There's an upcoming G8 meeting in Alberta, but since the place is effectively off-limits and will have the military crawling all over the place, manifestations have been organized in Ottawa (called 'Take Over The Capital,' appropriately). Now, since I live in Ottawa, I figured this is a perfect photo op to take some interesting street photos. :) I could choose to be behind the police lines, but that's not very interesting, so I've decided instead to buy a tube of Ben Gay and get in the heat of things. :P It's almost guaranteed there'll be tear gas and water cannons, maybe even plastic bullets (these things get worse every year from the police side, often for no reason IMHO, but anyway) so I want to protect my camera as much as I can, and I'd love some advice or suggestions. At this point, considering I really doubt any insurance will cover my camera in a situation like this, I figure I've got two choices: a) Bring the SLR and take some steps; b) Just bring a P&S camera. If I brought the SLR, I figured I could tape some plastic all around the body and lens, probably use just one lens (I was thinking of renting a 24mm wide-angle lens, so long as they let me, but I might have to stick with my 35-80mm zoom). I'd just keep the thing at hyperfocal so I don't have to fiddle with settings, keep it close to my body, but the plastic would keep any tear gas or water away from anything but the filter (which is a cheap Tiffen UV filter anyway). With this option, I was also planning on bringing some TriX 400 B&W film (or maybe Ilford or color film.. depends on what you people suggest might be better, but I figured the latitude TriX offers might be best for this situation :). Now, the P&S offers some significant advantages, since it's an APS camera - loading film is a snap and all, but I've really gotten into using the SLR. And the film choices for APS cameras isn't that broad.. I know of only one Kodak B&W APS film in my area, which is nice and all, but then I don't have the lens to go with it, nor as many options if I do find reason to fiddle with aperture or shutter speed at some point. Any thoughts? 'course, it doesn't mean I'll end up with anything good either way, since this will pretty much be the first time I take pictures at what will most likely be a rather lively event, but it should be good experience and I'd like to have something good come out of it for me. :) =DarkPen=

Sounds like you intend going into this war zone, I dont have any real experience of this sort of thing but just thinking I would take fast film 400 or 800 asa to up your shutter speed to catch the action. My SLR and a zoom lens so I could stay out of the thick of it, a good camera strap to wind round my hand and stop anybody having my camera away. Have fun and stay safe. :O)

Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing. Salvador Dali

Well, it's the last weekend of June, so I'm planning early enough to be prepared. :) I'm partly there to (surprisingly, considering where I work) protest as well, because I believe making a military compound out of reach of everyone goes against the democratic right to demonstrate, my biggest worry is to be mistaken to be someone from the media, which is also a target in these situations. takes up yoga Just cuz you never know when it's gonna be useful. :P =DarkPen=

if yer snapping pictures, the first thing people will assume if that you're with the media. Well, me thinks you might as well go slr. With all the time u have, you could prolly do a makeshift protective shield for the camera that could sustain at least a little damage before you had to stop taking pictures entirely. for film , 400 and 800 would be cool me thinks, it'll add some "grunge" to the film which would suit the subject. I also recommend you find a way to actually completely fasten your camera to something sturdy like your waist. Even the neck strap prolly wouldn't be enough if you plan on being right in the middle of the riot (the one in quebec city last year... man it was disgusting. Tehy dropped tear gas canisters on the peaceful protesters who were just walking, and had helicopters fly low as to keep the gas near the ground with the wind from the blades. Near the actual police gaurded fence, some asshole cop shot a tear gas canister at some old man's skull as the dude was leaving his apartment building, he wasn't even part of the protest. 3 or 4 guys grabbed the cop and beat the living shyte out of him, well deserved too). I'd say fasten it tight and good, somehow with a keylock if possible so no one can take away the camera. You know, you WILL get hurt, theres a chance pretty badly. You'll wanna bring more than ben gay, and maybe even some bail money. Either way, you ain't gonna get the shot by pointing your camera at your television, its photographers like you who end up bringing the real truth to light. A slynky who used to live 3 blocks away from Splash wave pool, and about 8 blocks from Gloucester Mall when he was 14.

