As if we didn’t have enough on our minds when we’re photographing a wedding, now we have two individuals to be on the lookout for.
They are crashing weddings and receptions at various venues, posing as guests, targeting wedding photographers & videographers and STEALING OUR EQUIPMENT.
Most of us out there have been in the industry for several years & even several decades and acquiring the professional grade equipment to deliver the quality products that our couples deserve is very expensive. Expensive enough that you can usually buy a Mercedes Benz with the amount of money that we have invested in our gear. And some of the pieces of equipment have sentimental value to us. Myself for example, I inherited my mother’s gear when she passed on years ago. Now even though I don’t use this equipment as it is dated, but if I did & these guys stole it, I would be devasted personally as well because of the intrinsic value it has to me.
Below is a link to my colleagues over at Dahl that have photos of two men who have been going to weddings and stealing camera and video equipment around L. A., Riverside, Huntington Beach and other locations around the Southern California area. Please pass this along to other people you know who do video and photogaphy at weddings. They’ve hit several hotels in recent months. And, they recently hit the Marriott in Manhattan Beach. http://clients.dahlphotographers.com/camerathieves/marriotmanhattanbeach/
A photographer from a different studio recognized these guys and shot pix of them. Not sure why this photographer didn’t do anything about it; or maybe he did? They were confirmed as the same thieves by one of the photographers at Curtis Dahl’s studio that had his equipment taken by these guys last year.
To quote Hill Street Blues from the 80’s – “Let’s be careful out there.” Cheers!