Your photography travel adventure turned sour. Share your stories.

<p>While I am on a roll here is another. We did a photo shoot in aid of beauty Without Cruelty to highlight the sad goings on in the fur trade so the image that I am posting is purely posed with fake blood, however the models expression is not. Unbeknown to me, the reason for this look was the fact that my mates 400 mm Canon lens had rolled off a table in front of the model and she was trying to save it using her foot, hence this expression. Canon lenses are tough and luckily no damage. Bailey however not so tough and was reduced to this blubbering wreck in a state of shock. It all ended well and I got the shot. Now if only somone had taken a shot of Steve at the precise moment. I am led to believe he almost swallowed his teeth.</p><div></div>

<p><strong>I got lucky... could have been worse.</strong><br>

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About 5 or so years ago I was at the cottage in front of a fire watching and photographing the sunset. There's a fire pit right on the shore by my dock. I set my camera down in the plastic garden chair next to me (a D100 at that time) as it got dark to kick back in front of the fire with a glass of wine. I began to get sleepy and traipsed off to bed.</p>

<p>When I woke up the next morning, the day was very overcast and rain was imminent. I hunted for my camera but couldn't find it. I began to panic not knowing where it was. Suddenly it dawned on me where I had it last the night before. I ran down to the lakefront and there it was, still in the chair where I had set it down. I was surprised to find that it was bone-dry, not even dew on it. A passerby could easily have seen it and picked it up. </p>

<p>As I picked up my camera it started to pour rain, and quite the downpour too! Who says there's no God?</p>

<p>I had another incident where I was out on a 5 day canoe-camp trip and we capsized. Everything survived but my camera bag with all my gear sunk to the bottom. It was the first time I ever had my bag untied from my canoe, usually it's secured with a safety line. :( No worries, it was a film SLR and I was glad to see it go. Bought my D100 soon after. </p>

<p>Not a still photography problem, but I went to Antarctica last year and -- when I got on board the ship and went to charge the battery in my camcorder -- remembered that it was our OLD camcorder that used the same battery as my still camera, not the NEW camcorder that I'd brought with me. Serves me right for poor preparation!<br>

<br />My other travel "horror" story is that I lost (or had stolen) the digital camera I had with me on a trip to Thailand with all of my photos of Ayuthaya. I look at that as a good reason to go back to Thailand someday. The video of Antarctica will likely remain unshot by me, though.</p>

<p>I am embarassed to admit that, too often, I've either run out of film or run out of power at exactly the location and time at which I needed to be firing on all cylinders. This happened in Alaska, at waterfalls in N.E. Georgia, and in Israel, among other places.</p>

<p>I was visiting Mesa Verde and took a tour of the Cliff Palace. The guide took us to a kiva and told us about how it was a sacred space and no one was allowed down into it. As I was scrambling around the edge of it trying to find an interesting angle for a picture I accidentally knocked off my lens cap. Down it tumbled to the center of the kiva! I knew I couldn't climb down to get it so I went to the guide to explain what happened and apologize for violating the sacred space with my dumb lens cap. Instead of berating me for littering, the guide gave me a big smile and said just a minute. He then got a long pole and fished the lens cap out and gave it back to me! The next time I went to the camera store I got a lens cap tether and attached it. It's saved me many times on other trips.</p>

<p>I've been making maybe a dozen trips a year, mainly to photograph, for well over ten years now. Inevitably things go wrong. But nothing that i'd consider a catastrophe when viewed from after the event. When I first started using Bronica I was beset by technical issues and decided to cut a trip short by a day or two rather than hang about with no camera. The same camera , right after I'd had it serviced, underexposed pretty much all of a two week trip to the Pacific NW in 1998. A disaster at the time ( you can bet that I sought and got some compensation) but much less so after I've done three further trips to the same areas and discovered scanning. I've had a flat near Eureka Dunes, miles from anywhere north of Death Valley, which meant abandoning the day and spending several hours driving very slowly to Stovepipe Wells on a temporary spare. A recent trip to Cuba was affected to some degree by stomach issues that were resolved pretty instantly once I came back to the UK but didn't seem resolvable there. </p>