Well, here's some advice on shooting in the middle of crowded stuff :P - Film: use b&w film that gives high contrast...like Ilford HP5 (plus) or Kodak T400CN or Ilford XP2, all are C41 films, so you can have them developed at any color/c41 machine. The main advantage is the speed, since all are 400 and the fine grain. Film like Tmax 100 is too low on contrast for me personally and Tri-X & Portra b&w are too grainy. - Always focus on single people. Usually you could go with one 'motto': the closer the better. So your lens is perfect. The 80mm is good if you don't feel being close to someone you want to shoot, while the 35mm is even better if you're sure nobody would mind you shooting them from real close. - Don't be friendly towards anyone you see, meet or want to shoot. Over here in europe police often have undercover agents who dress up like protestors, but when police wants to make arrests, these guys suddenly assist them. So never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever try to move along with protestors or try to mix into the crowd or make any comments to anyone you see. Just take care of yourself and try to see what's going on, so you won't get stuck anywhere. If we'd be able to be part of the official press, we might get around easier...especially when there's trouble :)

My first post in this forum, so first of all: Hi everyone! :) DarkPen, just my experience from the other side of the ocean and 20 years ago: If such a situation gets out of control, nobody likes to see photographers and nobody will give you the time to explain that you're a good guy. You can get hurt there (from both sides), so be carefull or better stay out if there isn't a good reason to be there. Some hints: Keep your equipment simple and light. Be aware that a good spurt can prevent you from beeing injured. ;) Personally I would take an old mechanical SLR with a short prime lens (35mm - 50 mm) and a second P&S hidden in a pocket. (very usefull if the SLR or the Film gets confiscate :) ) Don't take anything there, that would be a real loss if it gets broken. You wont have much time to take care of your gear. If you need a flashlight, take the most powerfull you can get and don't mount it to the accessory shoe (!). Take enough films and batteries, and make sure to put some additional films and maybe even a second camera somewhere at a saved place. take care and in doubt stay out! Here's on of my shots from the 80th in Berlin. These kind of pics helped me somehow to pay the rent while I was at the college, so I had a reason to be there. Wouldn't do that "just for fun" ;) cheers Thomas

Seeing as how you've got a bit of time in hand, how about grabbing some packing polestyrene and using a hot knife cut it into blocks about 1/4 size of the camera.... then use it to tailor the blocks to fit around the camera then tape them on - obviously leave holes for anything you need to get at to change settings, or keep it on one setting. Gaffa tape over the top keeps it together and keeps quite a bit of water out - it shouldn't take too much work and ingenuity to make this so you can use 1 bit of tape as a hinge and the opposite to keep it shut. Sounds far fetched? Yeah, but it works. And you know, the Police aren't always bad guys - hell it's a difficult situation they're in there too. Have a word with one or two of them a few days before hand. Ok, they'll try to talk you out of it, but once they realise you're serious they might offer some real tips. Take care. (",)

Oh...I have no knowledge of these things DP, I just wanted to say stay safe! Good luck and be careful. @ Zardoz, welcome to the group, that is a great action shot. BTW I like your username, that was one of my favourite Connery films. :-)>

Being arrested I'm not worried about. I'm sure it's not a very pleasant experience, but I know I'll be in and out rather quickly if that were to happen. The polysterene sounds like a better idea than mine.. I was just planning on using bubble wrap, cuz I know I can pick up a few sheets at work, but that white stuff is just even better (and in almost every electronics box out there!). :P As for film.. I'll give Ilford a try. I just got a roll of TMax 400 back, and it was a bit too grainy for my taste. And the one time I used 800 film, it was extremely awful (though that was Konica and it was free.. so I might give it another chance later on). For the strap, I figured I'd just use laptop anti-theft wire instead of the cloth strap - it's thin and it's extremely solid. I figure I can just slide it in a cotton strip so I don't get my hand ripped off in case someone gets nasty. :) All in all, should be fun stuff - I keep the 'no pain no gain' line in mind going into this. :) Now I'll just start practicing on quickly turning and focusing so I don't just get blurry shots all the time. :P =DarkPen=