Stoopid Photographer Tricks

You may notice that unlike most of my other blogs, this one doesn't open with an image.  It's a little unusual for me to do that but I'll explain:

So there I am, standing behind the tripod.  Got the right lens, cable release attached, tripod leveled and image composed.  A very symmetrical line of huge old cottonwood trees that were planted in a straight row several decades ago silhouetted against a colorful morning sky.  Got my Rocket J Squirrel hat on to keep my ears warm and my light warm gloves since it's only 25 degrees out there.  I reach down to press the release button on the cable release and simultaneously glance at the LCD display to check out the histogram for exposure data and......see a 3 word phrase that reminds me how dumb I can be at times:  NO CF CARD.  That's right, no card in the camera and my backpack with extra cards is back in the car 200 yards away.  Hence, no sunrise image.  Just as well though.  After two of the most spectacular sunrises I've ever seen the past 2 days, the color this morning was pretty lame.  But that's not the point.  See, Photographers can sometimes be a bit distracted during the creative process.  I've detailed it before in a blog that talks about being in the creative "zone."  And the result is often what I call Stoopid Photographer Tricks. 

Over the years I've had my share of SPT's and I'm not proud of them but as Will Rogers once said, "Everything is funny when it happens to someone else."  With that in mind, here are a couple of my more memorable SPT's.

Several years ago in the early 90's when I was trying to convince Judy that I needed to buy a large format camera to improve my images, I devised a foolproof strategy.  The deal was to borrow a 4X5 camera from my workplace and head up to Rocky Mountain National Park where I would shoot a large format transparency of a beautiful mountain scene and shoot the same scene on 35mm so I could demonstrate the additional quality available from 4X5.  I found a great shot of the Colorado River flowing through a meadow in the Weimenuche Valley and started setting up for the shot only to discover that the camera I borrowed had a 3/8" threaded socket while my tripod was 1/4".  Basically, I couldn't mount the 5 pound camera and lens on my tripod and I'm not foolish enough to even contemplate hand holding a 4X5 studio camera.  I made my living at the time by checking details like that before sending a camera out on a rental so how was I able to get 100 miles from home with an unusable camera?  SPT.  I solved the delima by taking the head off my tripod and bolting the camera directly to the legs with no leveling head.  I leveled the camera by adjusting the legs of the tripod.  It was cumbersome but I got the shot and later when I dropped the 4X5 on the light table next to the same shot on 35mm slide film it was a slam dunk and 2 days later I had my own 4X5.

A few years later I was visiting the In-Laws at their ranch in the Black Hills of South Dakota and one morning I decide to hike up the hill from the ranch and try to duplicate the angle of photograph taken of their valley in the late 1890's.  (Yes, I had that idea years before John Fielder's book of then and now photos came out)  When I got up on the bluff where the old image was taken from it was pretty easy to align my camera using some rock formations as a reference.  I set up the tripod, got the 4X5 out of the backpack, and.......discovered that during my hike the tightening knob for the quick release mount on my Studioball head was missing.  Again, there was no way to mount the camera on the tripod.  I backtracked the way I'd come with the phrase "needle in a haystack" running through my mind.  Fortunately I was able to find the knob AND the two little springs and bracket to make the head functional.  This was a typical problem with the Studioball head and I knew it but for some reason when I finished shooting the previous afternoon I hadn't tightened the knob to keep it from vibrating loose.  SPT. 

Both of those episodes ended well with me getting the shot I wanted though not as easily as I should have.  But not every SPT ends well.  About the same time frame as those incidents I borrowed a Canon 500mm f4 lens to photograph some elk in Rocky Mountain National Park.  This was before I had switched to the Studioball and my tripod head at the time was a Bogen ballhead with the typical Bogen octagonal quick release plate and lever release.  This was an early version of the head before Bogen installed a safety release button on the lever release.  Anyway, I finished shooting one morning and as usual I set the tripod next to the sliding door to  my van and started packing equipment like I always did.  First, take the camera body off the lens and pack it away then pack the lens.  Simple, right?  Well, this time I dismounted the camera body and when I was turning to put it in my backpack the strap got caught on the lever release of the ballhead, releasing the lens.  Naturally, without the camera and motor drive to balance the lens it was front heavy and I will never forget the sinking feeling in my stomach as I watched a $5000 lens plummet to the asphalt.  I was fortunate that the hood was still on so the front glass wasn't damaged but the impact did enough damage to the lens that I was out a pretty hefty repair bill to get it fixed up by Canon USA.  Probably my most devastating SPT ever and certainly the most expensive. 

There have been many more Stoopid Photographer Tricks over the years though none have been as costly as the Canon Lens trick and I must have morphed into someone else because when I think of them I have to chuckle.  And that's exactly what I did this morning when I had no memory card to shoot with. 

So how bout you?  Let's hear about your most amusing SPT.  Leave a comment and let's talk it over.