The best laid plans

So I have had the plan to capture a photo of a sail boat that has run up on to a gravel bar on the lake near me, and has been there all winter. The sails have shredded from the weather and wind, and the water levels have been a little to high for me to get the position I want - until today. I normally just snap photos that are more opportunistic rather than planned. But this one was worth a little more thought. So I noticed the water levels were perfect when I was at the lake yesterday. I checked the sunrise time and planned my arrival and position with 15 minutes to spare. The sunlight was surreal this morning as it crested the top of the cedars behind me and the scene was spectacular. I proceeded to mount my 16mm/1.4 and make sure my settings were exactly where I wanted them, when... Nooooooooooooooooo!!!! No memory card, please insert a new card!!

I never do this, but I had pulled the card to look at a couple of shots I took the day before and the card was home mounted in my mac. Lesson learned.

Maybe the weather and water levels will cooperate later in the week, and I can share a capture. What a sinking feeling (pun intended) that was.

silversportsman wrote:

So I have had the plan to capture a photo of a sail boat that has run up on to a gravel bar on the lake near me, and has been there all winter. The sails have shredded from the weather and wind, and the water levels have been a little to high for me to get the position I want - until today. I normally just snap photos that are more opportunistic rather than planned. But this one was worth a little more thought. So I noticed the water levels were perfect when I was at the lake yesterday. I checked the sunrise time and planned my arrival and position with 15 minutes to spare. The sunlight was surreal this morning as it crested the top of the cedars behind me and the scene was spectacular. I proceeded to mount my 16mm/1.4 and make sure my settings were exactly where I wanted them, when... Nooooooooooooooooo!!!! No memory card, please insert a new card!!

I never do this, but I had pulled the card to look at a couple of shots I took the day before and the card was home mounted in my mac. Lesson learned.

Maybe the weather and water levels will cooperate later in the week, and I can share a capture. What a sinking feeling (pun intended) that was.

When I first read the GR III has internal memory I thought that was pointless, back then. In this case it'd have been a lifesaver.

silversportsman wrote:

So I have had the plan to capture a photo of a sail boat that has run up on to a gravel bar on the lake near me, and has been there all winter. The sails have shredded from the weather and wind, and the water levels have been a little to high for me to get the position I want - until today. I normally just snap photos that are more opportunistic rather than planned. But this one was worth a little more thought. So I noticed the water levels were perfect when I was at the lake yesterday. I checked the sunrise time and planned my arrival and position with 15 minutes to spare. The sunlight was surreal this morning as it crested the top of the cedars behind me and the scene was spectacular. I proceeded to mount my 16mm/1.4 and make sure my settings were exactly where I wanted them, when... Nooooooooooooooooo!!!! No memory card, please insert a new card!!

I never do this, but I had pulled the card to look at a couple of shots I took the day before and the card was home mounted in my mac. Lesson learned.

Maybe the weather and water levels will cooperate later in the week, and I can share a capture. What a sinking feeling (pun intended) that was.

At least you didn't do this when you were hiking in the high sierras all day and you never noticed the warning about no memory card inserted until you were heading back to your campsite.

Gringostarr wrote:

At least you didn't do this when you were hiking in the high sierras all day and you never noticed the warning about no memory card inserted until you were heading back to your campsite.

For sure. I feel like the reminder was a gentle one. It stung nonetheless.

ViMa wrote:

silversportsman wrote:

So I have had the plan to capture a photo of a sail boat that has run up on to a gravel bar on the lake near me, and has been there all winter. The sails have shredded from the weather and wind, and the water levels have been a little to high for me to get the position I want - until today. I normally just snap photos that are more opportunistic rather than planned. But this one was worth a little more thought. So I noticed the water levels were perfect when I was at the lake yesterday. I checked the sunrise time and planned my arrival and position with 15 minutes to spare. The sunlight was surreal this morning as it crested the top of the cedars behind me and the scene was spectacular. I proceeded to mount my 16mm/1.4 and make sure my settings were exactly where I wanted them, when... Nooooooooooooooooo!!!! No memory card, please insert a new card!!

I never do this, but I had pulled the card to look at a couple of shots I took the day before and the card was home mounted in my mac. Lesson learned.

Maybe the weather and water levels will cooperate later in the week, and I can share a capture. What a sinking feeling (pun intended) that was.

When I first read the GR III has internal memory I thought that was pointless, back then. In this case it'd have been a lifesaver.

I have 2 SD cards in my X-T5 and never remove both at the same time. With a camera with 2 card slots is as simple as that.

I have an SD card in my wallet against this eventuality.

For this and other reasons, I’ve been transferring images to the computer directly from all my cameras via a cable since 2003. Never a single problem, and the card never leaves the camera.

Not just SD cards; suddenly non-responsive camera/lens, missing or dead battery, etc.

Or the shot no longer exists.  I do a lot of planned shots similar to the OP in that I have visions of a certain shots which are often seasonally and/or weather and/or light dependent.

I set out to do such a shot once when the conditions were right.  Geared up and got to the spot and the scenic decades old steel girder bridge I wanted to frame my perfectly planned shot had been torn down.

I have the option enabled 'don't shoot without card'. On my xt4 it shows a message on screen when no card is present.

Usually if have enough OCD to flick on and off the camera before I leave, so it happened to me only once that i brought all but an SD.

Erik Baumgartner wrote:

For this and other reasons, I’ve been transferring images to the computer directly from all my cameras via a cable since 2003. Never a single problem, and the card never leaves the camera.

Now that's a great strategy. Sounds pretty foolproof.

Out comes the cellphone to save the day!

ViMa wrote:

When I first read the GR III has internal memory I thought that was pointless, back then. In this case it'd have been a lifesaver.

Have to give Ricoh credit for that. Like you say, it seems pointless until you need it.

Gringostarr wrote:

silversportsman wrote:

So I have had the plan to capture a photo of a sail boat that has run up on to a gravel bar on the lake near me, and has been there all winter. The sails have shredded from the weather and wind, and the water levels have been a little to high for me to get the position I want - until today. I normally just snap photos that are more opportunistic rather than planned. But this one was worth a little more thought. So I noticed the water levels were perfect when I was at the lake yesterday. I checked the sunrise time and planned my arrival and position with 15 minutes to spare. The sunlight was surreal this morning as it crested the top of the cedars behind me and the scene was spectacular. I proceeded to mount my 16mm/1.4 and make sure my settings were exactly where I wanted them, when... Nooooooooooooooooo!!!! No memory card, please insert a new card!!

I never do this, but I had pulled the card to look at a couple of shots I took the day before and the card was home mounted in my mac. Lesson learned.

Maybe the weather and water levels will cooperate later in the week, and I can share a capture. What a sinking feeling (pun intended) that was.

At least you didn't do this when you were hiking in the high sierras all day and you never noticed the warning about no memory card inserted until you were heading back to your campsite.

The first thing I do with a new Fujifilm camera is to turn off "shoot without card."