I took my Nikon D5000 & Tamron 18-270mm with us on vacation. I found it to be very versatile and capable of nearly everything I wanted it to do. Its video limitations frustrated me a bit, but I think my expectations were a bit too high.

Anyway, one of the things I didn’t bring was a tripod, so I was dependent on strangers to shoot family shots like the one above. We’d been on the London Eye for about half the ride, and were near the top of its arc. I had helped a number of couples and families by offering to take pictures of them, and so I figured it was time for someone to return the favor. I know a DSLR is intimidating to those who aren’t familiar with them, so I quickly scanned the group of about 20 people looking to see if anyone else had one. Nope.

So I gathered my wife and kids to one side of the Eye, set the camera on full-point-and-shoot-auto, then loudly asked if anyone would be willing to take a picture of my family. I swear there was a cricket under the bench at the far end. When no one stepped forward, I asked a young man who was standing near us. (Afterward, I envisioned the old cartoon schtick where a volunteer is called to step forward, and all but one person in the line steps back). Being confronted with my smiling face and hulking piece of glass, metal and plastic out-stretched, the fear in his eyes said “No” but he tried anyway. I handed him the camera, told him where to look, and where the shutter button was.

He held it up to look through the view finder, but didn’t have his finger on the shutter release, so when he pressed, nothing happened. I corrected his finger placement, and he tried again, missing. The third time was a charm, and he pushed the button for long enough to capture three images. I genuinely felt bad for the guy because he was really embarrassed about the previous attempts. I did my best to reassure him, and thanked him for taking our picture.

The only time I felt slightly uncomfortable handing my camera to a stranger was when we were walking along the Thames near the London Bridge, just after our tour of the Tower of London. A lone Asian man, probably Japanese, probably in his late fifties or early sixties, was attempting to take a picture of himself with the bridge in the background, camera at arms-length. I quickly stepped up and offered to help, and took his picture. He then offered to return the favor.
I’m going to pause for a moment and explain my philosophy regarding handing my camera to a stranger. I generally adhere to the rule that I pick the stranger, the stranger does not pick me. In this way I’m less likely to become the victim of a camera thief who offers to take a picture, then darts off with your camera. If I pick the stranger, then the huge majority of the time I’m picking someone without those intentions, even if I have zero skill at profiling camera thieves.
So when this gentleman offered to take a picture of our family, I had to quickly assess whether his “self-portrait by the Thames” was legit or if it was part of a ruse and he was going to attempt to dart off with my camera. I decided that the former was more likely, and besides, I had 50 pounds on him and would probably catch him in 10 paces in a sprint. I took my backpack off, not because I didn’t want it in the picture, but because I wanted the best chance of catching him if he took off. Yes, I’m just a little bit paranoid. The camera was returned to me safely with a new picture of my family on it, and without a tussle.

It would have made for a great story though…