I live and shoot in Manhattan and yes even on the subway. I'm
usually moving too fast for anyone to get near me; I make sure I'm
in control of the situation. I even shoot on trains coming in from
the Bronx. (I'm building a series of people sleeping on the
trains.) My D60 with the grip is so heavy that I guess it looks
intimidating because I've never been hassled. I
am aware that
someone
could grab it out of my hands; but by the same token, I
could hit them with it and probably do as much damage as with a
baseball bat. (When I go to sleep at night, I always hide my
camera before I go to sleep, although sometimes I'll leave my flash
and/or 50 1.4 out. Yes, everything is insured.)
Outside the subway, in general, my camera never ever leaves my
hands unless a wall is behind me, the camera in front of me on top
of a bag, and no one within 10 feet of me. That's my setup for
changing lenses, stooping down over the lowepro bag, eyes wide open.
Shooting thousands of pictures on the street last summer, I was
only hassled three times, and each time it was
very obvious that
it was because the people were illegal aliens and thought I was INS.
I do remember, however, reading a dpreview thread wherein someone
recounted a special type of thieving that can go on in European
trains at night: the thieves stick a hose under your door, send gas
into your compartment, that puts you to sleep, they get into your
cabin, and when you wake up in the morning your equipment is gone.
I think the thread mentioned German trains, maybe
French...somewhere mid-Europe. Not only did this story totally
unravel me, I still have not thought of a way to guard against this
possibility, short of sleeping with your own oxygen supply and
putting the equipment into a safe and handcuffing it to your leg.
--
Sandy Santra
http://www.pbase.com/santra
