For Photographers on Being Cautious

They say bad things come in threes. This has been true for my car. So true, unfortunately. A year ago, I had a raccoon run into my car and take out half of my front end. Half a year ago, I had a rock fly off a city truck only to crack my windshield in half. I’ve been procrastinating on getting it all fixed, but a few weeks ago, I had the unimaginable happen.
I hadn’t had much sleep at all, had done several boudoir sessions, and in the middle of a wedding consultation, I got a text from Chad asking if he could take me on a dinner date to Pinky’s in Charlotte. With our conflicting schedules, I definitely took him up on that offer. I knew I had a little bit of time after the consult, so I ran over to my parents’ house to see them for a bit and to get Molly. When it was time to go, Molly beat me to the car because she was so excited to go for a ride and to get home! When we arrived, the only thing on my mind was seeing my sweet handsome man, and Molly was extremely excited to see him too, so I let her out of the car for a bit to run around and see him before we went to get dinner. I put her back in the car, kissed her, and locked the doors. I’m OCD about locking things. I’m the person that has watched CSI, Law and Order, Criminal Minds, 24, Psych, Monk, etc. I studied psychology and criminal thinking in school. I have also started learning different things such as how to shoot a gun and protect myself in any situation, and won’t hesitate to do so.
We were seated at a little table, our hotdogs arrived, and we left shortly after. I was joking around and giving Chad a hard time about having plans to go to a rock concert instead of cuddling with me as we walked back to our cars, and I went to hug him only to hear him say, “Oh no…..Ohhhh no….” He was staring at my car, but I can’t see in the dark to save my life, so I assumed I had a flat tire. As I followed behind him to the passenger side of my car, I saw Molly sitting in the driver’s seat staring at us with her ears back, and then I saw it. Glass covered the ground. My whole body and mind went numb. Chad immediately began asking me what was in the front seat, and that’s when I realized…. My camera bag was gone. GONE. I checked my purse, and thankfully had my camera in there for some odd reason (I NEVER have it in there because it’s so bulky – I’m calling it a total God thing), but couldn’t recall what was in the bag. I immediately called Roman, hands shaking uncontrollably, and he confirmed that my $2,000 lens and the $600 flash were magically sitting on the side table from taking them out that morning – again, something I never do. And my super expensive laptop? Safely sitting in the backseat under some papers. But as I talked to Roman, I realized that something else was missing… My wedding and engagement albums. So while Roman was sitting on the phone, I begin screaming over this. Like I was really angry. I hung up the phone, and that’s when Chad made the comment, “At least Molly is okay!” as he pulled her from the car and inspected her little paws for cuts. And then I lost it. I’m talking the ugly cry. Thoughts of not having her and how easily someone could have hurt her or how she could have jumped out the window that was now gone… It was nasty. And Chad just held me as I sobbed. And that feeling then turned to instant Momma Bear Mode, and I wanted to find and take down whoever did this. We had called the police, called my family, and my mom told me to ask the cops to search the area for the albums or something once the criminal realized they’d stolen a camera bag with el cheapo off brand batteries and a charger for my camera battery that was currently on me, and then two books of people that weren’t them. Great idea, but I’m impatient, I was angry, and I took off searching the area myself as Chad chased me down to stop me. And then I started ugly crying again and said, “I wanted to cuddle, but this isn’t what I had in mind!” to which he burst into laughter and kissed my forehead, and assured me everything would be okay. He’s seriously the best, guys.
When the police arrived, we filed the report, my sarcasm definitely came out, and I figured that was that. I figured I’d never hear anything else about this. Chad searched my trunk for a quick fix, and found a blanket I’d bought, stuck it over the door and shut it in so glass wouldn’t fly at Molly and me while we drove home, and I had to strongly encourage him to go to the concert after that because he knew I was a train wreck at that current moment. Did I mention how good he is to me? The next day, I got a message on Facebook from a total stranger saying she found my album sitting on the doorstep the next morning. I immediately called the police officer back to inform him something had been located, and he went to pick it up for me. When I got the album back, it was basically destroyed. Someone clearly got mad (gee, wonder why?) and tossed it because scratches covered the acrylic image on the front, it’d sat in the rain overnight so the pages were coming apart from the spine, and it’s just not something I care to show anyone. But I’m thankful that I got it back, because out of EVERYTHING that was missing, that’s the one thing I wished I had back. I have my first album from 2012’s work, and this was my second album showcasing my 2013 work. It’s now time to order for 2014, but I was sad to think that chapter could be missing from my collection.

This story is just one of many that happen all the time. Photographers, never ever let your guard down. Ever. Keep your equipment on you at all times, hide it in your trunk if you have to leave it in the car, and don’t take anything for granted. I say this as my sweet puppy is here curled up on my feet. Things could have turned out so horribly, but I’m beyond thankful that it didn’t.