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be aware of your surroundings....
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 8:08 pm
by Beiruty
http://www.wfaa.com/news/crime/Photogra ... 43775.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Police Advice:
DALLAS - "This camera is everything to me," said photographer Stephen Masker.
And it almost cost him his life.
Masker told Dallas police a group of three or four men riding in a van pulled up while he was shooting pictures of Uptown Station. At gun point, the men demanded his camera -- the one thing he was unwilling to give.
Re: be aware of your surroundings....
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 8:24 pm
by tomtexan
He should have been a CHL holder. He could have ended the threat. Now, with that said, would he have been justified? He did already have a gun pointed at him. Had he been a CHL holder and a gun already pointed at him, should he have tried to draw and defend. This is purely hypothetical of course.
Re: be aware of your surroundings....
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 9:01 pm
by rp_photo
I also love photography, have a similar camera, and am a CHL.
In addition, I work with human subjects, typically younger females, and we venture everywhere from downtown Houston to deep within the Barker reservoir. "Distressed" backgrounds, graffiti, underpasses, etc. are often desireable locations.
Usually I have my S&W 442 in my pocket and on occasion my Glock 26 IWB.
Here is what I do:
http://www.richardsfault.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: be aware of your surroundings....
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 9:04 pm
by RSJ
tomtexan wrote:He should have been a CHL holder. He could have ended the threat. Now, with that said, would he have been justified? He did already have a gun pointed at him. Had he been a CHL holder and a gun already pointed at him, should he have tried to draw and defend. This is purely hypothetical of course.
Not in my opinion, if I am at risk of my camera or my life, that camera is longgggggg gone. Not worth it
Re: be aware of your surroundings....
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 9:12 pm
by rp_photo
RSJ wrote:
Not in my opinion, if I am at risk of my camera or my life, that camera is longgggggg gone. Not worth it
They could have shot him even if he submitted, and he would have put hinself in greater danger by reducing the distance between him and the BG's in order to hand it over.
Re: be aware of your surroundings....
Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:25 am
by Jumping Frog
tomtexan wrote:He should have been a CHL holder. He could have ended the threat. Now, with that said, would he have been justified?
That should have been covered in your class. Aggravated robbery is presumed justified.
PC ยง9.32. DEADLY FORCE IN DEFENSE OF PERSON. (a) A
person is justified in using deadly force against another:
(1) if the actor would be justified in using force against the other
under Section 9.31; and
(2) when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the
deadly force is immediately necessary:
(A) to protect the actor against the other's use or attempted use
of unlawful deadly force; or
(B) to prevent the other's imminent commission of aggravated
kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery,
or aggravated robbery.
Now, whether or not he should have pulled? The answer to that is , "it depends . . . "

Re: be aware of your surroundings....
Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 7:42 am
by Purplehood
tomtexan wrote:He should have been a CHL holder. He could have ended the threat. Now, with that said, would he have been justified? He did already have a gun pointed at him. Had he been a CHL holder and a gun already pointed at him, should he have tried to draw and defend. This is purely hypothetical of course.
I agree with the other responses put forth, but the highlighted statement above, in and of itself is in my opinion justification to draw SHOULD YOU DECIDE IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO in the circumstances.
Re: be aware of your surroundings....
Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 8:14 am
by RSJ
rp_photo wrote:RSJ wrote:
Not in my opinion, if I am at risk of my camera or my life, that camera is longgggggg gone. Not worth it
They could have shot him even if he submitted, and he would have put hinself in greater danger by reducing the distance between him and the BG's in order to hand it over.
I have already lost a gunfight if they are pointed at me. I will try to cooperate to put the camera on the ground and slowly back up. I would only pull and fire in this situation if I thought they were going to shoot regardless. In this scenario the good guy went from normal to red-mode too soon. 21 feet rule!
Re: be aware of your surroundings....
Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 8:53 am
by rp_photo
It is very easy to lose SA during a photo shoot, as we tend to "zone out" / develops tunnel vision when concentrating on getting the images.
In addition, we see concentrate on the positive and artistic aspects of the location and tend to minimize the dangers.
Re: be aware of your surroundings....
Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 8:57 am
by rp_photo
I keep wondering if the BG's had an inoperative or replica gun and this affected their response.
One would also thik that the best way to deal with a threat in vehicles would to move back and upstream from the vehicle since pursuing in reverse would be more difficult.
Re: be aware of your surroundings....
Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 9:13 am
by sugar land dave
Lucky guy. Around here it's 50-50 they shoot first. As such, it's good to have a revolving head like actress Linda Blair.

Re: be aware of your surroundings....
Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 10:16 am
by clarionite
rp_photo wrote:It is very easy to lose SA during a photo shoot, as we tend to "zone out" / develops tunnel vision when concentrating on getting the images.
In addition, we see concentrate on the positive and artistic aspects of the location and tend to minimize the dangers.
There's no way to stay aware of your surroundings and do any kind of decent job on a photo shoot. over the past few years, I've assisted on a few shoots for a friend. I get asked to help because of my CHL as much as my photography skills. He's a CHL holder also and can't keep an eye on everything and run the shoot. I can help keep an eye, and help coordinate on a large shoot. I never shoot down town SA without another armed photographer with me at night.
Re: be aware of your surroundings....
Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 10:19 am
by clarionite
rp_photo wrote:I also love photography, have a similar camera, and am a CHL.
In addition, I work with human subjects, typically younger females, and we venture everywhere from downtown Houston to deep within the Barker reservoir. "Distressed" backgrounds, graffiti, underpasses, etc. are often desireable locations.
Usually I have my S&W 442 in my pocket and on occasion my Glock 26 IWB.
Here is what I do:
http://www.richardsfault.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I've got the same tripod, lens, camera... Different head on my tripod though.
I can't say I'd have easily parted with them either.
Re: be aware of your surroundings....
Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 10:28 am
by VMI77
RSJ wrote:rp_photo wrote:RSJ wrote:
Not in my opinion, if I am at risk of my camera or my life, that camera is longgggggg gone. Not worth it
They could have shot him even if he submitted, and he would have put hinself in greater danger by reducing the distance between him and the BG's in order to hand it over.
I have already lost a gunfight if they are pointed at me. I will try to cooperate to put the camera on the ground and slowly back up. I would only pull and fire in this situation if I thought they were going to shoot regardless. In this scenario the good guy went from normal to red-mode too soon. 21 feet rule!
Maybe, maybe not. I saw a video of a jewelery store robbery where an armed robber across the counter had a gun pointed at the owner's head....about two feet away....and the owner still pulled his revolver and shot the BG, without getting shot himself. In fact, I don't think the BG even got a shot off. The best thing for this photographer might have been to just run perpendicularly to their line of sight.
Re: be aware of your surroundings....
Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 10:32 am
by VMI77
rp_photo wrote:It is very easy to lose SA during a photo shoot, as we tend to "zone out" / develops tunnel vision when concentrating on getting the images.
In addition, we see concentrate on the positive and artistic aspects of the location and tend to minimize the dangers.
I have zero awareness of my surroundings when I'm concentrating on a photo. I checked out your site...especially liked the Santa's Helper photos.....my kind of photography, but my wife doesn't share my "photographic vision."