It’s summer and the time most people make their annual vacation. It is a period of relaxation, travelling and new experiences. Most document their trips to foreign countries (or within their country) in photos and those with even more passion see travel photography as one of the more important ingredients to their travels.
But the joy can be gone fast if your camera gets stolen. Not only is a valuable piece of equipment lost, most probably you also loose the invaluable pictures taken and the possibility to take further photographs, not to speak of the insecure feeling and bad mood after being robbed or pick pocketed.
To avoid this situation I apply some simple rules of behaviour and take precautions. Until now, following these, I haven’t lost anything. I would like to share them here with you and encourage you to add your tips, too. The tips are, of cause, not only applicable when travelling, I follow them when in known territories, too. But during travels the photographer, as a tourist, a more worthwhile target for criminals. Furthermore he/she is distracted more than at home and should be so. After all, it is the travel you should concentrate on and the unknown scenes you sees.
Of course not all of the tips have to be followed and they will not guarantee absolute safety. But to have an enjoyable photo trip, some caution seems reasonable.
Use Cameras Not Worth Stealing.
Ok, this might not be the most useful tip for those that do not rank among the camera collectors. But if you have to decide which camera to take and you don’t see a reason to chose the more valuable one, go with the cheaper. I mostly use my Canon SLR, an EOS 50E I got used from eBay for ~40 Euro. It’s worth is definitely not comparable to any digital SLRs, and even much cheaper than the last generation of film SLRs. Moreover, the body has shiny silver parts which clearly mark is an old camera. I do not know of any modern DSLR in silver.
Still, the lenses are another thing. As they determine the image quality I take my better ones. They can be worth several hundred Euro, even used, giving a reason for further security measures.
Hide the Obvious
Obvious signs of photo equipment and well known brand names might attract criminals, so you might want to hide them. There always are the guys that only buy expensive equipment to show of. We can’t help them. Personally, I prefer to use good equipment to produce nice photos that people like, not use equipment people like, maybe that much that they rob me.
I carry my equipment in a photo backpack by Jack Wolfskin, the ACS Photopack 24. It is a nice backpack, easy to carry around and it provides enough space for my small collection of prime lenses. But is has a significant drawback: There is “Jack Wolfskin – ACS PHOTOPACK 24” written in bright yellow letters on the back: they could have put a “STEAL ME!” sign next to it.
I solved this problem by putting black tape above the writing and at on or two other random positions. This not only hides the otherwise obvious content of the backpack, it also gives it a battered look that does not fit with the hundreds of euro worth in the inside. (You might also try to put some dirt on your bag, but until now I have not bee that desperate. 
) The tape can also cover parts of the camera, hiding brand names or typical features. Combined with simple, non expensive cloth
es I hope this makes me a less attractive target for thieves.
Bags That Stay With You
Speaking of backpacks, I consider them the best way to carry equipment consisting of more than one body-lens combination. It frees both hands and is more fixed to you than a bag with only one strap. The latter one can easily be cut or ripped off your shoulder, a backpack will stay with you. It will also give more mobility and non-photography stuff like water, clothes and maps can be stuffed into it, too.
The drawback is that your equipment is always behind you, out of sight. When in a crowded area where people are pushing and bumping into you from all sides it is easy for a thief to open and empty the pockets. To avoid this, one aspect is to be extra-watchful in areas like subways or in front of attractions many tourists visit. Look around frequently, keep moving or at least turn from time to time so you feel if someone’s hand mysteriously got lost in one of your pockets.
Another means to make sure pockets stay closed is to ‘lock’ them somehow. I’m not talking about a huge padlock, that might draw more attention than necessary. I use a safety pin to fix the two zipper sliders of the most important compartments together. A safety pin will not draw attention as no one will realize it is there to lock the zipper. Attaching something to it will increase the ragged look we are aiming for, but please don’t attach typical souvenirs. You can open the safety pin easily without a key (that might get lost) but it still needs some fumble around. As a word of caution: I regularity prick my thumb with the safety pin.
If your bag allows it, you might also run the pin through the sliders of two adjacent zippers, further increasing the difficulty to open them unnoticed.
Don’t Travel Alone
You do not have eyes in your back, but when travelling with others you can easily look for each other. In particular when taking a shot you look through the viewfinder and concentrate on your subject, framing and composition. You do not necessarily realize what is going on around you. It is comforting to know one of your companions is in your back.
When accessing your bag to change the lens, film, filter, memory card or whatever, a second person should scan the surrounding and step in the way of approaching people that might otherwise grab something from the bag (or the whole thing) and run away. I made the experience that whenever I stop and open my backpack, I become an even more attractive target for all kinds of unpleasant guys, be it beggars, street vendors or potential thieves. With your backpack lying open on the floor you cannot simply turn and go away. It is good to know there is a reliable friend who warns you if someone heads into your direction. This gives you time to stow away your stuff.
Don’t Give It Out of Your Hands
Never ever give your camera to strangers to let them take a picture of you (and your companions). Instead, use a wide angle lens and have a long arm, that will work in most of the cases. Especially with digital cameras where you can instantly check whether everything is in frame or not.
During my last stay in Paris I noticed another possibility. I walked around with a big, pro-looking camera and was approached several times by people with simple point and shoot digital cameras asking me to take their pictures. I think that might have two advantages for them: first, the guy with the bigger camera obviously does not need to steal their little one, and second, he will probably know how to take a good picture. Still, I would not advise this behaviour. maybe thieves start walking around with expensive equipment now, waiting to be offered other’s cameras 
.
Rest Frequently and Safely
Speaking of securing stuff: You will want to rest frequently, especially as it is your vacation, not a job, right? Resting also increases safety because, as you are more relaxed, you can be more attentive and have faster reactions.
When sitting down I take my bag besides me or between my feet, where I have it in sight, and make sure to have at least one strap slung around an arm or leg. This way nobody can grab it and run away and I would be aware of any person trying to open it.
Camera Strap
I also use a strap attached to the camera which I wear either around my neck (which I don’t prefer because a SLR becomes quite heavy after some time) or wrapped around my right wrist several times, holding the body in my hand. That way the camera is ready all the time, it can not be snatched out of my hand and, as it is rather big, I can even swing it. That once came in handy when some proselytizing Christians plagued me. The were intimidated when I waved my heavy SLR body including battery pack about. Never got rid of them that fast before ;-).
The optimum strap will probably not have the camera brand name written in huge letters across it. I must admit I’m lacking in that respect, but at least my strap is an old one, not the new “Canon EOS Digital whatever” ones.
Using a strap also avoids dropping the camera, but check whether it is really fixed. A damaged camera is of little more use than a stolen one. Plus: You will probably have to blame yourself for it.
Don’t Be Distracted
Don’t be afraid of becoming rude if someone does not accept that you want to be left alone. Everywhere on the world tourists are beleaguered by all kind of folks, including street vendors, beggars or unidentified shady characters. Of cause, as a tourist, one should be friendly. But as everything, there are limits if you become overly annoyed. Declare that you are not interested, maybe give your face a unfriendly expression and move on. When you are in a place with many other tourists, sooner or later they will stop following you and try their luck with them.
Don’t react to obvious distractions too easily, too. Most people look if two persons shout at each other on the street or someone drops a glass. I use to watch the watchers then, which I find more interesting and I might be more aware if the event was caused by a thieves’ accomplice.
And finally, always be vigilant but not afraid or over-sensitive. It is most important to enjoy your trip.
Do you have some tips to add? I’d be happy to include them: write a comment or an post on your own blog with a trackback to this article. I will then collect all your tips and present them in another post, linking back to your blog.
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