Embarrassing Things You've Done With Your Camera

[BT*ist]

Not sure whether this is better in Humour or General Discussion....

But, shamelessly stolen from a Pentax forum, I'm wondering what's the most embarrassing thing you've done (or perhaps seen somebody else do) with a camera? To get the ball rolling, a true confession from me from last Friday.

First, a bit of background: I'm sort of the Offical Unofficial photographer at work events, given that the best anybody else ever brings with them anywhere is a small P&S, or (gasp) a Mobile Phone Camera ... and in any event a general disinclination to compose shots, use the flash properly, bother with red eye, etc. Whereas I usually have one of my DSLRs with me, and if nothing else I take the time to cull out bad photos and use photoshop to correct any issue, and ensuring in the end that I only ever show people at work the decent photos I've taken.

Anyway, a group of five of us were in a maxi-taxi going to a nightclub after work on Friday and I had the camera with me. The Pentax K10D... you know, the 2007 TIPA award winner Best Expert camera, Japanese Grand Prix winner...perhaps you've heard of it? Yeah, I'm all that. (Bear this attitude in mind, it becomes important later.) Anyway, I decide, in the darkened cab, to take a shot of the three girls sitting in the back seat. And being the cool badass that I am, I do all of the following basically without even looking: Click! Turn on camera. Click! Switch to manual focus. Click! Pop up flash. Twist! Set dial to Program, yep f3.5 should do. Twist! Calmly and casually estimate the distance the the subjects and manually turn the focus ring on the camera to somewhere just short of a metre, as I'm way too cool to even bother looking through the viewfiender, and it's too dark in the cab anyway.

Click/Flash/Snap, photo taken.

Then, a voice from the back seat.

"Hey... did you just leave the lens cap on???"

Yes. Yes, I had.

And it goes without saying that I was trying to impress one of the girls too. ) Crap!

Ah... Confession. It's good for the soul.

[sirhc55]

Many, many years ago I had the opportunity to photograph a young lady in her bikini - middle of the winter (UK) but indoors.

All was set up and I was ready to proceed - she posed, I looked through the viewfinder and then looked away. . .

The young lady asked what was wrong - how could I tell her truthfully that the viewfinder was totally fogged up

[Alpha_7]

The young lady asked what was wrong - how could I tell her truthfully that the viewfinder was totally fogged up

Nice one. I poored a bucket of semi melted ice and water on myself narrowly missing my camera (soaked the strap) at our work Xmas party. I was trying to photography the shiny bucket but needed a better angle, didn't see the ice and water in it when I lefted it above my head.

[Bindii]

I stupidly had allowed someone to use my camera at a party - the things you do after a few drinks huh?... and they had somehow changed the focus lock settings.. the next day i had a portrait shoot for a model porfolio and no matter what I did I couldn't get the focus right.. so I spent the whole shoot in an internal panic while trying to pretend that all was well... once the shoot was finished I realised what was wrong... but I dreaded loading the shots onto the computer...

thank goodness the shots all turned out ok...

and once I forgot to wipe my card before a wedding... and I started shooting only too run out of room on the card after about 40 shots... I couldnt do a mass delete as i wouldhave lost some important shots... anyone here ever tried deleting 400 shots separately when in a hurry... *groan*

[jdear]

anyone here ever tried deleting 400 shots separately when in a hurry... *gro

I know at least with the Canon EOS DSLR's, you can mark files as protected and then do a delete all - this will delete all other files...

--
I had a friend who had somehow bumped the diopter on her viewfinder and it was totally blurred, she was not quite sure why it was blurry but her photos turned out... I fixed it the day before she shot a wedding, her confident quadrupled!

Im sure ill get around to doing something stupid with my camera...

J

[Bindii]

anyone here ever tried deleting 400 shots separately when in a hurry... *gro

I know at least with the Canon EOS DSLR's, you can mark files as protected and then do a delete all - this will delete all other files...

