Dumb thing you did in 2022?

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Viathelens said:
Since we're doing the end-of-the-year stuff, did you do anything dumb while photographing in 2022? Here is my story on that:
I'm in Kenya with my Z9 and still getting used to the camera. I had two batteries but was charging the battery each night. We get about three or four miles into Amboseli and I reach for the Z9 to take a shot, only to realize that I had left the battery, with the battery cover attached, back at the lodge. I was with another person so I was not going back to get it and the road back to the lodge was terrible anyway. I did have the second battery in my pack so I popped it in and I tried to hold it in with my hand but quickly realized that was a stupid fix and not going to work. I then asked the driver if he had electrical tape in the glove compartment and he did. So, my DIY fix is shown below, worked the entire day. Share your goof for the year.

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I didnt check the tripod foot on my 70-200mm and it came apart dropping my camera breaking the mount.🦘

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gKhan said:
At almost the same time your friend was falling into the sewer I fell into a thermal hot springs or geyser in Yellowstone NP. I was crossing a very large meadow with three other fellas, going to fly fish the Gibbon River. We were about two miles below the Norris Geyser Basin, as I recall.

I mentioned to everyone that the ground was getting very, very swampy and spongy. As soon as I had said that I broke through the surface ground, and plunged into a hot springs/geyser/sinkhole---or whatever the bloody thing was called. The hole was probably three and half to four feet in diameter, I think.

Luckily I fell forward when the ground collapsed and my chest landed on the front of the hole and my arms were on the side of the hole. I couldn't tell for sure if my legs and feet were in the water because I was wearing heavy neoprene waders and sturdy wading boots. But, by the time my friends pulled me out my feet were definitely warmer---but that could have been from the heat and steam (?) in the hole.

We were all lucky that the ground my friends were standing on did not collapse also. Someone had a small flashlight and we estimated the water to be about five or six feet below the surface ground, and there was no telling how deep the water was.

I had left my SLR in the car, and was carrying a small digital point and shoot pocket camera. I would have ruined my SLR, and my chest, if I had been wearing it when I fell chest first onto the side of the hole. I apparently had dropped my rod on the ground when I fell and it was undamaged, so it was a rather lucky day, all things considered.

I just realized that this thread asked for problems from this year so I will just admit that in August I left my GPS on the fender or bumper of my car at a trailhead parking lot and drove away with it on the fender/bumper. It fell off and I've searched and searched and never found it. What is completely embarrassing is that a month earlier I had done the same thing with my hiking staff. Maybe it is true old guys get forgetful but in both cases I was distracted by weather and active kids.
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So glad to hear that the fall into the geyser did not turn out to be a really bad one, as you know people seem to die almost annually in Yellowstone from falling into geysers! And glad to did not have your camera with you. Maybe you need a check list to remember gear? I'm forgetful so I always talk to myself about what hear I am carrying and count it! So, I'd say two cameras and two lenses and I don't move on until I count or check that I have all my gear. It's way to easy to forget!
 
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Viathelens said:
Since we're doing the end-of-the-year stuff, did you do anything dumb while photographing in 2022? Here is my story on that:
I'm in Kenya with my Z9 and still getting used to the camera. I had two batteries but was charging the battery each night. We get about three or four miles into Amboseli and I reach for the Z9 to take a shot, only to realize that I had left the battery, with the battery cover attached, back at the lodge. I was with another person so I was not going back to get it and the road back to the lodge was terrible anyway. I did have the second battery in my pack so I popped it in and I tried to hold it in with my hand but quickly realized that was a stupid fix and not going to work. I then asked the driver if he had electrical tape in the glove compartment and he did. So, my DIY fix is shown below, worked the entire day. Share your goof for the year.

View attachment 51823
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I keep a cover on each of my batteries to avoid this
 
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Stumbling, slipping, falling...been there, done that. Most recent episode was on a hike in Culp Valley in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. This particular trail leads to a spring which oft times attracts a variety of critters but I was seeking some birds. I could hear them all around but not see them. So I decided to trek a little deeper and somewhat off the beaten path into the cotton wood trees around the spring. Making my way down a very faint game trail, I was pushing through some brush when an exposed tree root grabbed my foot. I was slightly top heavy with a D500 with an 18mm lens strapped across my body and hand carrying a D5 with a 200-500 lens by the lens foot. As I'm falling I think "...this is going to hurt..." My knee hits the ground first, then my butt then my shoulder and lastly, my head connects with a rock...ouch! Of course my first thought is not about my person but my gear. The D500 is still attached to me but I'm laying on top of it. The D5 is on the ground to my right about 5 feet away. Crap! Then there's blood...where is THAT coming from? First thought is my head since I bonked it on a rock, but no, it's my finger that was sliced by the 200-500 lens hood (somehow, not really sure).

