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What is your most traumatic photography moment?

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While I was in uni, I captured a candid shot of this friend of mine while she was on a break from her dance rehersal. It was one of those shots that I always wanted to capture (ok, I was in love with her) and I could just picture it in my head so clearly but it was just so hard to catch because every time I raised the camera or when I tried to get closer, she realised and she would pull faces or run away.

Eventually, I caught her off guard and I just knew I got a good one straight after I took the shot. So I took it to my local lab and asked for a contact sheet. When I returned the next day, the owner said there was some "bad news". She said the film was fogged while it was in the camera and half of every frame was affected. The said shot was indeed lovely as I could see my friend's expression perfectly but everything else below her head was in a bad way :( I was really gutted about it because I tried my best to get that one shot I wanted and when I thought I got it, I didn't. I still think it could have been the lab's fault because that was the only time I have experienced anything like that with my MZ-5n. Oh well.
 
No, you should have wrapped the cold camera in a plastic bag, zip lock preferred, then, when no ( or very little) air can get at it, bring it inside to warm up. That way, no condensation forms on it.

I have shot images on a compact film cam at -41 degrees Celcius, or -42 degrees fahrenheit. You don't stay out for very long, I assure you. But the "steam" coming off cars and busses in so intensified, it is pretty.
--
Life is not a dress rehearsal !
See Cuba & NYC at http://www.jonrp.smugmug.com
 
Camera (DL) "mounted" on the dash, took a corner and the camera slid off, hit the door, the passenger seat & the floor. This was the week before a wedding shoot & I almost had a heart attack. Lens hood popped off and probably saved the day as it absorbed the impact.

--
Chris
=-=-=-=-=-
http://www.pbase.com/sinnettc
 
Speedie,

Assuming your hard drive was in a desktop, I would buy an inexpensive new hard drive, re-install the operating system and get it working. Then attach the bad hard drive as a second drive. It is possible to access the data on the bad hard drive since the damage may be to only part of the drive.

If this doesn't work, there are some software packages out there that can repair damaged hard drives, such as Gibson Research SpinRite. I think that costs $150-200, I forget exactly.

A final option is to contact a data recovery service (check your local phone book or the internet). They are very expensive ($1500) but will be able to recover 99% of your hard drive. So you may need to decide what your pictures are worth.

I've been working on computers for 20+ years, so contact me via my profile email and I might be able to help you more directly.

In any event, good luck!

Robert
--

'We are put on earth a space to learn to bear the beams of love' -- William Blake
 
Just to clarify some points. It was a secondary Western-Digital drive connected to my stationary PC via firewire. It did not contain the system, only user-files. Funny though it had only been in use for app. 2 years, while the "other brand" drive which is used as the system disk inside the "shuttle-box" is still going strong after 4 years of abuse :-) The WD disk just stopped working one day and when I tried to disconnect-connect power it started making metallic noises during initialization. I haven't completely given it the boot yet, just put it to rest while I keep on shooting.

sh
--

 
Poor me...
And now Tijean married tooo... a sad place this forum ...
(Especially as we have not yet seen any photgraphic evidence!!!!)
tknterry said:
...........
tknterry said:
On a similar but not as dramatic (so no real trauma) a short story
posted before. I just had my Voigtländer 125/1.5 macro and at the
wedding I had that day was a pretty girl... Sneaky me I showed of
my new lens. "May I try some portraits?" "Sure" click click.
"what's your adress?"
She gave and I sent her the pics with a small message. "Thanks for
posiing would like to meet again"

Reply:
"your lens is no good, shows all the crags in my face and no I do
not wish to meet up with you..."
Click to expand...
Im sorry man but that is really funny! It made me laugh :)
tknterry said:
--
janneman
http://www.pbase.com/jl2
Click to expand...
--
---Terry http://photostuff.org
Click to expand...
--
janneman
http://www.pbase.com/jl2

 
Speedie-

By an identical hard drive. Get the correct tools and replace the controller board on the bad drive with the controller board on the new drive. Then see if you can get data off. Do not, do not, do not, try to save any new data to the bad drive.

If that doesn't work, send it to the professionals if you must have the files.

The technique above worked for me when I had first started my law practice. The hard drive failed, and that's when I discovered that my tape backup would not work with any other hard drive except the bad one. Turned out the controller board had a crack. After replacing the logic board, it worked perfectly.

Quote to recover the data $2,500. Price of new hard drive $112. Relief at recoverying my practice--priceless.

Good luck.
--
etc
 
When I was really young and curious about every aspect of technology I decided to disassemble a light meter kindly borrowd by a friend of my fahter. After loosening the first screw that thing virtually fell to pieces and I instantly realized that I will never fix it again. Still remember this little incident very good.
 
