Sunday 22 July 2012

A cracking shot!


I’ve heard it said that for a photographer, every photo carries with it a memory of the moment it was taken.  So here’s a moment of the day.

The picture was taken on the Isle of Mull.  I was sitting enjoying a break, being refreshed by the gentle feel of highland rain on my face when I heard a tumbling sound behind me.  My camera and macro lens had been balanced too precariously on the hill, and started rolling away.  As it picked up speed, I noticed it tumbling towards the edge of a large drop, the high waterfall I’d just been photographing minutes earlier.  Over it went, I heard a distant crack from below and froze, unable to bring myself to look over to see what might have become of it (this is only day one of a three-week trip!).

The drop had been around 20 feet, and the camera had fallen amongst rocks by the waterfall, landing on the shutter button and taking this picture at the moment of impact.  I was really annoyed – not least because the picture was out of focus AND underexposed (you’d think it could have got at least one of them right, but such are the hazards of shooting in manual mode).  I picked it up, tested that it was still working, and carried on shooting for the rest of the day, determined to do better.

For those interested in such things: Canon 7D with 100mm f/2.8 macro lens, ISO 400, 1/250sec at f/2.8; no manipulation.
(Please don't try this at home.)


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