What Have You Done for a Good Photo?

[Cheryl Flory]

A couple of us were discussing some of the lengths we have gone to in order to try to get a photo. The thought was brought up that we should open this thread up to everyone. So the question is, what have you done to get a good photo? In no way, are we advocating that some of these stunts be repeated, and are not trying to create a contest to see how wild and crazy some of us can be, nor is this to promote dangerous behavior. But rather, what are some of the fun things, you have done to get your images. And was it worth it??

Feel free to add photos of you in this situation, even if you think you need to mask out your face. :D

disclaimer "Do NOT try these stunts".

[Fabs Forns]

I like this idea, let's see them!!!!

[denise ippolito]

Cheryl, Great idea!! Can't wait to read some of the responses!!

[Alfred Forns]

Love the idea and would be embarrassed to mention some of them !!!

One that I can say is the eleven trips to Okeeheelee Nature Center for my painted bunting which is about hour and an half form home .... made eleven trips for one image .. and only one male bunting image was made but was a big keeper for me. Most trips I only snapped a couple of squirrel images !!!

[Cheryl Flory]

I'd like to see some of those pics, too, Fab! I heard you climbed a nearly vertical moss covered cliff to get images of puffins. :)

[denise ippolito]

Cheryl, I didn't do this on purpose and don't know if it fits here-but I went out in a canoe to take images of Osprey (this is before I realized they were everywhere!) . Needless to say the canoe rolled on a log and my friend in the back moved his weight to see what it was we hit. We both thought a gator! The canoe flipped -we both went in. I jumped back into the drowning canoe, I was so afraid of alligators- My friend kept yelling-You have to get out of the canoe, I can't flip it with you in it!! I wouldn't budge-he turned me and the canoe over to empty it. This happened at Johnathan Dickinson Park-When we turned in the canoe we were soaked and embarrassed. Everyone asked us if we flipped the canoe-We looked at each other and said-no, we jumped in for a swim. They all looked at us like we were crazy-There were 8 Alligators on the shore when we were paddling back. I lost my camera and lens , my friend lost his brand new IS Canon Binoculars!

[Cheryl Flory]

Denise, too funny! I was laughing so hard at how well you described the situation---that is until the last sentence. that certainly took the fun out of that! But I think it was so funny for me, because I could see myself acting exactly the same way! (and way to go! you got "guts", girl! first one to post an actual event! :)

[Rocky Sharwell]

I am a veteran of the 2003 Nome, Alaska Torture Walk in search of the Bristle Thighed Curlew. Walking on the tundra was like walking on bowling balls on top of a rusty box spring according to something we read. The article was mostly accurate. It left out the fox holes which were a feet deep. One of them was filled with cold water.

We drove 72 miles on the Kougarack road to the Coffee Dome (an expired volcano). We then hiked up the side of a steep hill on Tundra for a few miles with big lenses. At the top and down the other side a bit we walked around for probably another mile in search of said bird which was not to be found. We headed back down the hill which was harder for me than going up. Thankfully, when we got back down to the road Artie went to get the van..

I had the thought of giving up in the first 100 yards--I wasn't sure if the van was unlocked or if Artie had the keys. The wind was blowing hard enough that conversation with anyone who wasn't right next to you did not happen. We never saw the bird...

[denise ippolito]

Rocky, It sounds like a very long, difficult day-You are so lucky you didn't fall into a fox hole or slip down the steep hill-Of course it would have all been worth it if you had found your bird! I'm wondering -Would you do it again?

[Rocky Sharwell]

Rocky, It sounds like a very long, difficult day-You are so lucky you didn't fall into a fox hole or slip down the steep hill-Of course it would have all been worth it if you had found your bird! I'm wondering -Would you do it again?

I did fall into a few holes of undetermined heritage...Everyone fell a few times but the tundra was springy. I swore I would never go back to Nome--never mind the Coffee Dome, but I do go back to Nome in 2006. I stayed away from the Coffee Dome. I was sore in the hip for months after the first trip.

[denise ippolito]

I knew you would go back! Smart to stay away from the Coffee Dome! Glad you didn't have permanent injuries!

