pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

I don't know if this has been addressed before but thought it might be fun. Send in your worst/ funniest shooting experiences. I'll start with a situation from yesterday.
I'm waiting late in the day to get a shot of a grist mill with the light getting low so I can take the shot with a really low shutter speed. I see the angle I want but I've got to get below a waterfall to set up my tripod and camera. If anyone knows how slick soapstone is you'll love this. As I approach the "bank" covered with leaves and trying to figure out how to get lower, gravity took over and I slid about 20 ft. down the soapstone into the creek. Fortunately I stood up in ankle deep water. A skinned elbow and a little dirt on the camera, tripod, and bag but the equipment didn't get wet. Can't say the same for my Nike's. Since my shoes were already wet I thought what the hell and wandered up and down the creek to find a good angle. I was losing light rapidly and decided is was time to go. Guess what? No easy exit. Solid soapstone downstream and a dam upstream. NO WAY OUT. There was a tree I could reach almost horizontal from the edge of the creek. Managed to grab a limb which broke off and almost sent me back in the water. I threw the tripod up as far up as I could and put the camera and bag over my neck instead of over the shoulder. After several attempts to use the tree as help for my exit I realized that wasn't going to work. Getting darker. I have my cell phone and consider calling family or 911 but that would be too embarrising. After walking down stream and finding no exit (now the water is about to get waist deep) I went back toward the dam. Finally managed to crawl up the soapstone bank after basically tossing the camera and bag up into some leaves. Went home wet, dirty, and one sorry photo to show for the effort. But, I'm going back to get the shots. More prepared this time.

dfalk Loc: Chugiak, Alaska

I posted this in another thread as well:

Doing some macro shots of a spider. He had quite a personality - for a bug - kept darting away then peeking over the board at me. I was quite engaged and intent on getting a good shot when I feel something crawling on my neck.

Oh yeah, instant transformation to squealing 5 year old!!

saside Loc: live in pueblo co

I head over to the 4th st bridge just before sunset with the idea of longe exposure time to capture car lights in motion. I also wanted to use a low angle so the lights would be in the middle of the frame. So I lay flat on the ground belly down put my camera on top of my bag to keep it stable. I'm at my 2nd to last spot on the sidewalk. A firetruck with his emergency lights flashing is coming up the road towards mecoming into the shot. Wow my lucky day! I press the shutter, 3 seconds later it closes. Thats when I become aware of a car engine running behind me. I thought thats odd theres no place for a car to stop on the bridge. I get up turn around, there's a cop car with two cops lights flashing. I say hey whats going on? Oh we got a call about a dead guy on the bridge.... I thought the pictures turned out good, but one firetruck, one ambulance, and 3 cops cars made my day! Talk about post production adrenaline... dead photographer walking....

tk Loc: Iowa

Saside. OMG that is hysterical. Were you in any trouble?

saside Loc: live in pueblo co

No not at all. The cops were very nice and professional. I showed them some pics. I even asked if I needed to leave and the cop said no your good. One of the firemen even got out of the truck with a flashlight and was looking over the edge of the bridge opposite us. Being the jerk that I am....I yelled at him "Hey I'm the guy your looking for."

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

That's a good one! I've got more but hopefully this thread will give everbody a good laugh.

Jeanne Loc: Denver

Great stories!!! Laughing out loud...for real!

dirty dave

Comunication is not my greatest skill for example a couple of years ago I was being guestioned by a small group and I was asked if I did nude photograhy. My brain went blank and out of my mouth came naw I will not take my cloths off and shoot a photo I do have princpals. Also keep in mind I am a old grizzled fat man that wears bibbed overalls everywhere.

