A couple of days ago, sick as a dog but unable to rest, I made the ridiculous decision to bike (because I didn’t have the energy to walk that far) over to Stanley Park and re-shoot the Nine O’clock Gun firing. After dragging myself there and still arriving too early, I stopped by the Lady in the Wetsuit for a few pictures then biked around the point to the gun, where I setup my tripod on the rocks and started playing with the light.
After a few minutes, I glanced at the bike to make sure it was still there and then mentally checked the rest of my gear. Tripod: in front of me. Camera: on the tripod. Brain: probably left at home next to the Tylenol. Camera backpack: ... Camera backpack? My next thought was worded out via a word ending with the same letter as the suddenly missing backpack, which I realized I had dropped on a bench behind me at my prior stop to grab the neutral density filter - and had left it there.
I instantly gave up on the upcoming blast, hopped on the Seawall and furiously biked back towards the scene of the crime, camera hanging around my neck and fully extended tripod under an arm. I got there no more than 15 minutes after leaving. The bench was empty, desert. My dear Lowepro bag was gone, along with a cheap lens, 1 GB in memory cards, a spare battery, the charger, two polarizing filters, various lens cleaning accessories, a USB cord, a box of Tic-Tacs, and my pride.
Some bastard made a good deal. I should’ve stayed in bed.
























« OH damn I’m really sorry to hear that. Hope youre’feeling better. »
Date of comment: 2007-05-14 21:27 •« All can be replaced of course but THE TIC-TACS?!?!! Man, that SUCKS!!!
Date of comment: 2007-05-15 08:45 •To err is to be human, to forgive (especially oneself) is divine.
Ya shoulda stayed in bed ;) »
« Man, that sucks!!! »
Date of comment: 2007-05-15 14:14 •« Thank you all for the support. I have already bought more Tic-Tacs. But my camera Abe feels naked without the bag and refuses to leave home. I’ve tried to explain that she needs exposure but I think her sense of humor is a little RAW right now. She focuses on the fact that we had a reciprocal duty towards the bag and accuses me of reciprocity failure. It’s a cheap shot. I told her that pulling the first curtain and looking in the mirror would make her realize these things just happen. She has to get a grip. I’m doing my best to filter my emotions in order to polarize our efforts and step up to the challenge; however I made a huge mistake by mentioning that we were, after all, out that night to shoot the nine o’clock Canon. There’s a remote possibility she’ll need counseling.
»
Date of comment: 2007-05-16 05:14 •(Written for the photographers among you...)
« She’s clearly seeing things through a grey filter. Tell her to lighten up a bit and open her apperture to the lightening speed of events... »
Date of comment: 2007-05-16 13:18 •« Clearly, you and the camera are having a parallax error.
Date of comment: 2007-05-18 16:51 •And that’s all I got.
Seriously awful news, man. As if you weren’t already sick enough. I’m clumsy, rather than a forgetter (if it had been me I’d have fallen into the ocean), but I feel your pain.
At least it wasn’t the camera or the tripod. »