Honing in on Your Subject (Being in the Zone & its Consequences)

[Andrew Tingle]

We've all done it, I'm sure...gotten so immersed in capturing 'the image' when seeing something that really promises a great capture and, in getting in the zone, we've pretty much 'nulled' out everything else around us.

Today, saw a Coopers Hawk caught in rays of light coming through gaps in the cloud cover as it sat on a dead tree branch. Had the 500mm, just needed to get closer as it was a little too far away. So, looking through the viewfinder I start closing in, not looking where I'm going and...

...the result, just back from casualty. Snapped ankle. Now in plaster and walking with crutches.

The worse part of it was I didn't even get the image. The bird flew off. Damn. Would have been a corker of an image, too.

So, just a quick Public Advisory. Please, when in the zone, don't zone out everything else a little too much. lol.

(Now trying to work out how to strap the 500 to one of the crutches).

[pbelarge]

Well Andrew, I hope you recover well and soon. I guess that saying, "break a leg" does not always bring good luck.

A couple of summers ago, I was on a large rock scramble. I needed to recompose the shot, so I was turning the camera just enough...just enough for me to fall off the large boulder I was standing on. That resulted in a few weeks of limping around..

[cdiver2]

Dont feel to bad, been there and done that. Same as you, I was watching a Osprey through the view finder and walking to get a little closer when someting told me to look down. About four feet in front of me was a gator. The trouble is I never seem to learn!.
Get well soon.

[jhayesvw]

Andrew,
I wish you rapid healing.

Here is my most recent ZONE story.

a few weeks ago I was at the local wetlands. I was looking up in the trees. it was mid afternoon (about 430pm) and I walked right up on this rattlesnake. Thank god it rattled and didnt bite me. I was definitely within 2 feet of it.
I jumped back and started shooting it with my camera. but the pics were blurry because it was STILL within my minimum focus distance of 5.9ft. So I backed up more and shot this one good shot.
If it had bitten me it would have been at least $4k out of pocket for the anitvenom and treatment.
Here is the snake. check the exif info for my distance to subject (3.29meters)


rattlesnake by jhayesvw, on Flickr

[Andrew Tingle]

Thanks very much for the kind wishes, and for your stories - glad to hear that I'm not the only one who has come a cropper in is way!

Nice pic of the snake, too. Man, gators, snakes...just goes to show its wise to keep versed with what's outside the viewfinder as well.

[Levina de Ruijter]

Oh man, Andrew, that is such bad luck. There's a lesson in there for all of us. I have been lucky so far as I have only *almost* fallen in the pond twice and tripped many times without breaking anything. After your story I will be more careful.
Wishing you a speedy recovery!

[Duane N]

Hope you heal quickly and this is a lesson for every photographer out there.

I've never run into a snake or gator but I did slightly injure myself in pursuit of a Red-tailed Hawk a few years ago. The place I frequent puts up Christmas lights during the month of December and one day while following the Hawk it flew across the main road to a stand of trees. As I was looking up trying to see where it landed I had to cross the road which is lined on either side with a string of lights about 1 foot off the ground. Needless to say I tripped on the Christmas lights and ended up with 2 bloody knees and my left palm skinned up. I had my camera (50D + 500mm f/4L) on my tripod and slung over my shoulder at the time....all I was worried about was everything hitting the ground as I fell...thankfully it didn't.

I pay attention to my surroundings since this accident.

[Andrew Tingle]

Thanks Levina, Duane - it's my third time busting this ankle now so I really should learn to be more careful. Duane, a Red Tailed Hawk, eh, mmm, that would have gotten me too, I suspect.

Actually I seem to have compounded the damage caused by hammering down on the ankle after the break a few times to try to stay upright. I have the 500 in the other hand and it was either drop that or inflict more on the ankle...

[butterfly2937]

OMG I am so sorry to hear of your mishap. Get well soon! Was anyone there to help you?

[Andrew Tingle]

Originally Posted by butterfly2937

OMG I am so sorry to hear of your mishap. Get well soon! Was anyone there to help you?

Thank you!

Well, I carried on as I had walked around a large lake to try to get better lighting, and it's a big lake. So I walked on it broken for some 45 mins till the pain got too much walking on it. Then gave in and called my wife who can to get me.

Funny thing is, only when I got home I realised I had totally walked in the wrong direction. I should have gone south, but I went north, so, all in all, a disaster.

Have tried getting around with my camera bag on my back and with the 500 strapped around my neck whilst on crutches but, mmm, it's no good so now looking at hiring a wheelchair so I can be more mobile and still carry my camera kit.

I did have a big job on this month but, thankfully, that has been delayed anyhow as that involved air to air photography on the other side of the country. No way I could do that right now.

[badams]

Back in early spring of this year I had a close encounter with a cottonmouth while chasing down a butterfly. Had my eye on the butterfly and not watching where I was going, only a couple of feet away from the snake, luckily it didn't strike.

[Andrew Tingle]

Eek - sounds like you were lucky there!

[kinghong1970]

Andrew,

wow... best of luck and speedy recovery...

now put that crutch on a vise, drill and tap a hole to add a threaded rod...
a mix with some epoxy and put in the appropriate threaded rod in there... i think RRS sells em... and voila, a crutch/monopod?