Damage assessment: D500 kit...slightly muddy and scuffed body, lens hood same. D5 kit...slightly muddy and scuffed body, lens hood cracked and not on lens anymore.
Me...cut finger, abrasions to my hip and shoulder and a rather large knot on my noggin...and I'd left the first aid kit back at camp, duh!

Cleaned everything up, ordered a new lens hood for the 200-500 and all was good. Except for me...minor bumps and lumps; major blow to self esteem.
 
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Yellowboard said:
Stumbling, slipping, falling...been there, done that. Most recent episode was on a hike in Culp Valley in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. This particular trail leads to a spring which oft times attracts a variety of critters but I was seeking some birds. I could hear them all around but not see them. So I decided to trek a little deeper and somewhat off the beaten path into the cotton wood trees around the spring. Making my way down a very faint game trail, I was pushing through some brush when an exposed tree root grabbed my foot. I was slightly top heavy with a D500 with an 18mm lens strapped across my body and hand carrying a D5 with a 200-500 lens by the lens foot. As I'm falling I think "...this is going to hurt..." My knee hits the ground first, then my butt then my shoulder and lastly, my head connects with a rock...ouch! Of course my first thought is not about my person but my gear. The D500 is still attached to me but I'm laying on top of it. The D5 is on the ground to my right about 5 feet away. Crap! Then there's blood...where is THAT coming from? First thought is my head since I bonked it on a rock, but no, it's my finger that was sliced by the 200-500 lens hood (somehow, not really sure).

Damage assessment: D500 kit...slightly muddy and scuffed body, lens hood same. D5 kit...slightly muddy and scuffed body, lens hood cracked and not on lens anymore.
Me...cut finger, abrasions to my hip and shoulder and a rather large knot on my noggin...and I'd left the first aid kit back at camp, duh!

Cleaned everything up, ordered a new lens hood for the 200-500 and all was good. Except for me...minor bumps and lumps; major blow to self esteem.
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I hope you got the shot!! I'm checking my gear insurance this morning to ensure it has everything on the list that I need there. Glad to hear no real body harm...I think we've all done this type of thing trying to "get the shot."
 
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Roy said:
I didnt check the tripod foot on my 70-200mm and it came apart dropping my camera breaking the mount.🦘
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Maybe it is me, but the rapid release foot on the new Nikon telephoto lenses never made sense. Since I want an Arca foot anyway, I replace them with a Hejnar foot as soon as I get the lens.
 
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Trying to photograph crabs in a tidepool in Hawaiʻi, I got up and moved to get a better angle. Put my foot on a rock, but since the rocks are all black basalt, I couldn't tell that it was covered in dark colored algae. It was slick as glass. Slipped, fell, hit my head on another lava rock. The sound it made and the pain were so bad I thought I was gonna die. Sinus filled up with blood, felt like drowning. Had to walk back to the airbnb a half mile or more away. Then drove myself to the ER. Sustained maxillary sinus fractures, which thankfully did not require surgery at least. The flight home a few days later was absolute agony, though.

Pretty sure the crabs were laughing at me afterwards.

No camera gear was harmed, but it was more than a month before I could eat solid food again. I still haven't finished fully healing and I can't scuba dive for another few months still. I also had to cancel my winter Utah trip because I couldn't risk slipping on icy slickrock and reinjuring it so soon in the healing process.

Lesson learned, watch where you step on wet pahoehoe.
 
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jadewolf said:
Trying to photograph crabs in a tidepool in Hawaiʻi, I got up and moved to get a better angle. Put my foot on a rock, but since the rocks are all black basalt, I couldn't tell that it was covered in dark colored algae. It was slick as glass. Slipped, fell, hit my head on another lava rock. The sound it made and the pain were so bad I thought I was gonna die. Sinus filled up with blood, felt like drowning. Had to walk back to the airbnb a half mile or more away. Then drove myself to the ER. Sustained maxillary sinus fractures, which thankfully did not require surgery at least. The flight home a few days later was absolute agony, though.

