Photographer's Nightmare Robbery

digigal

Traveling the world one step at a time.
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Aug 26, 2014
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Rampant robbery now the norm in SF so be prepared if you plan on visiting the 'City by the Bay" Also make sure to download the app for your iPhone that updates where all the human feces are on the street so you can avoid stepping in it. SF used to be such a nice place to visit. Sad.
 
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SteveC

R5
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Sep 3, 2019
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Rampant robbery now the norm in SF so be prepared if you plan on visiting the 'City by the Bay" Also make sure to download the app for your iPhone that updates where all the human feces are on the street so you can avoid stepping in it. SF used to be such a nice place to visit. Sad.

Not a place for the R5, that's for sure. On my last trip (which wasn't to SF, but another hazardous location) I "settled" for my M6-II and it did the job quite well. Were there some shots that might have gone better with the R5? Undoubtedly. But it was a 95% solution.
 
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YuengLinger

Print the ones you love.
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Dec 20, 2012
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Not that it makes any real difference, we all have to be careful every time we step out the door, but I wonder if this case will ever be solved. Was Palladino targeted because of gear? Was it random, just thugs seeing a camera and acting? Was it a robbery masking a grudge attack? The story doesn't say clearly whether the photographer struggled or balked, or just got knocked down to fast to react.

This type of attack is nothing new. Back in the 70's my grandmother's best friend, a lovely woman named Pearl, was just pushing her shopping cart out of the grocery store. She had her purse over her shoulder, and some thugs drove by and grabbed it from the passenger window of their car. She never had a chance to comply. She was dragged about 20 yards through the parking lot as the car sped away. She died. The case was not solved.

I'm more careful now. It's just too hard to fully concentrate on street and urban landscapes. I like having a partner, just somebody to be alert while I'm composing, and then I do the same for them. Even on trails I'm wary. Too many people have been pressured too much financially to disregard anybody anywhere, in my opinion.
 
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Jan 29, 2011
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Scary stuff, if I visit the USA again I'll be sure to be extra careful. We don't even lock our doors when we go out here, it is is mad to think of a place where thief happens to an old man like that and they'll likely get away with it. Though, given the history, my cynical side suspects it is a planed thing.
The USA is a big place, some areas are incredibly safe where people don't lock their doors and others are incredibly dangerous, just like many other parts of the world.

As it is such a high profile case I'd expect the assailant to be found, and I think your cynical side has had too much exercise. Mugging is almost always opportunistic and not carried out by criminal masterminds.
 
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SteveC

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Sep 3, 2019
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Looks like the chap died but he managed to nab photos of his attackers.

That is dedication on the level of the man who photographed Mount St. Helens disintegrating. (He knew he wasn't going to live, but took photos and then put his camera in his briefcase.)

OK, very dark, even black, humor aside, this is a sad thing and my condolences to his family and friends.


The USA is a big place, some areas are incredibly safe where people don't lock their doors and others are incredibly dangerous, just like many other parts of the world.

As it is such a high profile case I'd expect the assailant to be found, and I think your cynical side has had too much exercise. Mugging is almost always opportunistic and not carried out by criminal masterminds.

If one were to cut out our inner cities, the US would have a crime rate similar to all those low-crime countries in Europe. So, by just staying out of those areas, a visitor can basically be as safe as they'd be anywhere. The bad news is that some of the places worth seeing are very close to those bad areas.
 
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