Mistakes.

[ghherd]

Let's see, how about doing tripod work using the mirror lockup equivalent (2 or 10 second delay), and forgetting to reset it, so that the next day when time is of the essence to capture the subject's pose at just the right moment so you can go and collect your Pulitzer, you press the shutter and realize you have 2 seconds to stare into a blackened viewfinder while your subject moves, grows old and dies. Or, forgetting to change the mode setting from continuous to single frame, and machine-gunning your last half-roll of Velvia through the camera?

[miketoll]

Originally Posted by Leif

About 10 years go I was photographing dragonflies and ran out of film. So I took out the exposed film, and walked away from the tripod. However the tripod was embedded in the silt of a stream, and my walking away through the squelchy sediment unbalanced the tripod, tipping the camera and lens into the stream. Goodbye camera (Nikon F90X) and hello big lens cleaning bill. On another occasion I dropped an exposed film into a bog. And there's a free like new Nikon DR3 right angle finder in the New Forest for anyone who can find it, after I put it down, and promptly lost it. I had a film lost in the post, and another turned out blue when the Kodak development machine broke. I sent my best two slides to a well known printer, who returned them by normal post (I had paid for recorded) and that was the last I saw of the slides and I never saw the prints. Touchwood, my recent antics have been less costly. Thus far.

I suppose I now count my mistakes as learning experiences and I try not to make the same mistake again e.g. inappropriate shutter speed or aperture, unstable support, wrong location, wrong time of day etc. If this lark was easy, it wouldn't be challenging and fun. Would it?

I think you are the 'winner' so far Leif, losing your Nikon! Thank goodness I have not done anything that bad (yet!)

[Leif]

Originally Posted by miketoll

I think you are the 'winner' so far Leif, losing your Nikon! Thank goodness I have not done anything that bad (yet!)

Confirmation that I am the most stupid. Not the best prize to win.

[Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Stephen Fox

Not to mention tight confined space, fantastic opportunity you had there, was one of your photos used on the cover of Shuttleworth programme last weekend?

That's the one, I've had several others over the past couple of years. It certainly went down well, the programme sold out.

The exposure compensation blunder was on an earlier trip with the two Magisters, it was more of a fun trip with a camera than anything serious. On that trip I learnt a few lessons:

1. don't use a neckstrap (it catches the slipstream and strangles you)
2. check all your settings every few shots.
3. plan where the sun's going to be and plan your shots well during the briefing (the pleasure trip didn't go into that level of detail)
4. vary your shutter speeds in blocks so that if the buffeting and vibration is too much for a slow shutter at least you have something to show for a very expensive sortie.
5. have fun - that's what it's all about.
6. don't forget to thank everyone involved for giving you the opportunity.

I had 4 minutes of contact time with the Pup with a gale howling through the open canopy - everything's frantic under those conditions and the possibility of coming down without anything decent to show for it doesn't bear thinking about.

[miketoll]

Originally Posted by Wheeler

That's the one, I've had several others over the past couple of years. It certainly went down well, the programme sold out.

The exposure compensation blunder was on an earlier trip with the two Magisters, it was more of a fun trip with a camera than anything serious. On that trip I learnt a few lessons:

1. don't use a neckstrap (it catches the slipstream and strangles you)
2. check all your settings every few shots.
3. plan where the sun's going to be and plan your shots well during the briefing (the pleasure trip didn't go into that level of detail)
4. vary your shutter speeds in blocks so that if the buffeting and vibration is too much for a slow shutter at least you have something to show for a very expensive sortie.
5. have fun - that's what it's all about.
6. don't forget to thank everyone involved for giving you the opportunity.

I had 4 minutes of contact time with the Pup with a gale howling through the open canopy - everything's frantic under those conditions and the possibility of coming down without anything decent to show for it doesn't bear thinking about.

I hope you secure the camera somehow if the strap is not round your neck in case you drop the camera over the side, it would not do anyone it hit much good!

[Wheeler]

I've got handstraps on both my cameras. They're perfectly secure.

A neckstrap in an open cockpit isn't a very good idea unless you find some way of securing the back of the strap so that it doesn't catch the wind.

[miketoll]

Originally Posted by Wheeler

I've got handstraps on both my cameras. They're perfectly secure.

A neckstrap in an open cockpit isn't a very good idea unless you find some way of securing the back of the strap so that it doesn't catch the wind.

Thanks for the explanation.

[gordon g]

Whilst climbing in Cwm Idwal I carefully placed my camera into its pouch on the left side of my harness, only to realise as it bounced down 300 ft of rockface that the pouch was on the right - on the left was the open pocket of my cag!
I now secure my camera to a long piece of cord permenantly clipped on to the harness - at least then if gravity takes over, it should survive with mininal dammage.

Other mishaps include flooding my rucksac, with the camera inside it, by carelessly leaving the top open in the rain, freezing the shutter shut leaving the camera outside my tent overnight and destroying the focus mechanism of my bigma with windblown sand.

[miketoll]

Leif has competition! The best time to do this sort of thing is when you have to persuade your ever loving that you really do need that new camera/lens etc but it will only work once!

[ollieholmes]

Forgetting to turn my iso down.
Not charging cammera battery.
Forgetting my portable storage unit for a weekend of airshows.
Shooting with a film wound back.