There's perhaps nothing as upsetting as losing your camera during a trip, particularly at the end, when all of your vacation photos go missing as well (a close second perhaps, is losing your notebook that you're using to report on a trip, cough, cough). Thankfully, the wonderful Web can often come in and act as a savior. Case in point: When Californian Nick Hare came across a camera while cycling in Maui, he picked it up and, after getting a digital card-reader, he found a photo of a young couple with their child. After posting the picture last week on a Facebook page he created to find the owners, a virtual six-degrees-of-separation pinballed its way through the social media sphere, and within a day, he tracked the couple down. He shared the news on the Facebook page:The couple was found. I spoke with the husband today and will be mailing the camera tomorrow. They are from the Pacific Northwest and are currently visiting the East Coast. They received a text last night about me having their camera, about 24 hours after I posted the picture. Today they had people they haven't seen in years telling them that they lost their camera. Not quite knowing the power of the FB networking that was going on while they were on vacation, they didn't know how these people knew this. Which, I think is the best part of the story.So what's the takeaway? First off, be sure to leave identification of some kind on your camera - be it your email or phone number on a sticker somewhere physically on the outside, or by taking a photo of your contact information and "locking" it on the camera's memory card. Too late? Try the site Ifoundyourcamera.blogspot.com, which reunites lost cameras with their owners, and was co-created by the guy behind the very cool Post Secret website.
Here's hoping that there are a lot more good Samaritans like Nick out there who are willing to follow his lead. And if anyone has seen a small black notebook in their travels, by all means, get in touch.
[Halogen Life]
[Jaunted]
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You can also try this website, www.camerafound.com which reunites people with lost cameras.
Lost your camera or… did thieves get it? It's hard to know sometimes because thieves have devious methods. Put your camera down on the table while you have some pasta, a sangria, a sandwich? Watch out for the teenager who offers you postcards for sale. It's easy to brush off these table-hopping beggars or vendors. Trust me, they know what they're doing! See how: http://bobarno.com/thiefhunters/2008/06/swift-swiper/
It's great to know that there are tech-savvy good samaritans out there who would go to the trouble of tracking down a camera's owners in this way. The power of social networks, yay!
Thanks for the excellent resources for lost cameras. I think i'll follow these tips today.
It's so good to know that there are websites out there that can assist travelers with locating their lost cameras.
This Summer our agency took a group to Italy and Greece and we had two clients loose their cameras throughout the trip. The first was in Kaatkolon, Greece. Most of the shops were so helpful and assisted in looking and by re-tracing the client's steps, she was able to locate her camera.
The second lost her camera in the Air France terminal in Charles De Gaulle airport while transferring flights. She put in a report and considered it gone. I contacted the airport and they found the camera. I made arrangements to have it shipped to my client in NYC and she was so surprised and thrilled to have it back! She had not realized how special those memories that she had captured with her camera really were until she lost them. Good job Air France and Charles De Gaulle airport!
Eva Guibert
Tailored Travel Services
thank god it didnt happen to me when i travel around the world last year all my picture memories are kept in my camera.
Sounds like a possible hoax to me.
Also do keep in mind that dropped digital media is a common vector for malware and hacking. If you plug it in, you may be the next victim.