It’s never easy being a wedding photographer, and it’s definitely not easy being a photographer in San Francisco these days.
Combine the two, and you have a recipe for disaster though, thankfully, no one was hurt in this case (unlike many of the others we have covered taking place in the same area).
Would-be thieves attempted to rob wedding photographer Ken Mendoza mid-photo shoot but the victim was able to fight them off relatively unscathed and with his camera still in his possession, NBC Bay Area reports.
To give you some idea of how things could have turned out much worse, reports indicate that the unsuccessful thief had a gun in his possession.
Local politicians have used the incident to demonstrate the need for increased police presence around the city’s most iconic landmarks, citing the draw of tourism as a major element of San Francisco’s appeal.
“When officers are present, and this is proven time and time again, we have less events that's why officers on foot on bikes are so important,” SF Police Chief Bill Scott said at a news conference.
NBC Bay Area reports that the whole thing has made them consider leaving San Francisco for good, noting how this story could have taken a much more depressing turn.
As we have reported over the last year, theft and assault seem to be on the rise with this area of California being particularly dangerous for photographers and videographers. We’ve covered stories about a thief following a photographer to his home to rob him, people getting killed, and even someone who got their equipment stolen out of their car while sitting in traffic.
Many of these stories have led to greater calls for involvement on the part of camera manufacturers to track stolen cameras and equipment in much the same way as smartphones and other high-end electronic devices do.
Stay safe out there!
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