8 replies to this topic

[martys]

This past March  I was photographing at      Quoddy Head State Park in Lubec, Maine.       

Had been at this particular vantage point  for almost two hours photographing 10-16 foot seas crashing into Gulliver's Hole a beautiful scenic point there. It was windy off and on but not as bad as I'm accustomed to seeing,....sooooooo I thought.

The spectacular conditions that day was a big adrenaline rush.   

I had worked my way out onto an isolated and precarious location with a fantastic viewpoint,...I've worked it many times previously with no problems,....the narrow ledge wasn't even 3 foot wide and about 45 feet above the rocks and crashing ocean. Had been shooting elsewhere as well for several hours and just about to relocate once again. I had just removed my 32GB compact flash card that was now full with my mornings work.

Then,...............I had a rude awakening I'll not soon forget,.... when I turned for a second to grab something out of my camera bag,....I heard the tripod crash to the ground,...as I turned and I saw the 500mm  Nikkor lens with my D300 attached,... snap off the tripod mount and drop virtically down out of sight  into the rocks and into the ocean below.
The sound  a camera and lens makes as it smashed its way down against the rocks is a sound I hope to never ever hear again. It ain't pretty.

I was in total disbelief,...in just one  split second,...everything was gone (except my tripod).

Had the 500mm  casting not sheared off at the lens collar,...the tripod would have gone too.
At that point though I was totally and completely demoralized and sick to my stomach. All I could do was sit there and talk to myself over and over,...(lots of adjectives)

So I pass this along surely not to brag, but in hopes that others might learn that these mishaps can happen to you,......PLEASE learn from my  poor judgement and costly $$$$ mistake.

I never ever thought it would happen to me. 

Watch your    equipment very carefully,...no matter how secure you think it is. sitting there exposed to the forces of nature,...gravity is fast.

I never, never thought in all my years of being a photographer that I would be the recipient of something like this. I have always erred on the side of being toooooo careful and always observant of potential dangers,.......

But not on March 7th, 2013,....I paid dearly in a split second,...thinking all was secure with my equipment.
Too late to get the moment back,....the horse was already out of the barn.

Anyway,....I wanted to share that with all who take the time   to read this post....be careful,...IN ADVANCE,..feeling secure, that these things only happen to others???....think again.

Yes I had it insured,...or I should say "under insured",....had recently decreased the insured value,...why,...because something this catastrophic would never  happen to me,...and I saved a few dollars,.......yeah right.

Thanks for reading this and I hope it awakens in you,...the same  false sense of security I thought I had.

Ive posted an image here of where it happened,...as a visual,.....so you can see the crime scene.
The narrow outcrop I was  on,...is just to the left of the   tree on the right side of the  attached image,...thats where I was standing and had the tripod set up.

Were the   images worth the cost of the loss,......not unless I got paid big $$$ bucks for the images,...didn't happen and totally unlikely.

It helps to laugh,..........now,...not then.

Be well ,....and that includes your camera gear.

 

 

Looks like the image didn't attach,....will put it up in my gallery instead.   

Martys

[DanWeso]

Sorry to hear about your equipment loss, but thanks for sharing your experiences. Definitely something to think about.

[Tony892]

This past March  I was photographing at      Quoddy Head State Park in Lubec, Maine.       

Had been at this particular vantage point  for almost two hours photographing 10-16 foot seas crashing into Gulliver's Hole a beautiful scenic point there. It was windy off and on but not as bad as I'm accustomed to seeing,....sooooooo I thought.
The spectacular conditions that day was a big adrenaline rush.   

I had worked my way out onto an isolated and precarious location with a fantastic viewpoint,...I've worked it many times previously with no problems,....the narrow ledge wasn't even 3 foot wide and about 45 feet above the rocks and crashing ocean. Had been shooting elsewhere as well for several hours and just about to relocate once again. I had just removed my 32GB compact flash card that was now full with my mornings work.

Then,...............I had a rude awakening I'll not soon forget,.... when I turned for a second to grab something out of my camera bag,....I heard the tripod crash to the ground,...as I turned and I saw the 500mm  Nikkor lens with my D300 attached,... snap off the tripod mount and drop virtically down out of sight  into the rocks and into the ocean below.
The sound  a camera and lens makes as it smashed its way down against the rocks is a sound I hope to never ever hear again. It ain't pretty.

I was in total disbelief,...in just one  split second,...everything was gone (except my tripod).

Had the 500mm  casting not sheared off at the lens collar,...the tripod would have gone too.
At that point though I was totally and completely demoralized and sick to my stomach. All I could do was sit there and talk to myself over and over,...(lots of adjectives)

So I pass this along surely not to brag, but in hopes that others might learn that these mishaps can happen to you,......PLEASE learn from my  poor judgement and costly $$$$ mistake.
I never ever thought it would happen to me. 

Watch your    equipment very carefully,...no matter how secure you think it is. sitting there exposed to the forces of nature,...gravity is fast.

I never, never thought in all my years of being a photographer that I would be the recipient of something like this. I have always erred on the side of being toooooo careful and always observant of potential dangers,.......

