Mardi Gras - Cover up camera labels?

Mudman

Mudman

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I'm going to be in New Orleans, and it'll coincide with Mardi Gras lucky enough. I'm planning on bring my d300 and my m6, and I'm wondering if I should get some gaffers tape to cover up the labels on the lenses and bodies. Am I being paranoid? Just curious of others experiences in the city. I'm a country boy.

Thanks,
Eric
 
Join the Leica Users Group. Several members live in/visit often New Orleans and also partake of Mardi Gras. Ask Chris Williams and Sonny Carter what they do. Have fun.
 
A waste of time since a camera thief will know what you have in spit of the tape..

If he's a grab and run thief it won't matter either..
 
I bring my M2 to Mardi Gras every year, never greeked it once. Last year I did drop it though, had to get a new beamsplitter and what not. I can't imagine anyone trying to steal your gear, but I guess it depends on if you're just watching the parades (and where) or if you're doing the whole terrible french quarter thing
 
Mudman said:
I'm going to be in New Orleans, and it'll coincide with Mardi Gras lucky enough. I'm planning on bring my d300 and my m6, and I'm wondering if I should get some gaffers tape to cover up the labels on the lenses and bodies. Am I being paranoid? Just curious of others experiences in the city. I'm a country boy.

Thanks,
Eric
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I would not worry about, I don't think I've ever covered up my gear with tape down here. It's NOLA, everyone is used to cameras down here.

What I would recommend is to not carry a ton of gear, it's pointless since you're bound to do allot of walking and you won't want the extra weight.

Look us up when you get down here, we usually have a group get together down in the Quarter.

Chris Williams

www.zoeicaimages.net
zoeica@mac.com
 
Carry a speed graphic.

As a weapon. ;)

The plus side is that you can take a shot of the attempted thief after wards.

-----------

Real world?

Don't worry about it. You won't be able to stop the ones who really want your camera unless you're stupid enough to be willing to die for it. There is no camera in this world worth your life.

Period.

End of story.
 
I visit New Orleans often, as I live in Baton Rouge. I have been there in broad daylight, and in the worse part of towns... No problems at all... as far as being in the French Quarter... be careful as it will be packed for Mardi Gras, you could get bumped around so maybe keep the strap around your neck... and as far as thieves... there will be many others with their equipment out, and I have never noticed any tape on dslrs or leicas.

Just have fun and be safe, and you should be fine.
 
emraphoto said:
that is a foolhardy misconception. i have spent a LOT of time with boosters and i assure you this is not even remotely on target. often it is a matter of great pride to be able to disseminate between what's what.
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Could you explain what you mean by "disseminate"? Did you mean "differentiate" or "discern" or "distinguish" or "tell apart one from the other"?

I particularly don't believe that thieves are bright. They're thieves, they steal, they grab things that aren't secure. What type of intellect is necessary for this task? A minimal one.

I also don't believe there's anything like a "camera thief." Thieves steal, and they'll steal anything, from a Leica to a Lomo or a Diana or a Vivitar. To them, a camera is just an item that may yield a good return when fenced. Some brands may pay better than others, but to be quite honest, I think it's a myth that a Nikon, Canon or Leica will bring them more cash than, say, a Minolta or some other brand.

In short, take your cameras with, don't cover them, no traffic accidents have been attributed to the Leica red dot or the yellow lettering of the Nikon straps. Just be cautious, keep your gear close to you and have a good time.
 
SolaresLarrave said:
I particularly don't believe that thieves are bright. They're thieves, they steal, they grab things that aren't secure. What type of intellect is necessary for this task? A minimal one.

I also don't believe there's anything like a "camera thief." Thieves steal, and they'll steal anything, from a Leica to a Lomo or a Diana or a Vivitar. To them, a camera is just an item that may yield a good return when fenced.
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Exactly my feelings. Are they going to say, "Nah, just an FSU copy of a IIIa?" Or "I don't think Konica Hexars are worth stealing?" MAYBE not a plastic toy like a Holga, but I'd keep an equal eye on both a Holga and an M9 (and not tape over either of them).

And on a related topic, from http://www.rogerandfrances.com/short/z short schrift archive.html, March 10, 2010

Surprisingly many photographers reckon that taping over the logos on their cameras makes them less obtrusive. It is hard to see how. If anything, it must make them more obtrusive, quite apart from making the camera less pleasant to handle and (unless you can find exactly the right sort of tape) forcing you to deal with the unsavoury goo that exudes from the edges of the vast majority of tapes.

After all, very few people pay that much attention to the appearance of a camera, even when it's being pointed at them. Ninety-nine out of a hundred won't notice either way: a camera is a camera is a camera, regardless of what it does or doesn't have written on it. The hundredth will look at the camera; notice the tape; and wonder why on earth it's there. This is what I mean by its being more obtrusive than an untaped camera. Is there something wrong with the camera, so that it needs to be taped together? Is the photographer trying to hide something, and if so, what? Is he ashamed of having an inferior camera? Or is he just a prat?


Cheers,

R.
 
