Taping - do you do it? Show us!

Each to their own on this one. I'm afraid I really can't muster any sense of annoyance, disappointment or even kinship in anyone that does or doesn't - if you feel it helps in some way, fine. If not, yep, that's fine too.

I can think of plenty of photography related discussions that can, do and perhaps should get heated, attacked and defended vociferously...but whether you tape or don't, wow - time to pick them up and go do something less boring instead. :angel:
 
BillP said:
I have worn my lucky underpants and not got mugged so I can assure it was both needed and it worked.

🙄

Regards,

Bill
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i taped up a canon G10 (as the bloody thing lights up like a christmas tree) and shot inside the courthouse during the trials of some of Nigeria's very nasty former military leaders. didn't get caught and came out with the only images known to exist of the trials - worked in my humble opinion.

was stuck with a chrome m while driving south of N'Djamena photographing rebels (since the failed attack in 2008 they are on the run, defensive and trigger happy). taped it up as it was acting like a bloody mirror reflecting the sun in all different directions. didn't get shot - worked in my humble opinion.

taped up same canon G10 whilst photographing outside of the "major crimes unit" on Lagos island. all around it are lines of people who await news, any news, of their relatives. some have been there for months/years. a very scary place where you don't want to
"visit". the NPF have a shoot first ask questions later attitude. again the taping seemed both crucial and successful.

taped up the chrome M again while trying to get images of the NPF roadblocks in Warri (Niger Delta). they are out every day robbing the population of what little money they have. they are dangerous and operate with impunity. DID NOT get any successful images so maybe i will admit that in this particular case it didn't work.

my "lucky underwear" managed to come out of all situations unscathed (barely) so maybe they have a case as well.
 
"Taping the logos, for whatever reason , is just plain imbecil."

going to have to disagree with you there my friend. the very point that taping the cameras up in some of the instances i mentioned gave me the courage (whether blind or not) to shoot measure it a success for me. they were all very scary situations and i needed all the courage i could muster.
 
Roger Hicks said:
How's your Portuguese, Fred? 'Cos that's how it's spelled in Portuguese (Proenca is in Lisbon), and when you're typing in a second language and the word is almost identical, it's quite easy to make a tiny mistake.

Cheers,

R.
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Thank you Roger,

you are indeed right ; Portuguese is my first language and I did live in England for a few years - also the fact that I speak fluently Spanish, French, Italian and German, sometimes I do make some small spelling mistakes.

Easy to do.

Imbecil or Imbecile, I still dont get the tape over the logo thing...
 
Pablito said:
I can't agree with you, Simon. I think this is the most important issue of all.
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i think there is a separate issue and that is the frequent "if you don't tow the popular line then you must of course be an imbecile". often this is arrived at regardless of facts.

i do of course realize the nature of forums such as this however i will speak up when i feel as though i have been unfairly labeled by others.
 
Thanks very much for providing the requested evidence. I have to admit that I was assuming an unobtrusive black camera to begin with. Not carrying chrome cameras because they function like mirrors is of course the classic (and unanswerable) war correspondents' argument, and carrying Christmas trees is, as you say, an invitation to get shot at.

Fully though I understand and unreservedly though I accept your arguments in that post, I also can't help suspecting that your comment in a later post -- 'the courage (whether blind or not)' may have been quite important too. As a far more trivial example, I am quite acrophobic except when I have a camera in my hand.

In the words of that fine old Southern comedian, Brother Dave, "Ya gotta have faith, brother. Faith is what makes dogs chase cars, and old men chase young girls. Ain't a darn thing either of 'em could do if they caught 'em, but they think they can. That's where faith comes in to it."

Cheers,

R.

emraphoto said:
i taped up a canon G10 (as the bloody thing lights up like a christmas tree) and shot inside the courthouse during the trials of some of Nigeria's very nasty former military leaders. didn't get caught and came out with the only images known to exist of the trials - worked in my humble opinion.

was stuck with a chrome m while driving south of N'Djamena photographing rebels (since the failed attack in 2008 they are on the run, defensive and trigger happy). taped it up as it was acting like a bloody mirror reflecting the sun in all different directions. didn't get shot - worked in my humble opinion.

taped up same canon G10 whilst photographing outside of the "major crimes unit" on Lagos island. all around it are lines of people who await news, any news, of their relatives. some have been there for months/years. a very scary place where you don't want to
"visit". the NPF have a shoot first ask questions later attitude. again the taping seemed both crucial and successful.

taped up the chrome M again while trying to get images of the NPF roadblocks in Warri (Niger Delta). they are out every day robbing the population of what little money they have. they are dangerous and operate with impunity. DID NOT get any successful images so maybe i will admit that in this particular case it didn't work.

my "lucky underwear" managed to come out of all situations unscathed (barely) so maybe they have a case as well.
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leicaferari.jpg


😀
 
Indeed my friend. My lovely wife had insisted on my first M8 being chrome.

