Another photographic lesson

[pjd83]

I usually carry my Canon EOS 300D camera everywhere I go. Even work. But tonight was a lesson about not only carrying the camera but the flash gun too.

I have a flash gun with a rating of 32m of ISO 100. Its a Jessops gun. Not too fancy. Not too poor. I originally bought the Jessops 28m flash buit after one test flash it broke! So an extra £30 and a new flash I was happy. Until tonight.

The taxi from work took me past the Aberdeen Box Office. And boy! Was there lots of people camped out there. All camping there just for wrestling tickets!!!! So I grab the camera, the taxi driver offering to take me round a second time which I agreed. But with only two photos. One with the inbuilt flash and one without, well, I can't but wish that I had my flash with me.

I play saxophone (alto and tenor) and keyboard and piano so I strive to live to the "always expect the unexpected rule". Well, I wish I did tonight. I wish I had my flash with me.

So...perhaps we should all expect the unexpected. I'll be packing my flash from now on and I'll be chalking this down to experience.

Has anoyone else been caught out? Share you stories!

[elbirth]

I try to carry my 20D with me fairly often, and when I don't, I try to at least keep my S400 in my pocket. It always seems like the times I forget at least one of my cameras, something happens where I wish I had brought it.

The main thing that I usually run into, however, is wishing I had a different lens on than what I have on it. For example, last Halloween, I went out with some friends and we took pictures at the celebration on campus at our university. I had my Sigma 28-80mm lens and an external flash. I got some good pictures from the night, but there were times when i really wish that I had a LITTLE more reach to get some shots of things further away.
So a few weeks ago when we won the NCAA tournament, I was out taking pictures with my Tokina 24-200mm (nice big range). i got some great shots using the long zoom, but then I wished I had a wide angle lens so that I could have captured more general crowd shots. Plus, one time I was zoomed in across the street and and girl got right in front of me and posed for me... I saw just a blurry forehead, so I pulled the camera away from my face to see what was going on, she kind of scoffed and said "you don't want to take my picture??" and walked off before I could zoom out and take her picture.

Oh well... I guess there's always going to end up being something you wish you could have done.

[gasrocks]

Yes, when I was young I tried to have a camera with me at all times or in the car, at least. In the long run it seemed like too much bother (security issues, dirt, keeping the camera from getting damaged,) for the number of good pix I got. Maybe I am getting too old, but now I either go out to take pix or shopping (for example) but not both. Of course some of these small digital pocket cameras (which don't cost too much, have self covering lens caps,) might be handy to have along whenever. I won't but on paper it sounds good.

[johnnybfan]

Yup, I feel your pain. Yesterday I ran to the store. I thought about throwing the dreb in the car and thought "nope, don't need it". WRONG!! On the way home I noticed several turkeys in a field - one a Tom who was "struttin' his stuff! It would have been a great pic. I'll just have to listen to myself & take the dreb with me whereever I go. My wife will think I'm nuts! ;) O well - nothing new :lol:

[MTalley]

I was out with my wife a couple weekends ago and we came upon a terrible car crash. It was a single vehicle incident involving a curve and way too much speed. The vehicle was in someone's front yard and was unrecognizable after having hit a tree. Very terrible. I thought about stopping and taking some pictures in case the newspaper didn't have anyone come out, but I didn't have my camera with me.

Considering the accident most likely involved death (there were no less than eight police vehicles there), I figured the papers would probably write something up and probably had already dispatched someone to take pics and get some story, so we drove on.

Ended up, the local paper ran a fairly good story on the front page of the local news section, but had no pictures along with it. Yes, the single driver of the vehicle died upon impact.

[Gary W. Graley]

Good idea to bring it along, here is a shot taken the other night, police cars
were whizzing by me so I followed along to see the commotion, parked a
bit away from them, shot through the windshield, was starting to rain,
hard to hand hold the 200L f2.8 that I just got but was glad to have it
on this occasion for the longer reach, there were 7 or 8 police vechicals
there, the one car is just backing out, the one in the middle, turns out
it was a false alarm, they thought someone had stolen a car;

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/GaryWGraley/EOS%2020D/200L/swarm.jpg

G2