SolaresLarrave said:
I particularly don't believe that thieves are bright. They're thieves, they steal, they grab things that aren't secure. What type of intellect is necessary for this task? A minimal one.
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What about us social engineers? I steal things and I go through great lengths to ensure I don't get caught. I spend more time researching and planning then actually carrying out the act. To say I am not bright, well that is just foolish.
Same goes for hackers. They take things that are not secure. But some of the greatest hackers are some of the smartest people. Jail-breaking phones and systems and etc...

PS: Since we are on the subject of de-generalization, a portion of people who get things stolen are because they aren't being bright.
 
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As a veteran of 23 New Orleans Mardi Gras, I'd be more concerned about being able to find my car after a parade than about my camera. Do you have any idea how many people will be packed onto the parade routes? Especially if you end up on St. Charles Ave or Canal St. A little P&S digi w/ a good flash would be a better idea. There's a lot of jostling and bumping out there. And whatever you do, if you're interested in a trinket on the street, don't bend over to pick it up! Step on it, and THEN reach down and, hopefully, pick it up. I've had people try to grab my ankle and pull my foot off the beads so they could grab them anyway, but at least this way you don't get your hand stomped. Make sure you get off the streets when the cops come and tell everyone it's over, or you'll be out there sweeping the streets during the day and spending the nights in jail for a while. That's their way of getting free clean up help. They round up the stragglers and drunks very quickly. Dress warm, it's really cold w/ the wind coming off the river.

Make sure you get a roast beef po boy and Barq's at Johnny's in the quarter (the bread is all wrong, but the sandwich itself is old school delicious), and the gumbo and bread pudding at Ajax Seafood are as good as anywhere in town, which means better than anyplace on earth.
 
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i'd be a lot more worried about someone barfing on or spilling a hurricane on my camera in those crowds.
i hate crowds, and i don't care for new orleans after nightfall, but if i were to shoot night-time parades, i'd go minimalist with a simple point-and-shoot film/flash cam stuffed with tri-x ...
 
I wouldn't worry about it. There will be lots of cameras out there. Use common sense, be aware of your surroundings. If someone wants to steal your camera they won't care about the brand per se, they want to see how aware you are of your surroundings...
 
fair enough, thanks for the thoughts folks. For the Mardi Gras festival itself, I'm not sure how many photos I'll take to be honest. More intersted in the city for the rest of the time I'm there. Thanks for the tips on clothing. I was curious what's like down there. Hit -30 F here in upstate NY the other day.
 
PKR said:
Thieves.. Bright or not: A number of years ago I lost a number of items from my studio. I had just begun in business and didn’t have money for camera insurance or an alarm system at the time. No cameras were taken, only some long lenses and a spot meter. Many expensive pieces of camera gear were left untouched. The thief had a key to the studio door. My studio was within a large building. I was one of 3 occupants. My landlord had keys to my studio in their safe.

One of my landlord’s employees got into the safe, and with the keys to my studio, on a Sunday afternoon, entered the main building, and then my studio. He made away with the photo gear. The Pawn Shop Detail of the SFPD recovered one of the lenses and was able to trace it back to the thief, my landlord’s employee. The employee had been seen entering the building on the day of the theft. He worked for my landlord as an electronics technician, repairing medical equipment. He wasn’t prosecuted for the crime, as he was the son of a US Senator, and his father used his office to have him released.

One of my passed assistants, on one of his first ventures into self-employment landed a job doing some photos for a large (very well known name) engineering company in San Francisco. He was working in a large room full of engineers. He had his equipment, Leica gear, in a bag along with lighting and tripod Etc. He was across this large room taking photos, and returned to his gear to find that several lenses were missing from his camera bag. They were never recovered.

In the above cases, I don’t think the thieves were stupid. If I hadn’t had a friend at SFPD, the Pawn Shop Detail, would have let my theft sit in a stack with the others done on that day. Some thieves are smart. In both cases, no one went to jail.
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But how much difference would it have made if the labels had been taped over?

Cheers,

R.
 
Luna said:
What about us social engineers? I steal things and I go through great lengths to ensure I don't get caught. I spend more time researching and planning then actually carrying out the act. To say I am not bright, well that is just foolish.
Same goes for hackers. They take things that are not secure. But some of the greatest hackers are some of the smartest people. Jail-breaking phones and systems and etc...

PS: Since we are on the subject of de-generalization, a portion of people who get things stolen are because they aren't being bright.
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Whoa... what brought that out?

Thieves are not very bright, unless it's to figure out ways to steal other people's stuff. And that's not intellectual power; that's greed. As for those who get things stolen, they're usually known as victims.

Check out Roger's post above. We happen to agree. As long as the OP takes care of his equipment, he'll do fine. No need to "disguise" the gear.
 
Roger Hicks said:
But how much difference would it have made if the labels had been taped over?

Cheers,

R.
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Wicked, Roger... simply wicked.

I guess this anecdote proves that thieves are among the best and brightest... which still does not make them intellectual powerhouses to me.
 
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