In all the situations mentioned it must be stressed that I was VERY scared. The tape might have only been a small bit of psychological help but it was a welcome bit of help none the less.
 
emraphoto said:
i taped up... [edited for brevity]

my "lucky underwear" managed to come out of all situations unscathed (barely) so maybe they have a case as well.
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Thanks for taking the time to explain - I may even rewrite some of my blog entry as a result!

What interests me in what you wrote is the psychological aspect to which you allude. If I may paraphrase, you taped for two reasons - firstly to detract attention from a camera that you felt would catch the eye by virtue of it's reflectivity - that is subjective, I suspect.

More significantly - and again, forgive me if I am misinterpreting - you FELT more confident and therefore more willing in a given "threatening" situation to use your cameras and get the shot. You are turning the act of taping into something talismanic for you, personally. It does not enhance the performance of your camera one jot or iota but it does "enhance" your performance by making you more confident that you will not be noticed.

Effectively, the tape is "lucky underwear" for you. Am I right?

Fascinating.

Regards,

Bill
 
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Taping your gear is very common in production work, that's why gaffers tape was invented. I tape any part that I think may come off or even tape down knobs so that they don't move to different settings if I need to. I also tape flaps down and memory card doors. I don't think I would do this if I were a collector but my gear does not stay pretty long so I tape it as a functional matter. I hope that does not make me an imbecillus. 😛
 
BillP said:
Thanks for taking the time to explain - I may even rewrite some of my blog entry as a result!

What interests me in what you wrote is the psychological aspect to which you allude. If I may paraphrase, you taped for two reasons - firstly to detract attention from a camera that you felt would catch the eye by virtue of it's reflectivity - that is subjective, I suspect.

More significantly - and again, forgive me if I am misinterpreting - you FELT more confident and therefore more willing in a given "threatening" situation to use your cameras and get the shot. You are turning the act of taping into something talismanic for you, personally. It does not enhance the performance of your camera one jot or iota but it does "enhance" your performance by making you more confident that you will not be noticed.

Effectively, the tape is "lucky underwear" for you. Am I right?

Fascinating.

Regards,

Bill
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there is a process of calming my nerves prior to going into situations that can be hazardous to my health. going over the gear can be a sort of "meditation". taping over reflective surfaces and lights.

in all the above mentioned scenarios the taping was (in my mind) a must. i don't believe working on the G10 with it's top deck landing strip (hey Canon... what's up with that?) would have been successful.

i have learnt the "black camera lesson" since but again the taping of the chrome was absolutely needed. the folks taking me where i needed to go were very concerned about getting fired upon and admittedly so was i.

so i guess what i am saying is it was both. in my opinion an ABSOLUTE necessity given the scenarios as well as a ritual to go through prior to calm my very jittery nerves.
 
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pachuco said:
Taping your gear is very common in production work, that's why gaffers tape was invented. I tape any part that I think may come off or even tape down knobs so that they don't move to different settings if I need to. I also tape flaps down and memory card doors. I don't think I would do this if I were a collector but my gear does not stay pretty long so I tape it as a functional matter. I hope that does not make me an imbecillus. 😛
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brilliant points. i have taped over usb, battery and memory card doors. i have taped over the rear buttons on M8s to prevent the LCD from coming on at "inconvenient" times. i currently have the exposure comp dial on a hexar rf taped as it is a little "loosy goosy" for me. i built up a dam ala Michael Kamber to prevent the M8 power dial from heading off on its own. i worked out my own weather sealing on an Mamiya 7 whilst out on commercial fishing boats.

all function.
 
"The point remains -- there is too much careless name calling on the RFF. No one needs to use terms even as mild as silly, unless it is very clear, that it is in jest."

i have to go with my friend Fred on this one.
 
jamato8 said:
I will be receiving my M9 soon and I travel and work in other countries where theft can be a real problem. Yes, mine will be taped. I will take a ugly Leica to no Leica.
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... Which 'other' country can theft be more of a 'real' problem than the country you already live in....?
 
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