Last Thursday while photographing at Quoddy Head State Park,...

Had been there for almost two hours photographing 10-14 foot seas crashing into Gulliver's Hole a scenic point there. It was windy off and on but not as bad as I'm accustomed to seeing,....sooooooo I thought.

I had worked my way out onto an isolated precarious location with a fantastic viewpoint,...I've worked it many times previously,....the narrow ledge wasn't even 3 foot wide and about 45 feet above the rocks out into the ocean. Had been shooting elsewhere as well for several hours and just about to relocate once again. I had just removed my 32GB compact flash card that was now full with my mornings work.

Then,...............I had a rude awakening I'll not soon forget,.... when I turned for a second to grab something out of my camera bag,....I heard the tripod crash to the ground,...as I turned and I saw the 500mm lens with my D300 attached,... snap off the tripod mount and drop virtically down out of sight.
The sound of camera and lens make as it smashed its way down against the rocks is a sound I hope to never ever hear again.

I was in total disbelief,...in just a split second,...everything gone.

Had the 500mm base casting not sheared off,...the tripod would have gone too.
At that point though I was totally and completely demoralized and sick to my stomach. All I could do was sit there and talk to myself over and over,...(lots of adjectives)

So,....ladies and gentleman and fellow hedgehogs,......PLEASE learn from my sudden poor judgement and costly $$$$ mistake.

Watch carefully your equipment,...no matter how secure you think it is sitting there exposed to the forces of nature and gravity.

I never, never thought in all my years of being a photographer that I would be thr recipient of something like this. I have always erred on the side of being toooooo careful and always observant of potential dangers,.......

But not on March 7th, 2013,....I paid dearly in a split second,...thinking all was secure with my equipment.
Too late to get the moment back,....the horse was already out of the barn.

Anyway,....I wanted to share that with each who reads this,...be careful,...IN ADVANCE,....of something unexpected happening.

Yes I had it insured,...or I should say under insured,....had recently decreased the insured value,...why,...because something this catastrophic wouldn't happen to me,....yeah right.

Will be having some D300 accessories for sale soon as I look for a new replacement camera.

Thanks for reading this and I hope it awakens in you,...that false sense of security I thought I had.


Ive posted an image of where it happened,...as a visual so you can see the crime scene and the drop off,
The outcrop from the tree on the right side of the image attached,...thats where I was standing.

The second image was taken from that ledge just prior to the deep six plunge.
Was the image worth the cost,......not unless I get paid big $$$ bucks for the image,...totally unlikely.

It helps to laugh,..........now,...not then.

Be well ,....and that includes your camera gear.

Marty

Hi dourob,...

Thanks for your response.
That's the consensus I'm getting on the D800E also,....me thinks thats the way I'm going to go.
I was wondering though about macro work with the D800E,.....like on macro subjects,...like insects have subtle and intricate patterns on their bodies and wings,....or,....patterns are found frequently in many other places in outdoor macros.
Any feedback on that from yourself or other D800E owners,..or am I fretting over nothing?
Thanks
Marty