disaster

I’m not a very lucky person.  At all.  It rains on the one day I need it to be dry and is dry on a day I need rain for something.  Big things in life, or small, most seem to go against me.

After all, a life of looking after myself physically didn’t do me any favours.  Did it?

And then this happens.

I took my camera to the seaside to record some long exposure water over rock type shots.  The sort of thing I’ve done dozens of times.  I’m always careful to go when the tide is on its way out, and I watch for around 10 minutes or so to make sure where I’m going to stand isn’t going to get wet.  After all I don’t want to spend time wiping sea spray off my lens or filter.

So, I went through my usual ritual.  Watching the wave pattern and counting them to see when they’d be in the right position to get my shot.  I set up my camera on a tripod and being extra cautious used a long zoom setting to make sure I was well away from the tide line.

Hearing someone approaching behind me I turned.  For the briefest of split seconds.  Literally it was like a blink. 

And it was then, right at that splitest of split seconds that the freakest of freak waves hit me, my camera, everything.  I yelled out.  I was soaked right up to my waist.  But where was my camera?  I couldn’t see it.  Then I caught sight of my tripod under about 2 feet of salty sea water.  My cherished Nikon D800 and its lens were ruined.  Drowned in the sea.

The camera holds special memories for me.  I bought it shortly before my cancer diagnosis and thinking of it and how I would use it helped me through my rehabilitation and recovery.  

And now it was trash.

farewell old friend

Why was there a freak wave?  After I’d watched carefully for around 10 minutes or so?  Why did I turn at the precise millisecond that the wave hit?  Why?  My extreme bad luck.  That’s why. 

Insurance?  Yes, well I had insurance right up until last May when, not using the camera much, I let it lapse.  I was going to renew it next month.  Next month!!

When am I ever going to catch a break?

you've got a lot to live up to