09, 2008 at 04:25 AM

RobertLynn
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p.2 #14 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

timbop wrote:
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.

This image is copyrighted by the owner

This image is copyrighted by the owner

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.

May 09, 2008 at 04:26 AM

mh2000
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p.2 #15 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

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.

May 09, 2008 at 04:39 AM

Gary Petersen
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p.2 #16 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

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?

I tell them it's a cheap piece of junk that was on sale at Best Buy. They seem to lose interest then.

May 09, 2008 at 04:42 AM

malice4you
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p.2 #17 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

I generally don't mind, sure there are annoying questions fairly often, but some people are genuinely interested and I like to talk shop with them. I've been told about wildlife or interesting shots that I'd have never known about without talking to people. If I'm shooting and someone comes up to me, I'll continue what I was doing and answer while still shooting.

I'm regularly asked what my gear costs, can you see the moon with that, who I'm working for, how many megapixels or how much zoom, and the slew of similar questions many of us probably get. I try to come up with creative answers if possible.

As for worrying about theft, I can only remember one night where I was in a parking lot unpacking gear where I noticed someone in a shadow watching me. I kept an eye on him, and when he started walking toward me, I kept packing my gear with one hand, the other deployed a Spyderco out of sight. My other hand went for a monopod which is always kept in the car. Guy walked past me, not too close nor too far, paid me no further attention, but his body language and how he kept himself in the dark while watching me had me on edge.

When I'm in an area where I feel that there's higher-than-average risk to my gear, I will bring a monopod, tape over the identifying marks, get a flashlight out in my hand, have my hand on a Spyderco ready to deply it quickly, or go with a friend. It all depends on what level of paranoia I've got about the area.

May 09, 2008 at 05:06 AM

wkhc168
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p.2 #18 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

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?

One time when on vacation in London with my wife, one guy pointed at my camera and asked me how much I paid for it "in front of my wife"

There was no way I was going to tell the truth! Not unless I wanted to spoil the rest of the vacation after my wife found out how much I spent on it

)

May 09, 2008 at 05:21 AM

mongoose777
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p.2 #19 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

If someone ever tries to get my gear, I would simply whack them on the head with my monopod without hesitation. My gear is what I make a living with and cannot afford to loose it to some thug.

May 09, 2008 at 05:22 AM

Photon
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p.2 #20 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

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.

"Hey, can you see Venus with that?"

May 09, 2008 at 05:39 AM

yauyi
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p.2 #21 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

no, i do not like attention and it's annoying to have bunch of people stared at my camera while I was trying to take the shot, kinda made me look out of place....

Edited by yauyi on May 09, 2008 at 06:16 AM GMT

Edited on May 09, 2008 at 06:16 AM

May 09, 2008 at 06:14 AM

rhorta
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p.2 #22 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

Unfortunately I hate drawing attention to my gear, hence I use my limited number of white lenses less often than I was hoping to. Up to 200mm I don't have to though.

One other reason why I like the 5D.
Yes, it would be nice to have some of the superior 1Dxxx features, but not the 1Dxxx body.

20D and 50/1.4 often substitute as the "inconspicious" combo, with the 100/2.8 macro as a longer version. Could put on the 35/1.4 or 17-40/4 (or any other black L lens), but that already seems to start drawing more "red stripe" attention, which negates the the "inconspicious" part

OTOH, you use what you have to...

Edited on May 09, 2008 at 06:19 AM

May 09, 2008 at 06:15 AM

Daniel K
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p.2 #23 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

malice4you wrote:
I generally don't mind, sure there are annoying questions fairly often, but some people are genuinely interested and I like to talk shop with them. I've been told about wildlife or interesting shots that I'd have never known about without talking to people. If I'm shooting and someone comes up to me, I'll continue what I was doing and answer while still shooting.

I'm regularly asked what my gear costs, can you see the moon with that, who I'm working for, how many megapixels or how much zoom, and the slew of similar questions many of us probably get. I try to come up with creative answers if possible.

As for worrying about theft, I can only remember one night where I was in a parking lot unpacking gear where I noticed someone in a shadow watching me. I kept an eye on him, and when he started walking toward me, I kept packing my gear with one hand, the other deployed a Spyderco out of sight. My other hand went for a monopod which is always kept in the car. Guy walked past me, not too close nor too far, paid me no further attention, but his body language and how he kept himself in the dark while watching me had me on edge.

When I'm in an area where I feel that there's higher-than-average risk to my gear, I will bring a monopod, tape over the identifying marks, get a flashlight out in my hand, have my hand on a Spyderco ready to deply it quickly, or go with a friend. It all depends on what level of paranoia I've got about the area.

My good friend who is a long time photographer (pro, mostly weddings) and is also a martial fighter (there's martial arts for display and practice, then there's martial fighting that teaches the actual application of the styles) that I shoot and spar with was telling me about his gig in New York. During a break in the shoot (with about $20,000 of gear around) a rather big thug walking by brings out a knife when the rest of the crew were slightly away and distracted, and demanded him to hand over the gear. My friend Steve puts his arms up and backs away saying something like "please don't hurt me!" and back behind a mailbox, the thug reaches over the mailbox and Steve uses the mailbox to snaps this guys arm! Takes his butterfly knife (which he fortunately knew how to use with all that fancy stuff they do) and turns it back on the thug who freaks out and runs away! everyone comes back not knowing what just happened and they continue the shoot as if the event never happened!

May 09, 2008 at 07:48 AM

Fred Rook
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p.2 #24 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

The attention can sometimes work to your advantage.
When travelling I notice locals often object when shot with P&S style camera's. But when you use a dslr with a large diameter lens (say 24-70) people often become more interested and approachable, making it a lot easier to get into contact and collect nice portraits from cooperating subjects.
Probably also has a lot to do with the way you handle the interaction, but larger set-ups are definetly big plus in these cases.

May 09, 2008 at 09:48 AM

Nathan Hobbs
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p.2 #25 · Do you enjoy or hate the attention?

Being a Sports photographer who is just starting out shooting little league games for profit, I love ALLLLlllll the attention I can get regarding my equipment.

May 09, 2008 at 04:31 PM


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