Hey Gabe,

I think we can probably swap a few horror stories (or at least close calls), as my years shooting for New Times took me to "fun spots" such as Overtown, Liberty City, and Carol City on occasion. Oh, yes, did I mention at night?

The two things you said that I instantly related to are the non-descript camera bag and the knife. Yep, I had them too. Also pepper spray. I'll tell you, I sure wish I had had a cell phone back in those days. It might not have been ironclad protection, but it would have made me FEEL a lot safer...

One other thing I always carried when I worked bad areas was a cheap point & shoot camera that I held when I was walking around. More than once some "young men" came up to me asking if my camera was expensive. I would show them the p&s and simply say, "This piece of junk? Are you kidding? I can't afford good camera gear!". And that usually did the trick.

BTW, I also offered to take their picture. You'd be surprised how often a gesture that simple diffuses a situation. I think that's a universal thing (people wanting their picture in the paper), and obviously if they take my camera, there is no way I can put their picture in the paper. All I know is it's worked more than once.

As for defending my gear, that's really hard to say. Unlike a loved one, my equipment is all replacable. And insured. And while I might be furious later, I don't think I would instinctively defend camera equipment. Not unless it was some punk I know I could take.

In fact, the only thing that I would struggle not to lose (or feel bad about losing) would be the pictures I shot.

I actually was mugged once while shooting in Rego Park (Queens, NYC). I was a dumb collge kid back then who (believe it or not) rode the subway with my SLR around my neck. Well, some kids followed me off the train, and in broad daylight on the street knocked me down and took my stuff.

I remember at the time yelling at them as they ran away, "PLEASE! Just leave me the film!", meaning the roll in the camera that I had just shot in Manhattan.

That pretty much sums up how I still feel...

Quote Originally Posted by Gabe
A guy at work started talking about getting mugged, and not fighting back. He said if he ever got mugged, he would just give up everything readily and be glad to walk away with his life. I said I'd usually do the same (my wallet's never worth much anyway, lol), unless I had the camera gear. Maybe, in theory, I'd think that I would let it go, but I know instinct would take over and I'd start fighting.

How do I know? Several years ago, I was shooting a late-night gig in a hole-in-the-wall dive in a nasty area - I had to park in the dirt, in the dark, across the street. Back then, I still had the steal-me bag - an emerald green Canon jobbie - and as I'm walking back to the car, some guy comes out of nowhere and starts asking for money. I always have a knife on me (it's a Miami thing). On this night I had one with a fixed blade, in its sheath, and it wouldn't fit anywhere but the back of my jeans. I couldn't sit down in the car with it on like that, so I started to take it out...

That's when the guy, now following me, says, "Oh I don't care that you got a knife..."

So I pulled it out all the way, stopped and turned to him. I put my arm around his shoulders - right around his neck - and had the knife ready in my other hand. I told him, in nothing short of a friendly way, that I had no intention of hurting him, as long as he didn't get stupid, and I had no money on me anyway. At this point I still had the camera bag on me. He realized he had let himself get into a very bad situation, and walked the hell away. I could have stabbed him numerous times before anyone could have come to help, and he knew it.

And I would have done it, too .. without a moment's thought. The gear and my bike are the only lifeless things I'd hurt someone over, and I'd do it instinctively. And I'm not really a violent person...
What would you guys have done, or would do in a similar situation, if you had $1000+ of camera gear on you at the time?

(For the record, my newspaper sends me to similar areas all the time, but I now carry a very nondescript satchel-type bag and no one has ever bothered me at all.)