<p> I think you have to expect these things, be thankful that nothing life-threatening has happened on a trip or at home whilst I've been away, and buy and carry a second camera both for added flexibility and backup. Preferably one that works without a tripod.</p>

<p>My story takes place on Moosehead Lake in northern Maine. I was on vacation with my wife and my son visiting my mother at her cabin on the lake. One fine morning we decided to take the canoe out for a spin. My wife had never been in a canoe before and my son was 3 or 4 years old at the time and was outfitted with the appropriate lifesaver. Well, I decided to take my trusty Canon Z115 (film) out for the trip for those must have shots of the wildlife and other breathtaking landscapes that can only be experienced from beyond the shores. After some time on paddling around the local area I could see that my wife was having just about all the fun she could take and my son was becoming somewhat anxious, so back to terra firma it was. We no sooner made our way back when my wife decided to lunge for the for the dock causing the canoe to move further away from her target which caused her to lunge a bit further all the while confirming what Newton predicted would happen under these circumstances. As the canoe was tipping over, and with my trembling son in my lap, I found myself confronted with a decision; hold on to my son and let him know that I won't let him take that plunge or let him rely on his safety device knowing he can't possibly be hurt in 2 feet of water with a life vest on whilst hanging on to my trusty old friend the Z115, anyways it might even survive the sipll. Being the good father that I am I opted to hang on to my son and try to catch my wife as she was falling backwards into the water. Everything that could have gone wrong did just that. My wife landed on her derriere in the water, my son got a mouthful of water as I tried to hold him up out of the water while I was landing on my own derriere in 2 feet of water. I recovered the camera in it's case at the bottom of the lake (actually in 2 feet of water), I attempted to dry it out and even salvage the film, to no success. I still have the camera, and it still doesn't work (I don't know why I have it, I think maybe someday it'll fix itself). But the happy side of the story, My son still remembers the day mom tipped over the canoe and dad held on.</p>

<p>Great story Bob :). I think that has to be one of my favs.</p>

<p>I am the photographer for the South Dakota Department of Tourism and take many pictures of bison in Custer State Park and other places each year. A couple stand out in my mind.<br>

A large bull buffalo was grazing in a spot where I could line him up with bright yellow fall leaves behind him. I was approximately 75 yards away, kneeling down in a dark shadowed area. As I focused my 200mm, I realized his head had come up and he was coming toward me. Then I realized he was picking up speed. I looked over the camera and there was no doubt he was headed for me. I quickly turned and found a tree with four trunks growing up from the ground. I hopped into the middle of them and the buffalo passed by so closely I could have touched him. I have a feeling he was just playing with me, but I'm glad I didn't have to find out.<br>

During a different trip in Wind Cave National Park I was photographing from the safety of a minivan when a cow buffalo decided it tasted good. She licked all over the back end and both sides of the van before wandering away.<br>

Photos from both encounters are at <a href="http://www.dakotagraph.com/search/label/buffalo">http://www.dakotagraph.com/search/label/buffalo</a>.</p>

 

<p>2004 : Arrive in Lesotho for four days ( I'm South African ) and the company who hired me was supposed to have a local employee travel about with me while I shot. The local company person passes off her teen brother and his friend on me instead. We drive about daily with only their atomic kitten c.d. to listen to... repeatedly... ( radio reception was bad ).<br>

I shot so much on that trip that I was "a bit tired" every evening- pass out in the shower and crack the toilet seat with my head as I fall. The hotel was fine with it though and didn't add a toilet seat to my bill.<br>

I was still very green then ( it was one of my first "proper" photo jobs ) but am now well aware that feeling tired after a days work is a good thing.</p>

<p>Lastly ( still the same trip ), I changed lenses ( Canon FL ) and put the 50mm on top of the car.... A few seconds after we drove off I saw a flash in the rear view mirror as it rolled off the roof, into a field of maize. Stopped but couldn't find it.</p>