J

Oh I've done the dipother thing too.... was just about to get my eyes checked.. when I thought to check the camera first...

and now you tell me about the protect files thing...lol....I'll have to remember that for next time... cause knowing me.. there will be a next time..

[Killakoala]

During my early days in the navy, (on reflection) I stupidly left my camera laying around my workshop.

Several weeks later, I went into the photo shop to collect my developed images only to find about half a dozen images of penises intermingled in my 'normal' images. The smile on the female shop assistant when she handed me the prints did not give away the shock I would suffer when I opened the folder.

I was tainted for life over that one. I will never forgive my 'colleagues' for the embarrassment they gave me. The bastards!!!

(No I don't have the images any longer)

[Bindii]

During my early days in the navy, (on reflection) I stupidly left my camera laying around my workshop.

Several weeks later, I went into the photo shop to collect my developed images only to find about half a dozen images of penises intermingled in my 'normal' images. The smile on the female shop assistant when she handed me the prints did not give away the shock I would suffer when I opened the folder.

I was tainted for life over that one. I will never forgive my 'colleagues' for the embarrassment they gave me. The bastards!!!

(No I don't have the images any longer)

PMSL....

[gstark]

(No I don't have the images any longer)

But what about the girth, Steve?

[ATJ]

While more annoying that embarrassing, I have gone for a dive with the camera in the housing without formatting the card and another time without replacing the battery with a freshly charged one. These were both with my P&S before I had the D70. There was a limitation on the housing that I could not access the menu setting to format the card, so I had to delete 80 or so photos manually while on the dive - which is not easy with the camera in a housing. With the low battery, I think I got around 20 shots before the camera died.

With my D70, I got into the water with macro lens in the housing ready for macro work but realised after a couple of test shots that I had somehow knocked the Limit/Full switch on the lens to Limit and so couldn't shoot any macro. For that one I got back out of the water, went back to the car, dried the housing off, opened it and changed the switch. I got some good shots on that dive.

[dviv]

Does trying to take a picture of Gary at the AW dinner, with the lens cap on, count?

[Alpha_7]

Does trying to take a picture of Gary at the AW dinner, with the lens cap on, count?

I nearly brought that up, but it wasn't *my* embrassing moment. OT - Had a chance to play with your trigger since the dinner ?

[jamesw]

does constantly forgetting to pack new AA's for flashes or forgetting to charge batteries count?

[dviv]

I nearly brought that up, but it wasn't *my* embrassing moment. OT - Had a chance to play with your trigger since the dinner ?

Yeah! We tested it at the dinner and got about 50m range out of it. I used it a bit more on Sunday (with a lot less distance) and it worked perfectly every time.

Thanks again Gary! Much appreciated.

[jamesw]

I nearly brought that up, but it wasn't *my* embrassing moment. OT - Had a chance to play with your trigger since the dinner ?

Yeah! We tested it at the dinner and got about 50m range out of it. I used it a bit more on Sunday (with a lot less distance) and it worked perfectly every time.

Thanks again Gary! Much appreciated.

OT: got a picture of the triggers?

[Alpha_7]

I nearly brought that up, but it wasn't *my* embrassing moment. OT - Had a chance to play with your trigger since the dinner ?

Yeah! We tested it at the dinner and got about 50m range out of it. I used it a bit more on Sunday (with a lot less distance) and it worked perfectly every time.

Hehehe, just so you know I was the beard guy at the other end helping you test it at the dinner. I was very impressed by them If you get a chance post a few photos for those playing at home

[johnd]

does constantly forgetting to pack new AA's for flashes or forgetting to charge batteries count?

No way. Everybody does that.

Cheers
John

[dviv]

Hehehe, just so you know I was the beard guy at the other end helping you test it at the dinner. I was very impressed by them If you get a chance post a few photos for those playing at home

 LOL that's probably counts as well! Thanks mate, I'll take some photos tonight.