All good things...

dkoyanagi

I came home from work on Tuesday to find that my place had been ransacked. They took ALL my photo gear (4 bodies, 7 lenses, tripod, the works) plus my laptop. I have nothing left. I filled out a police report, but they didn't seem too optomistic.

The worst part is losing the Nikon. The Canon and Sony can be replaced. The Nikon used to belong to my dad.


Dad's Nikomat

I won't be replacing my gear until I can figure out how to keep it secure. Obviously, keeping it at home isn't safe.

How do you keep your gear secure? I would really appreciate your suggestions.

Anyway, although I'll still be posting comments, I won't be posting photos on 7-7-07 or for the forseable future.

Andy

This sucks!

Stay tuned - I have a plan

SmugMug's gonna get you a used 20D - fast - I've got my eye on a couple different options so stay tuned, Dan. You're too good of a photographer to be down for the count like this.

EDIT: You'll have a Canon 1D Mark II sometime next week, Dan. PM me with your phone #, and mailing address. It's all done.

Haven't worked all the details yet I will!

dkoyanagi

Andy wrote:

This sucks!

Certainly does, my friend.

Andy

dkoyanagi wrote:

Certainly does, my friend.

See above post. Looking brighter?

DavidTO

Wow!!!

What a friend to have in your court. WTG, Andy!

David_S85

Dan, sorry for your gear loss. Major bummer, that. Time for one of those 50-ton walk-in safes.

...the Nikomat :cry

And SM/Andy. You guys rock! Sooo cool. :cool

Andy

Bump - see post #2 - Dan, I've just purchased a primo Canon 1D Mark II body. It'll be on the way next week sometime to you

dkoyanagi

Andy wrote:

This sucks!

Stay tuned - I have a plan

SmugMug's gonna get you a used 20D - fast - I've got my eye on a couple different options so stay tuned, Dan. You're too good of a photographer to be down for the count like this.

Haven't worked all the details yet I will!

Whaaaa!?!? Jeez I hope no one thinks made that story up (I didn't), or that I was angling for sympathy (I wasn't). I just wanted to vent about what has been a really crappy week.

Wow! Thank you, Andy!

I keep re-reading your post and I'm really quite speechless. Thank you!
I need to compose my thoughts before I go on.

dkoyanagi

Andy wrote:

Bump - see post #2 - Dan, I've just purchased a primo Canon 1D Mark II body. It'll be on the way next week sometime to you

Holy crap! Andy, that's too much! Besides, my gear is covered by insurance. Please reconsider!

Andy

dkoyanagi wrote:

Holy crap! Andy, that's too much! Besides, my gear is covered by insurance. Please reconsider!

Good! But it'll take a while I expect - so we'll get you the camera and at least you can be back in business

Consider it a loaner until you get the insurance money. I'll work it all out. And if something goes wrong with the ins or whatever, you can keep it.

Keeping you shooting is the important thing!

dkoyanagi

Andy wrote:

Consider it a loaner until you get the insurance money. I'll work it all out. And if something goes wrong with the ins or whatever, you can keep it.

In that case I accept. And you will be getting your camera back. Really.

Thanks again Andy!

zacker

WOW!!! Andy... you guys here at SM ROCK!!!

Im so glad I decided on Smugmug to host my photos, its nice to know that there is still at least one compoany out there with integrity and morals and who REALLY do go that extra mile to make their customers feel like family and feel like they are really appreciated! I suspect I will be keeping my account here at SM for a LOOOng time to come!!

cunarder534

This is one of the best stories ever. I'm so glad I chose smugmug to host my photos. This is a extended group of family rather than a service.

bsvirginian

If I remember right your lenses walked also. I wish I shot Canon so that I could at least lend you a lens. Good luck. You'll also find out how good your insurance coverage is. Andy's quite a guy.
bsvirginian
PS - How about some details as far as the theft. How they got in. Where you are located, etc.

ian408

I'm a little late seeing this. Sorry to hear. Especially the Nikormat.

dkoyanagi

Thanks everyone for your kind words. They're very much appreciated. And I agree, Andy and Smugmug are tops in my book!

As for securing my gear, I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do. I'm not too sure about indoor self-storage, and a safety deposit box seems excessive, but it may come to that. I might end up moving into a more secure building. This building has had at least three previous break-ins in the last 6-7 years that I'm aware of. These guys came in thru my front door. They seemed to have picked the lock as there was no sign of forced entry.

DavidTO

You could buy a safe....

dkoyanagi

DavidTO wrote:

You could buy a safe....

Yep, I'm considering that too.

schmoo

Dan, I'm late coming to this but that is absolutely terrible. There's nothing useful that I can say really except that I agree with Andy in that you're too good of a photog for this to happen, and I hope that whatever equipment floats you by, we can see some more photos from you again soon.

Best of luck, especially with the rest of your possessions.

