"Frank Pittel" wrote in message
...
One4All wrote:

: I assume I'm talking to LF photographers who are shooting, and will
: continue to shoot (no pun), in national parks. What do you do,
: security-wise, to go on a shoot in a national park, beyond the
: precautions I've already stated: Leave car windows rolled up, lock the
: car, & keep objects of value out of sight. When you go out there,
: alone, with few or not any people around, what is your attitude,
: security-wise? Has your attitude changed in the past few years, whether
: being more apprehensive, or less apprehensive? Are you confident in
: park enforcement? Or, am I just paranoiac?

: Like I've said, I'm going to photograph in these parks & probably
: nothing will happen, but I'm going to be alert, anyway.

I grew up in Chicago. All the above precautions are instinctive to me.

I just happen to think that the aforesaid precautions are just plain common
sense wherever you are, whatever you shoot with. Look at it this
way...chances are there are many other cars in the immediate locale of
yours. Why do the thieves decide to break into your vehicle? Is there
something about your vehicle that makes it more enticing than the one over
there? In the broad risk/reward spectrum, what about your unattended - even
for the briefest moment - vehicle makes it worthwhile to risk breaking into
it rather than the vehicle next to it? Or the one next to that one? Or is
it really just plain random chance? Do you really think the thieves are
going "Eenie, minnie, miney, mo..."?

Couple of other precautions in the same vein...while it is a good idea to
hide valuables - even unobstrusively under jackets, coats, sleeping bags,
etc - make sure that things look carelessly tossed about and not obviously
hiding something. And if you decide to place something in your trunk,
don't do it at your destination where everyone can observe and wait until
you walk off. Instead, place it in your trunk before you drive off to your
destination...when you don't care who sees what you do.

Face it...park enforcement is 100% effective as a deterrent only if you park
in front of/next to a ranger and he/she doesn't wander off while you are
absent from your vehicle. If someone really wants to break into your
unattended car, he will. No two ways about that. The best - and just about
only - deterrent is to blend in and not have your vehicle stick out as a
potential/valuable target. The alternative (as I was advised to do when
street parking overnight in Paris many moons ago) is to leave your car
completely - completely - empty with doors and trunks unlocked...including
glove compartment.