Well hello, Mr. Soul,
I stopped by to pick up a reason.
I stopped by to pick up a reason.
This is could have been the most expensive picture I have ever taken.
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Waking up to a beautiful clear sunny day in Raton, New Mexico, I was soon packed and on the road to get to Golden, Colorado for a 12:10pm tee time at Fossil Creek Golf Course. I was visiting a friend who I had not seen in about 5 years and we were using a golf game as a way to share time. The tee time was reserved on my credit card. Using the interstate, I estimated that I had an extra hour to explore and photograph the cities of Pueblo and Colorado Springs for old style motel signs.
To the West are the Rockies, still snow-capped. Also to the West of the interstate were the tracks of the BNSF La Junta subdivision. Since I also photograph trains, I started looking for a photo-op to combine both. As I passed a Union Pacific freight, I saw La Junta was the next exit. Go time.
Driving with reasonable care, I found a location where I had the mountains behind where the front engine would pass. Past experience told me a "nose" shot would require that the camera's aperature would have to be smaller than F/8 to avoid the headlight lens flare. Which meant putting the camera/lens on a tripod to avoid camera shake. In a previous post, I spoke of a new quick release plate and ball head recently purchased.
I set up everything. Leveled the camera frame. Heard the horn of the UP as it approached the city. Waited for the train to pass. Waited. Then I saw the UP stop at a signal light about a 1/4 mile away. Nooo! (Union Pacific has trackage rights over the BNSF - not ownership) This UP mixed freight train was not a priority. Waiting.
I kept calculating how much free time I had left and still make the tee time some 190 miles away. As you can see from the picture above, time ran out. Here comes the expensive part. As I opened the new to me quick release clamp, the weight of the lens caused the camera to fall forward. I forced my hand to move only to barely tip the camera body. I had the pleasure to watch several thousand dollars fall to the ground.
As worse as the money, was that I was 3 days into a 19 day photograph roadtrip with no backup camera (I'm not made of gold). In two days I was going to photograph friends' alpaca herd in Nebraska (the main reason for the road trip). Looking down at the camera, I was thinking how to combine B & H Photo in New York with FedEX or a Denver camera store; and of the time I had a slow roll over car accident in which a prior camera and lenes, though packed in a padded case, did not survive.
Picking up the camera, I noticed that it had fallen on the camera base - the quick release plate was scratched. I pressed the shutter half way - the lens auto focused. Enthused, I pressed the shutter completely. Click. I looked with compassion at the LCD screen - up came a picture. I looked from the top of the tripod to the ground - almost five feet. I tooked my great fortune and ran with it.
The camera lasted nine more days. By then I had photographed the alpaca herd and many other great spots. To finish the trip I bought a $300 (6 megapixel / 12x optical zoom) point and shoot. It's almost as good. Sheeesh.
But now I look like a complete tourist.