When in my teens, in the mid 70’s, I was out on a hike with two other guys and took my last picture of some moss on a rock, and rewound my film. On the way back to camp we came across a naked lady (on drugs it seems) and I could not even double expose a shot of her. I have never run out of film or digital space sense then. This is the short version of the tragedy/learning experience.
 
August, 1980, got married, moved across the country from Atlanta to Los Angeles. About 10 days after arrival, new apartment was burglarized. My wife lost all her heirloom jewelry, me.......all my camera gear from 1972. That was my Pentax Spotmatic II, Black Body, 85mm, 28mm, 50mm macro, and 300mm, all top of the line Pentax glass for the era. Wound up with ME-Super and consumer grade lenses until about 10 years ago when I traded for a PZ1 and started getting new glass. That was a traumatic time.

Happy with current gear, will be happier when K10D arrives.

Be well,

AZ
--

'There is an art, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.'Douglas Adams'



Its a start: http://www.pbase.com/frumsimchasphoto
 
Security was really tight at the Zep concert in Seattle-no cameras allowed.

I removed the 200mm f4 from my Spotmatic, and shoved the body down my pants. I searched out a very large woman and asked her to get the lens in for me in exchange for prints of the show. She agreed and the lens disappeared down her cleavage. the crowd was huge and I lost her in the crush to get through the gates. So I cleared security, and it was a nervous 5 minutes while I searched the lower concourse of the Kingdome for the lens lady. Without that lens, it was game over. Finally, through the security checkpoint she came, and my lens magically popped out of her bra.

I mailed her 40 photos, and she was pleased. That was a funny, but stressful incident.
--
'Dinsdale?'



http://www.pbase.com/camtrav
 
When i was shooting (alone, stupidly enough) in Utah I first had my rental car stolen, and then when I attempted to hitch a ride back to into town I was mugged for my backpack and 67.
 
You ever shot a wedding with a film camera but no loaded film? Where is that hole in the ground???
--
Life is not a dress rehearsal !
See Cuba & NYC at http://www.jonrp.smugmug.com
 
janneman02 said:
Eric C in OK said:
The girl I was sweet on in high school gave me the boot when I
sneaked a profile shot of her with my K1000 and printed it out. A
friend who started dating her asked for a copy of that shot and
it's still on the wall of his office.
Click to expand...
On a similar but not as dramatic (so no real trauma) a short story
posted before. I just had my Voigtländer 125/1.5 macro and at the
wedding I had that day was a pretty girl... Sneaky me I showed of
my new lens. "May I try some portraits?" "Sure" click click.
"what's your adress?"
She gave and I sent her the pics with a small message. "Thanks for
posiing would like to meet again"

Reply:
"your lens is no good, shows all the crags in my face and no I do
not wish to meet up with you..."
Click to expand...
Poor lad, I'm sure you don't deserve that.
janneman02 said:
--
janneman
http://www.pbase.com/jl2

Click to expand...
 
I dropped my MZ5 with F series autofocus 50mm F1.7 lens onto concrete lens first. Needless to say they are no longer with us and it never ocurred to me to put in an insurance claim.
 
I was travelling round the world with my old Canon AE-1. I was due to visit a Japanese friend in Tokyo, who was nostalgic about English marmalade, so I bought a jar and put it in my hand luggage. Buying a magazine at Heathrow, to avoid the danger of leaving the camera behind by mistake, I shoved it temporarily into the bag. I nudged the bag with my elbow and it fell off the cashdesk and onto the floor. The 'crack' sound was sickening: result, camera covered, just covered, with marmalade. Most of it came off with careful work using dampened toilet paper in the men's toilet, but I got some strange looks - and the camera always had a slightly sticky feel after that.

Everything else in the bag I just had to throw away, except my passport and ticket. You should have seen the expressions on the face of the immigration staff in each country when they picked up that sticky passport ...

tim
 
DS + Sigma 28-70 EX on tripod taking a quick shot of the moon through a tree in our front yard before heading out to shoot a big gig. On, but not secured to tripod as I was about find out. Lined it up, then went to recomposed. Picked up the tripod at the top of the legs. Turns out a put the plate on backwards, it didn't lock in and camera took a nose dive with the lens at full extension, whilst set to AF.... Got pushed all the way in. Quite panicky I picked it up. Tried to focus. The AF motor was grinding and struggling, and the ring was really stiff. Worked it few times and zoomed in and out, then luckily, it loosened up and was fine. Phew.

And then in second leaving my bag under a table during class, left early, leaving said bag behind. Got to my car, got in and was about drive off. Went "Oh !" floored it back, luckily the class was still in and bag was still there.
--
[Insert cliched comment about inserting signature here, here]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/uc_mitch/
 
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