off to london

pete1w

pete1w

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Good morning all. Just a quick question. I'm off to London for a couple of days soon and am looking forward to taking some nice photos, however I just wondered how safe you feel carrying your camera around without the fear of someone mugging you. I would like to get some nice night time shots of the usual landmarks but I am a little cautious about having my lovely Nikon nicked by some unsavoury passer by. Thanks pete
 
A few years back four of us wandered from Tower bridge to Westminster bridge on both banks starting at midnight on a Saturday and finishing at am Sunday morning. We had no trouble at all (admittedly it was a group) and actually saw very few people. I would say keep to main roads/ pavements and just be aware of your surroundings and you should be fine.
 
Be sensible and you'll be fine. Remember the best time to take night time shots is whilst there's still a bit of colour in the sky, which is around 9 to 9.30 at present. There will still be lots of people around and security wont be any more of an issue than it is at midday.
 
Thanks. You have certainly put my mind at rest. Hopefully now I can concentrate on the photography rather than looking over my shoulder.
 
London's a pretty safe place, as long as you do the usual sensible things you would in any big city (like avoiding dark dodgy looking back streets) you should be absolutely fine. I've had many night time wanders in London shooting both with other people and on my own, I've never felt uncomfortable about it and there's no reason why you should either. :)
 
PMN said:
London's a pretty safe place, as long as you do the usual sensible things you would in any big city (like avoiding dark dodgy looking back streets) you should be absolutely fine. I've had many night time wanders in London shooting both with other people and on my own, I've never felt uncomfortable about it and there's no reason why you should either. :)
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Wise words indeed, I've spent a lot of time wandering around London taking photos on my own and like Paul says just avoid the obviously dodgy looking back alleys and use your spidey sense and you'll be fine.
 
I live in London and can definitely confirm that all previous posts/advice is spot on. The places where you will most probably be walking around are mostly busy till about midnight. And they are safe. London is actually quite a safe city unless you are planning to wander around dark and dodgy/abandoned places. Good luck with the trip - weather is quite nice these days so you will have so many beautiful shots.
 
Peter, I'd feel far more anxious walking round Sheffield with a load of expensive Nikon gear! :p As everyone else has said, be sensible and London is pretty safe. I guess you'll be going to the touristy/West End bits and they're pretty OK, even after dark. I would perhaps want to accompany Yv in the wee small hours of the morning but up to about midnight you'll be as safe in central London as any other tourist city.
 
The main issue you will have at London landmarks is other photographers! Security has never been a concern of mine!
 
I was in London last year and wandering around on my own ( wife was shopping) i felt safe and didn't see anything to worry about. In fact I must look very trust worthy as a Japanese gentleman thrust a few grand's worth of Nikon at me and asked me to take some pictures of him. Must have know a canon user wouldn't run off with his gear
 
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Cheers all. I am really looking forward to it. Especially the trip up to the top of the shard.....
 
I've lived and worked in London most of my life and I don't think twice about taking camera gear anywhere I need to in order to make the work that matters to me.

That said, I tend to take the same view pretty much everywhere; if you want to make photographs, you need to take a camera. Whether it's the west end of London or the rough end of Marrakech, I work on the basis that cameras are tools that might get lost, damaged or stolen. I try to avoid that happening, but it doesn't stop me going out. I'm careful and I don't wander round with a camera on my shoulder for no reason. It makes sense to use nondescript bags, and I keep most of my gear stickered up with gaff tape to make it look less nickable.
 
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