But not on March 7th, 2013,....I paid dearly in a split second,...thinking all was secure with my equipment.
Too late to get the moment back,....the horse was already out of the barn.

Anyway,....I wanted to share that with all who take the time   to read this post....be careful,...IN ADVANCE,..feeling secure, that these things only happen to others???....think again.

Yes I had it insured,...or I should say "under insured",....had recently decreased the insured value,...why,...because something this catastrophic would never  happen to me,...and I saved a few dollars,.......yeah right.

Thanks for reading this and I hope it awakens in you,...the same  false sense of security I thought I had.

Ive posted an image here of where it happened,...as a visual,.....so you can see the crime scene.
The narrow outcrop I was  on,...is just to the left of the   tree on the right side of the  attached image,...thats where I was standing and had the tripod set up.

Were the   images worth the cost of the loss,......not unless I got paid big $$$ bucks for the images,...didn't happen and totally unlikely.

It helps to laugh,..........now,...not then.

Be well ,....and that includes your camera gear.
 
 
Looks like the image didn't attach,....will put it up in my gallery instead.   

Martys

Thanks for sharing your horrible experience, a real wake up call - particularly for someone like myself who has hands like mallets and is clumsy by nature. Good news is that when you started to save up and build your camera bag up again, you did not have to worry about getting a tripod or sim card!

[Thumper]

Oh, man.   That hurt just to read, I can't even comprehend what it must have felt like to watch that happen and then deal with the emotional aftermath.  But thank you for sharing that experience.   I will keep that story in mind whenever I am out. 

 

 

On a tangent, did you replace your camera and lens?  (I am assuming that you replaced at least the camera, unless it was a backup).

[ChristyLynn]

So sorry this happened.  But thanks for posting as a wake up call to the rest of us.

[martys]

Yes Thumper,.....

My under insured coverage for the D300 (was my only camera) and the 500mm combined allowed me to replace my camera, I researched and decided on the D800E. I also elected to get a backup camera body and for that I got a D7100.

 

I am at this location quite often and footing can be precarious I opted to cover myself with at least a backup so I'm not out of business if something now happens.

Had the mishap not happened I would have stayed with the D300 which I enjoyed very much.

Now I alternate between the two new cameras at will, and am more than pleased with the output of each.

File sizes can be large with the D800E but hard drives per terabyte are also reasonably priced these days. We'll be seeing petabyte sized storage I believe before long.

As far as my lens goes,....as it turned out my wife had an identical 500mm,....she always insisted for years,....that I use hers.

I refused and bought my own,..my rationale being,.....if I break the 500,..at least it is mine that I break,......not hers.

I did, it was and her lens was not involved. 

 

She has now insisted on giving me hers,...she has ceased doing photography due to her dislike of the digital photography workflow, although she is a qualified and experienced film gal herself she no longer shoots at all,....so this time I accepted her generous offer,..... and I HAVE insured it adequately this time. 

Thats how it turned out though,....so far so good  ;-)) 

 

Thank you for responding Thumper and nice meeting you here.

Am looking forward to interacting with others on this site and sharing techniques and experiences.

Hopefully not the same experience as with the D300 & 500,... which now sleeps with the fish.  ;-)

Be well

Martys 

.  

[deano]

 

Ouch!  Sorry to read of your loss.  Thanks for the insight though.  I will try to be more prepared in the future.

[Adamwesleyo]

I probably would've dove after it and somehow tried to force the seas to part. But that's just me. 

[Tony892]

Yes Thumper,.....
My under insured coverage for the D300 (was my only camera) and the 500mm combined allowed me to replace my camera, I researched and decided on the D800E. I also elected to get a backup camera body and for that I got a D7100.
 
I am at this location quite often and footing can be precarious I opted to cover myself with at least a backup so I'm not out of business if something now happens.
Had the mishap not happened I would have stayed with the D300 which I enjoyed very much.
Now I alternate between the two new cameras at will, and am more than pleased with the output of each.
File sizes can be large with the D800E but hard drives per terabyte are also reasonably priced these days. We'll be seeing petabyte sized storage I believe before long.
As far as my lens goes,....as it turned out my wife had an identical 500mm,....she always insisted for years,....that I use hers.
I refused and bought my own,..my rationale being,.....if I break the 500,..at least it is mine that I break,......not hers.
I did, it was and her lens was not involved. 
 
She has now insisted on giving me hers,...she has ceased doing photography due to her dislike of the digital photography workflow, although she is a qualified and experienced film gal herself she no longer shoots at all,....so this time I accepted her generous offer,..... and I HAVE insured it adequately this time. 
Thats how it turned out though,....so far so good  ;-)) 
 
Thank you for responding Thumper and nice meeting you here.
Am looking forward to interacting with others on this site and sharing techniques and experiences.
Hopefully not the same experience as with the D300 & 500,... which now sleeps with the fish.  ;-)
Be well
Martys 
.

Sorry to remind you about the incident, but interested in what sort of insurance cover you have now taken out. We had a discussion about this in another thread, but would value your reflections.