Re: Security for photographic equipment

[Joe Portale <jportale@gci-net.com>]

Sandy,

90% of all snatch and grabs are directly related to the bad guy being able
to see the stuff. For years I drove a full sized Jeep Cherokee, had to give
it up (sniff) because it got way to old and costly to maintain. I found a
horizontal curtain at the auto accessories shop that mounted in the cargo
bay. When it was pulled open it neatly hid the stuff underneath. The best
part was the Jeeps interior was black and so was the curtain. So if a creep
was wandering through a parking lot, a casual glance would have made it seem
like he was looking at the floor of the cargo bay.

I know some guys that are avid hunters and shooters. They had a cage welded
up that fits in the rear of the SUV made from angle iron and expanded metal
to stow their rifles and other goodies. They rigged it so it bolts to the
floor of the truck and can be unbolted and removed when not needed.  I have
been contemplating building one for my Bronco. It is not that hard to build.
If you know how or have a friend that can weld, one of these can be knocked
out in an afternoon.

The other side, most thieves want something they could sell right away. I
would imagine an expensive 35mm outfit would be more tempting than you 16X20
view camera...a good deal easier to hide while running away also.  To
punctuate this, about four years ago our house was burglarized while we were
on a trip to Zion NP in Utah. The crook actually MOVED my Hasselblad and 5X7
cameras to take a old Nikkormat. The interesting thing was the thief placed
the cameras on a table next to the cabinet and didn't just toss them to the
floor. A thief with a conscious?

Joe Portale
Tucson, AZ

----- Original Message -----
From: "Sandy King" <sanking@clemson.edu>
To: <alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca>
Sent: Sunday, May 26, 2002 9:09 AM
Subject: Security for photographic equipment


> This question is for those who do a lot of traveling with
> photographic equipment, especially large cameras and film holder kept
> in big carrying cases. What do you do to secure the equipment in the
> car, van or SUV to prevent someone from just breaking the windows and
> walking away with it? I heard there was some kind of iron mesh
> available for this purpose but have been unable to locate a source.
>
>
> Sandy King
>
>
> --
>