Pretty sure the crabs were laughing at me afterwards.

No camera gear was harmed, but it was more than a month before I could eat solid food again. I still haven't finished fully healing and I can't scuba dive for another few months still. I also had to cancel my winter Utah trip because I couldn't risk slipping on icy slickrock and reinjuring it so soon in the healing process.

Lesson learned, watch where you step on wet pahoehoe.
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OMG....so sorry, hope things get better and you get great shots on the next trip...and, yes, the crabs probably were laughing!
 
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Viathelens said:
OMG....so sorry, hope things get better and you get great shots on the next trip...and, yes, the crabs probably were laughing!
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Thanks! Doing much better now, though I still can't eat the two boxes of chocolate covered macadamias I bought right before my fall, lol. No nuts at all until I fully heal! They're waiting for me in the fridge. So it goes 🤣
 
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Viathelens said:
I think this would be a great subject for a new thread. I’d be interested as a z9 owner.
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There are many solar charges. I have a 25w folding panel solar charger. It came with carabiners for attaching to a backpack. Can charge on the go directly to the camera but probably best through a power bank. Search Amazon “solar iphone charger”
 
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One flight in October 2022, three mistakes, one disaster.

1. Heading for the flight home from Winnipeg after eight days in Churchill, I realised that my SSD with my 9,000+ images and my backup SSD were both in my hold baggage. I rescued them, but

2. I put master and backup SSD in the same pouch and in the same backpack. Fortunately both drives came home with me.

3. to reduce weight of hand luggage (to be fair, I had a lot to carry), I put my Canon IS binoculars in a hold bag. Guess what, at Heathrow airport I had to file a missing bag report for that bag. After a couple of weeks I chased Air Canada and this stimulated them to find the missing bag. It was eventually returned to me in bits, in a strong plastic bag, looking as if it had been through a combine harvester. Many items were fine, but a lot of clothing was destroyed and the binoculars were trashed.

I am normally a careful person, and have never put optical items in hold baggage in the past, and the one time I did I paid the price.

In future, I will make sure to put nothing important in the hold, and keep my master and backup drives separate. Risks are low but real.
 
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My 2022 dumb arrived with a day to spare. I was at a semi local waterfowl management area looking for winged rats, swans, cranes, eagles and northern harriers. I was jumping in and out of the car upon announcement of gaggles of said rats and swans. After a number of waves I carelessly forgot that I threw my eyeglasses on the seat. Yep, sat on them. Broke a screw and both lenses popped out as well as a couple of choice expletives! lol
 
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DsD said:
My 2022 dumb arrived with a day to spare. I was at a semi local waterfowl management area looking for winged rats, swans, cranes, eagles and northern harriers. I was jumping in and out of the car upon announcement of gaggles of said rats and swans. After a number of waves I carelessly forgot that I threw my eyeglasses on the seat. Yep, sat on them. Broke a screw and both lenses popped out as well as a couple of choice expletives! lol
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Ouch! I am not good with close vision without my glasses! That would be bad.
What are winged rats? Pigeon?
 
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IainD said:
Ouch! I am not good with close vision without my glasses! That would be bad.
What are winged rats? Pigeon?
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Hi Iain. Very frustrating for me as I need both corrections to now function, however the Evf on the Z9 eliminates glasses when shooting and chimping . Yep pigeons would qualify but I tend to see geese as basically winged rats in my parts. Ubiquitous nuisances in many cases. I never really got into hunting them either. But they do have a place in creation.
 
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Dropped (it fell from my pack) Z9 with FtZii, tc 1.4 and 500 pf attached. Few thousand dollars later the barrel mounts were replaced on the camera, the lens, one side of the FtZ, and the TC was trashed (cut apart to get it off the lens). The real dumb bit was I still hadn't gotten insurance....
 
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Accidentally sprayed myself with bear spray. The clip that prevents accidental discharge somehow came loose. The spray was in my right pants pocket and when I swung my leg over to get on my ebike, the button pressed against the camera and 200-600 lens hanging from shoulder. A stream of spray shot straight upward in front of me. Unfortunately a strong breeze was blowing in my direction. Man, did that burn! Did get some nice bear pictures though.
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