A wedding photographer stepped away from his rental car in downtown Oakland for a few minutes on Wednesday. When he came back, his windows were smashed and about $35,000 worth of equipment was gone, along with the only copies of a newlywed couple's wedding photos.
David Martin Jr., who grew up in Antioch and now works out of Southern California, had parked near Washington Street by Swan's Market late Wednesday morning and gone inside to get food, KTVU reported. Witnesses told him a masked man got out of a green car and broke into his Kia Sportage, he said.
What was taken
According to a list shared by the couple with Contra Costa News, the thief took two Canon R5 camera bodies, three Canon L-series lenses, a DJI gimbal and drone, two Profoto lights, a MacBook Pro, an external hard drive holding years of Martin's client work, and the SD and CFexpress cards from the wedding.
That wedding was just three days earlier. Martin had photographed his friends Jenna Wesenhagen-Banks and Nick Banks, who married Oct. 4 at La Grande Estates in Oakley.
"No questions asked"
The couple says it isn't asking for the expensive cameras back, only the memory cards and drive. "If you're the people that did this, no questions asked, the photos aren't worth anything to you," Martin told NBC Bay Area. Friends' phone videos and snapshots mean the day isn't completely lost, KTVU reported, but the professional photos are.
Martin spent Thursday checking pawn shops in Oakland and San Francisco without luck. Oakland police are investigating, and no arrests had been reported.
How to help
A GoFundMe set up by Martin's family lists police report number 26-042959 and asks anyone who sees cameras, lenses, laptops or hard drives for sale around Oakland, on Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp or Craigslist, to reach out through the fundraiser page. The page says that if the photos aren't recovered, Martin will refund the couple in full and reshoot them in their wedding clothes for free.
The case is also a reminder for anyone parking in Bay Area downtowns: thieves can be in and out within minutes, so keep valuables, and especially irreplaceable data, out of the car.