Terrence

This must be the greatest place in cyberspace! I am continually amazed at how much this community is an actual community. People really care about you here.

dkoyanagi

schmooo wrote:

Dan, I'm late coming to this but that is absolutely terrible. There's nothing useful that I can say really except that I agree with Andy in that you're too good of a photog for this to happen, and I hope that whatever equipment floats you by, we can see some more photos from you again soon.

Best of luck, especially with the rest of your possessions.

Thanks Stephanie. I really appreciate that.

claudermilk

First of all, sorry to hear about that. I know where you are coming from, I suffered a similar incident years ago; my first ever SLR that was mine--a Minolta 7000--got stolen along with a bunch of other stuff. The good news is you have insurance, so most of it will be replaced. The part that hurts is the Nikormat; do you have the serial nmber? Who knows, you might get lucky (remember the 120-300 that got stolen in San Diego last month?).

As for Andy: :jawdropbowclap Once again proving SM and Dgrin is THE BEST online photo community today. Unbelievable.

dkoyanagi

claudermilk wrote:

First of all, sorry to hear about that. I know where you are coming from, I suffered a similar incident years ago; my first ever SLR that was mine--a Minolta 7000--got stolen along with a bunch of other stuff. The good news is you have insurance, so most of it will be replaced. The part that hurts is the Nikormat; do you have the serial nmber? Who knows, you might get lucky (remember the 120-300 that got stolen in San Diego last month?).

As for Andy: :jawdropbowclap Once again proving SM and Dgrin is THE BEST online photo community today. Unbelievable.

Thanks Chris. Fortunately I had the serial numbers for all my gear, including the Nikomat, so I was able to hand them over to the police. I told my dad over the weekend about the break in. He didn't seem to be too concerned about the missing Nikon. He's just glad that I'm ok. I'm really hoping that I get it back. As you can see from the photo, it's been used and abused pretty good. A battered old pre-AI Nikon film camera isn't worth anything to anybody except me.

Scott_Quier

Dan,

There was no mention in that wonderful offer from Andy about any lenses. If you want to borrow it, I have a sweet and nearly pristine Tammy 28-75 f/2.8 that I can lend you for the duration.

Drop me a PM if you're interested and we'll work out the details.

P.S. I would offer more, but the balance of my useful lens kit will be neeted this weekend.

Andy

dkoyanagi wrote:

Thanks Chris. Fortunately I had the serial numbers for all my gear, including the Nikomat, so I was able to hand them over to the police. I told my dad over the weekend about the break in. He didn't seem to be too concerned about the missing Nikon. He's just glad that I'm ok. I'm really hoping that I get it back. As you can see from the photo, it's been used and abused pretty good. A battered old pre-AI Nikon film camera isn't worth anything to anybody except me.

Dan- the camera is shipping out tomorrow, UPS...

Andy

Scott_Quier wrote:

Dan,

There was no mention in that wonderful offer from Andy about any lenses. If you want to borrow it, I have a sweet and nearly pristine Tammy 28-75 f/2.8 that I can lend you for the duration.

Drop me a PM if you're interested and we'll work out the details.

P.S. I would offer more, but the balance of my useful lens kit will be neeted this weekend.

denisegoldberg

Dan -
That's truly awful. Good to hear you're covered from an insurance standpoint, but still!

And Andy -
What an awesome response.

The reaction of everyone here really cements what a great community this is...
--- Denise

saurora

dkoyanagi wrote:

As for securing my gear, I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do. I'm not too sure about indoor self-storage, and a safety deposit box seems excessive, but it may come to that. I might end up moving into a more secure building. This building has had at least three previous break-ins in the last 6-7 years that I'm aware of. These guys came in thru my front door. They seemed to have picked the lock as there was no sign of forced entry.

So sorry this happened to you Dan, but darn if Andy isn't the Knight in Shining Armour to the rescue!!! I'm sure glad you had insurance (at least!) and hope you can come up with a good resolution before replacing your gear. Always a good chance they will return in a month or so knowing the possiblity that you will replace your gear with insurance funds. Rats! I hope they catch the jerks!

dkoyanagi

Scott_Quier wrote:

Dan,

There was no mention in that wonderful offer from Andy about any lenses. If you want to borrow it, I have a sweet and nearly pristine Tammy 28-75 f/2.8 that I can lend you for the duration.

Drop me a PM if you're interested and we'll work out the details.

P.S. I would offer more, but the balance of my useful lens kit will be neeted this weekend.

Hi Scott

Thank you very much for the offer, but I don't want to take on any more gear until I've found a way to keep it safe, especially if it's someone's personal equipment. Besides, it might be weeks before I settle with the insurance company, and there's always the chance that the lens might get damaged in shipping. Thanks again for the offer.

dkoyanagi

Andy wrote:

Dan- the camera is shipping out tomorrow, UPS...

Thanks Andy. I promise I'll take good care of it.

dkoyanagi

denisegoldberg wrote:

Dan -
That's truly awful. Good to hear you're covered from an insurance standpoint, but still!

And Andy -
What an awesome response.

The reaction of everyone here really cements what a great community this is...
--- Denise

Thanks Denise!