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Thieves smash photographer’s car window and steal over $9,000 worth of gear

by 19 Comments

On Saturday, thieves smashed a photographer’s car window and stole all the gear that was inside. The theft left Manchester-based photographer Kenny Clayton not only without ~$9,000 worth of gear but also without all the photos he has done in the last five years.

According to MSN, Clayton left his car at the NCP car park on Store Street. He was taking a lunch break, and after returning to his car, he found a smashed windscreen. Sadly, all of his gear had been stolen. This includes his cameras, lenses, an iMac computer, a light, and tripods. There was also an external hard drive containing family photos as well as his paid work. The thieves even took an overnight bag that contained his personal items. The estimated cost of the stolen items is around £7,000, or $9,047.

As you can imagine, the photographer is devastated. Not so much because of the gear, but more because of the photos he lost. “Losing the equipment is heartbreaking, but it is replaceable,” he told Manchester Evening News, “it is the stuff that is on the hard drive that is not.” The hard drive contained photos of his 9-year-old daughter, as well as his paid work which cannot be reshot.

The theft has been reported to Greater Manchester Police. But if any of you have any information or notice anything suspicious, please get in touch with Kenny Clayton. You can also contact Greater Manchester Police on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

[via MSN]

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  • Huge Dom

    Good reminder for people that you don’t park your gears inside the car, for the same reason you don’t leave them on a bench in a park.

  • That is what insurance is for and hope there is a lesson learned.

  • Yikes!!! I never leave my cameras in the car… always go with me even when im at the local convenience store.

    • Vincent Reyna At the very least take the SD/HD, doesn’t take any room compared to the rest of the gears and is irreplaceable.

  • I feel bad for the guy, but any photographer knows to back up, back up, and back up. Why would anyone keep all photos on one hard drive and leave that in a camera bag?

    Oh and there’s a mistake in one of the words…

    “As you can imagine, the photographer is devastated. Not so much because of the gear, but more because of the photos he lost. “Losing the equipment is heartbreaking, but it is irreplaceable (should be REPLACEABLE not IRREPLACEABLE),” he told Manchester Evening News, “it is the stuff that is on the hard drive that is not.” The hard drive contained photos of his 9-year-old daughter, as well as his paid work which cannot be reshot.”

  • Did he have all this gear in the car or in the trunk.

    • “””According to MSN, Clayton left his car at the NCP car park on Store Street. He was taking a lunch break, and after returning to his car, he found a smashed windscreen. Sadly, all of his gear had been stolen. This includes his cameras, lenses, an iMac computer, a light, and tripods. There was also an external hard drive containing family photos as well as his paid work. The thieves even took an overnight bag that contained his personal items. The estimated cost of the stolen items is around £7,000, or $9,047.”””

      The photographer apparently left all of his valuables in the cabin of the car. Then left his car to go grab lunch. *facepalms* WTF.

      Laptop? Hard drive? 9-yo photos!?

      I hope the photographer was insured. If he wasn’t, then it is kinda a trifecta of suck. And makes for a very expensive lesson: backup, off-site backup, and don’t leave shit that is visible in your car.

    • Wing Tang Wong I don’t even leave my gear in a motel room much less visible in a car. Plus unless I am shooting for work I only travel with camera and maybe two lens.

    • Kenny Mccall +1 to this. I don’t bring it unless I can/am willing to carry it all with me at almost all times. If/when I do need to leave something in the hotel, I use the safe… for what it’s worth, or make good use of diapers. :)

    • Wing Tang Wong That’s why we still have our gear.😂😂

  • I had £7,000 worth of gear stolen two months ago from my hotel room. Everything backed up the previous evening thank goodness.

  • Locally about 10-12 years ago there was a professional photographers weekend long conference, the convention centre had a huge marquee saying; “WELCOME PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS…” many attendees came directly from weddings with carloads of pro equipment…..

  • Stop leaving your gear/bags where they can be seen!

    • Wing Tang Wong Where I live you leave nothing, not even tissues in the car or it will be stolen.

    • Corinne Brown Yep. Grew up in the SoCal LA area… first rule of leaving stuff in your car? Don’t. Second rule of leaving stuff in your car? Don’t. Third rule, see rule #1.

      The ONLY things I leave visible in the front or rear seats are sodas and maybe a hoodie. Everything else goes into the trunk… and I put the stuff in there very very low key. And then it gets covered up.

      For effect, I also keep a pile of discarded soda cans in a pile in the back seat and a duct taped phone holder dangling from my dash.

      Not so subtle message: “Dude, this really isn’t the car to waste your time on.”

  • Froknowsphoto Jared would have something to say about this lol

  • That’s sucks. Hope he was insured and that he made backups. Although insurances usually don’t pay much for stuff stolen from a car. I think typically it’s something like £300 per item stolen from a car, or maybe in total. Pathetically little in any case.
    Lessons to be drawn from this:
    – always make backups.
    – insure your gear with a good insurer.
    – never leave a vehicle with camera gear unattended.
    – the world is filled with vermin. Get them before they get you. Since the UK government has been cutting back on budget for security (police), you’re pretty much left to your own devices if something happens, ergo, protect yourself.

  • I’ve smashed a thief’s face in with a 32 inch hardened steel baton when he tried to steal my gear during a outdoor park wedding. I waited till after the kiss shot to call the police.

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