<p>Note to self : never put anything on top of a car.</p>

<p>thanks for your attention</p>

<p>After finishing my work in Malaysia, I decided to do a three day trek in Northern Thailand. At that time, almost 20 years ago, I wasn't a very seasoned ex-pat. I brought a big bag filled with a full hassy kit (body, two backs, prism finder, 50/80/150) a full Leica kit (two bodies, 35/50/135), a Nikonos (for the rafting part of the trek) and a Gitzo tripod + misc. accessories, about 25 pounds. Of course, I fell behind the group during the walking part of the trek, mostly due to fatigue, but also to take photos. During the rafting, I hanged the bag (minus the Nikonos) from the bamboo tripod provided in the center of the raft. The raft was overloaded with tourists and gear, and during a rough patch of water, began to be overcome by water. Everyone's gear, including my cameras, was almost lost.<br>

I now, ex-Hassy, carry my Leica gear in a small Domke F-X5B as my transport bag, and don't even bring the whole kit during excursions/side trips.</p>

<p>It usually has something to do with dropping something. Lens cap into the Grand Canyon. Teleconverter into Loch Ness. Pentax 67 II onto the sidewalk in San Francisco (destroyed).</p>

<p>The biggest disappointments, though, are the shots that I missed due to lack of planning or being stuck at some stuffy event.</p>

<p>An hour and a half before my scheduled trip on a hot air balloon over Ottawa I dropped my 30D camera to the ground. It fell out of my Lowepro trekker holster. Unfortunately I was in a car parking lot at the time. When I bent over to pick it up it, pieces inside were shaking like a maraca. Luckily it was next to a shopping center. I had time to run in and buy a new body. Luckily the 28-70 L lens was still working. Just the body was toast. I paid for it with my plastic and still had time to drive out to the hot air balloon festival.<br>

<a href="http://www.flickriver.com/photos/phil_marion/sets/">http://www.flickriver.com/photos/phil_marion/sets/</a><br>

Some of the photos are in the 5 set on the gallery above, the one entitled"<a href="http://www.flickriver.com/photos/phil_marion/sets/72157607047283876/">outside of/nearby to Toronto</a>"</p>

<p>I lost a 16-35L 2.8 in the icy waters of the North Fork of the American River in the Sierra Nevada mountains in northern California. I took a weekend hiking the river in December. I saw an interesting combination of ice and rock and stooped down on my knees to capture a macro. When I arose to continue on my way, I noticed the heavy lump in my coat pocket was gone! I was standing on a narrow strip of rock surrounded by thick ice that afforded little movement. All I could do was turn around in circles and look at my feet, realizing the lens slipped out of my pocket and skidded down the ice shelf behind me as I stood up.</p>

<p>I wanted to get some fly fishing photos a few years back and I got my gear together for a fly fishing trip to a local stream. I ride my motorcycle on fishing trips fairly often and that was the plan for this trip. I had my fly fishing gear in my vest. I used bungee cords to attach a 3 piece rod to the handle bars and more bungee cords to attach my camera bag to my luggage rack. Like I said, This is fairly routine and I've never had any problems in the past with this. On this particular trip it was a little different. I was anxious to get to one of my favorite streams and was travelling at a pretty good pace. On one of the roads about a mile from the stream I came around a bend to find a "Road Under Construction" sign in the road. Uh,Oh ! Not enough time to slow down. The road was being repaved and there was deep potholes everywhere. There was no way to avoid them. I stood up on the pegs to absorb some of the shock. The bike was bouncing around all over. I looked in my rear view mirror in horror to see my camera bag bouncing in the road behind me taking 4 foot leaps into the air at 45MPH. I thought for sure I would have smashed lenses. I had 4 lenses and a camera in the bag. It turned out that I had one damaged lens. It was a cracked lens barrel on a Yashica 50mm F1.9 lens. The glass was still OK. It still worked and I use it to this day. The camera bag had a bad case of road rash. But, everything else was fine. I got real lucky. I don't think I'm going to forget that experience anytime soon.</p>