naturalite Loc: Up state NY

Hello all, My story is when I was a lot younger...about 35 years ago. I was wanting to get some photos of birds in flight. After waiting half the day near a swamp and not getting any birds to cooperate with my intended photo shoot. I spotted a near by freeway overpass just full of pigeons. Hey! a flock of pigeons taking off would make a cool photo.
So I went under the bridge looking up some 60 feet to the underside where my subjects were waiting to play "dodge the pigeon poop". Yuck!, Well I got fed up with these flying rats that refused to take flight. They just pooped and hopped from beam to beam. No matter how much screaming and jumping around I did.
Remembering I still had some left over bottle rockets from the 4th of July back in the glove box of my car. I quickly retrieved my arsenal of noise makers. Now it was time for my revenge against the assaulting rain of pigeon poop.
I lit up about 4 or 5 rockets, grabbed my camera and pointed it skyward. A moment later came the hail of bangs that rattled and echoed like gun fire. Off went the pigeons in a panic stricken flock.
Well I got my photos needless to say. But as I walked back to my car grinning from ear to ear. I was met by 2 cops with their guns pointed at me. What a humiliating sight, me standing there covered with pigeon poop and held at gun point.
Thankfully after explaining that I did not have a gun, I wasn't shooting at passing cars. And that I was just a camera nut taking photos of uncooperative pigeons. They let me go on my way. Thank God, I was getting real tired of smelling like pigeon poop.

Country's Mama Loc: Michigan

Pounder, Saside and Dave, you guys are making my day.

Satanta Loc: N.C.

I was doing a shoot with an Asian girl up in Kansas. My GF was the driver and the Asian girl and her hubby had their car. As we passed a cow pasture I spotted a one-room school house reminiscent of 'Little House on the Prairie'

We pull over an walk to it, a few cows in the distance but nothing to ruin the images.

She gets all sexy and half-dressed to full nude as we shoot.

I see a great angle and get her set up then kneel down for the angle....right into a semi-fresh, 3/4 liquid, cow patty.

photogrl57 Loc: Tennessee

When I in my backyard taking the shot for the picture of the week ( no explanation of that one is necessary) I was bending down to get a close up and a couple of the dogs jumped on my back. Needless to say I lost my balance and the camera went down in a pile of steamy poo.
The dogs ran for cover.... I let out a few colorful metaphors then had to go clean the camera with an old toothbrush.
Talk about a crappy way to start the day. LOL.
Luckily it was just the corner of the camera on the bottom and not the lens.

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

Many years ago I went out to shoot photos for a real estate listing in a rural area. I told them I would be out at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday to get morning pictures. When I pulled into the long, gravel driveway, the husband was working on his truck. He told me that the front door was open and to go on in. He shut the hood, jumped in his truck, and left. I went to the front door and, having already received approval to go on in, I opened the front door and went on it. There in perfect view from the front door was the kitchen, and standing at the stove was the missus, cooking.... stark naked... I quickly backpedaled outdoors. About five minutes later she came out, told me to do what I needed to do, jumped in her car, and spread gravel on her way out the driveway. I think I knew the reason they were selling, and just a couple of months later in one of my followups with them, I found out that they did get a divorce.

jacksdvds Loc: Ft. Mohave, AZ

A WAYS OFF TOPIC:
Story told by instructor in college Commercial Photography Course.

Photographer was summoned clear across country, in the early days of photography, when they hauled their darkroom in a tent and camera gear in a horse drawn wagon. He was to document a huge train crash at Horseshoe Bend, ID that involved many cars tangled and spread over the country side. He set about rigging his equipment, making a fresh glass plate and climbing with great struggle to a vantage point to address the whole scene. He carefully framed the photo, calculated his exposure time and released the shutter. Upon completition, he proceeded to pack all his equipment into his covered wagon and commensed to leave. The railroad executive along with him remarked, "Is that all you are going to take, ONE PICTURE."

The photographer replied, "You only have one train wreck."

DK Loc: SD

A friend of mine and I were driving in Yellowstone. We stopped to take a photo (Probably a lot of photos). We got back in the car and started driving. After about a mile, I said, "Where is my new camera?" (A new Canon SLR with 100-300 lens) I looked in the back seat, the seat beside me and it wasn't there. I stopped and was going to turn around and go back when I remembered putting it on the roof of the car. To my astonishment, it was still there. Thanks to Yellowstone for having slow speed limits. When telling this story to another friend, he said, "I always put my camera on the hood, then I see it when I start to drive." You can bet I do that now. We still laugh about that one.