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[OM] Italy: Camera/lens advice

Subject: [OM] Italy: Camera/lens advice
From: "Olaf Greve" <olaf_greve@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2001 09:07:37 -0000
Hi,

O.k., let's add a few more comments to this thread:

I wrote:

-Things may not always be as bad as is being suggested by the tour guides. The LP book about Peru e.g. has some 3 pages dedicated to warning you about just how slick Peruvian thieves are etc. Nonetheless, when over there, I used common sense (as well as some lessons learnt from when I got mugged in San Francisco), and didn't find the situation to be that bad at all. The same goes for Italy. Places like Rome have a lot of fame for theft, yet I've never found matters to be that bad.

To which Dirk replied:

Man, after reading all this theft stuff, hell if I'm ever going on a trip to Italy. I'll watch the video, thanks. I feel a heck of a lot safer in Wash, DC than I would anywhere in Italy, despite all the data about bad stuff happening in DC.

Well, this is _exactly_ the kind of feeling/fear I was trying to prevent by typing the above :) What I meant to say as a one-liner is: When traveling in places you don't know, be aware of the possibility of getting robbed, but DON'T let your concerns spoil your vacation.

<extensive comment mode on>
Seriously to drift "a bit": "Safety wise" let's compare some rough numbers/estimates: DC, AFAIK has a kill-rate of over 500 people a year (which I think is more than all of The Netherlands has on a yearly basis), no idea what this is like in Italy, but I do know that in some cities I went to (Caracas, Lima) this rate is substantially higher. For Caracas I think the number is something like 50-100 per weekend or so, nice eh? Yet I've never had a single problem over there regarding theft, nor in Lima where I lived (and in both cities I _did_ bring my Oly gear to some of the parts where people are likely to get their belongings stolen). Of course, much of the heavy crime takes place in the gettoes, which one should avoid at all costs. A thing which at times I don't like in the Americas is that when you go down one block too far, you can be in serious trouble. This is much less the case in Europe, so where can one be really safe? Simple answer: knowing the place is everything. Knowing which areas to avoid prevents a lot of trouble.

Generally spoken I find traveling in Italy peanuts compared to moving around in the metropoles of South America, yet a little bit of care should be taken. Bottomline: there are some simple tricks to avoid 990f the trouble one can get all too easily in when a bit of care is not taken. The pointers I gave in the other message may seem a bit scary, but I was just trying to give a rather complete "checklist" of what I typically do to avoid trouble. The only place in the world where I have been mugged (not a fun experience) was in San Francisco (USA, not Latin America), and thanks to the strong neck strap of my OM-40 I didn't lose that camera. This was an experience which made me very street-wise, and after it I became much more careful and used the strategy I explained in the other message. This may seem like an extreme list, but in reality it's just a small procedure one rapidly gets very handy at. Nowadays when I arrive at such a scene, I automatically perform that procedure and it's hardly any overhead at all: one just moves around in a slightly different way than a lot of the typical tourists do. So far, I've not gotten in any further trouble. Not in the subways of Paris and Madrid, nor in notorious parts of Lima/Caracas/Cuzco, nor in Amsterdam, nor in the USA. Almost all of it comes down to using common sense and a little bit of care. Since applying the above simple procedure, I've managed to travel to a great many places, and managed to get pictures of them as well without getting into trouble. In this way, one can fully enjoy the experience.
<extensive comment mode off>

Finally, a comment on a thing John Hays wrote:

I wouldn't take a tripod, either, nor\ a flash -- the tripod is advertising

I wouldn't necessarily agree with this...if you are traveling in the great cities of Europe and don't take a tripod for night photography you are missing a big part of the fun and truly beautiful photo opportunities.
[...]
Conspicuous? I suppose, with my satchel and tripod slung over my shoulder. But no one bothered me when I was out at 5 in the morning or 11 at night. And if your wife is with you, she could always watch your back;) So my vote is for your Olympus kit...and if you can manage it, a tripod, too!

Amen to all of the above!
These are actually some points I forgot to make in my previous message. Yes, a tripod is most handy for night shots, and indeed, it does help to have someone to watch your back when in a place you don't completely trust. This is actually another technique which I tend to use when I'm not 100ertain of certain people hanging around a scene I'd like to take pictures of. Also, a trick I like to use is to put my camera in a very worn, really cheapish looking, small camouflage back-pack. No one seems to expect anything of value to be present in that bag :) Finally, the "titanium look" of my 4Ti also always seems to trick people into thinking I'm using a $5 30 year old camera...;)))

Alright, I think enough has been written about the safety tips etc. Italy is one of my favourite countries for travelling, and it's extremely photogenic. Peter: enjoy your trip and don't be overly concerned about theft, really, I found it very easy to avoid trouble over there...

Cheers!
Olafo

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