[Brandon Holden]

My "worst" have been situations where I didn't get the photo! An adult Ross's Gull was found above Niagara Falls, and was seen sitting in a parking lot above the falls! In hopes of getting a photo of this rarity in winter plumage - my Dad and I arrived at dawn during some wicked winter weather. 110+ kmh wind gusts, wind chills down around -25 C... The Ice boom in lake Erie broke for the first time, jamming the river with Ice and very high water levels. Ice breakers were trying to clear the river before homes started to get flooded, snow squals kept blowing through - and we stayed outside from dawn until 3:00pm, when we decided to change locations!!!

At roughly 3:05pm, the bird arrived in the parking lot (while we went accross the river), and I missed my photos (while standing outside still).. The next day, we went back to the parking lot from dawn until dusk in lesser winds, but colder temps - and the bird never returned!!

It was actually an amazing experiance to be outside in weather like that, but it would have made my frozen limbs feel much better if I got photos of the darn bird! It ended up being 18.5 hrs outside without a single shot....

[denise ippolito]

Brandon, I wish you had gotten at least one shot off! As I was reading your description of how cold it was I could really relate. Sometimes these memories are our fondest-

[Lance Peters]

Crawled in water, Crawled in duck do, crawled in Mud, been stung by blood sucking flies (Gus - You will love these guys) - think the better half thinks I am seriously deranged :)

[Roman Kurywczak]

I've been known to hang off a few cliffs to get a better angle.....there's more than a few images out there.....at horshoe bend for example.......with my tripod leg over the side of a 1000 ft drop.

Spent 8 hours at the bear viewing platform Katmai.....in shorts.....no deet (I was afraid to attract the bears).....getting biiten alive by the no-see-ums....until my legs were oozing..

June....eco pond......100% deet all over.....except for lips and eyelids......mosquitos so thick......I felt like Pig-Pen from Charlie Brown with the swarm all around my head biting my eylids and lips as I'm running spraying deet.......no images. At least in all the other cases.....I've gotten some pretty good images!

[Roger Clark]

After all these stories of danger and yuck, how about a fun one. (Or maybe this is the way you should do photography ;) ).

I was hiking with my wife in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness of Colorado among wonderful wildflowers. I did take many images but did not have time to do the job I wanted and we had to get home so my wife could go on a business trip. We drove the 4 hours home (Denver area), I dropped her off, grabbed some additional gear, and drove 4 hours back, getting to the area after dark. I camped for the night, then headed back up the trail the next morning. I was doing large format (4x5) photography, and the morning light direction was OK but I liked the afternoon light direction better. The problem with that is that thunderstorms usually start in the afternoon and and the wind blows the flowers so it was a low probability I would be able to make exposures a couple of seconds long.

I got to the wildflower fields and the thunderstorms were not developing, which is also bad as the direct sun was too harsh. I had to wait for some clouds. I made some images, and found what I considered the best spot. So I set up and waited. I needed a cloud to diffuse the light, and a calm in the wind to could get the shot. I waited and waited, just sitting and enjoying the wildflower smell and the wonderful view. It took 5 hours of waiting, but somebody had to do it. I got the shot:
http://www.clarkvision.com/galleries/gallery.large_format/web/c072099_L4_01a2-600b.html

I have a nice 30x40 inch print hanging on my wall, and I have sold 30x40inch prints.

Life's tough when you have to sit in a field of wildflowers for 5 hours ;)!!

[denise ippolito]

Lance, didn't you have to climb all kinds of obstacles for those Ganett shots?

Roman, I like the part of the story when you say you have deet from head to toe except ,lips and eyelids-funny I have a picture of that in my mind!

Roger, The image is beautiful and poor you sitting in wildflowers after camping the night and hiking-(lucky) I can't wait to go to Maroon-Bells, looks lovely-

[Paul Lagasi]

My Wife loves to tell this story...I complained bitterly about having to walk around downtown San Francisco for one hour...but then climbed a mountain for 14 hours to get a photo of a White Tailed Ptarmigan...Left 7500 foot level and climbed to over 10000 feet, took me over 14 hours but I did get my photo...lost my water bottle half way through the climb...thanks god for melting snow, even in August....

[denise ippolito]

Sounds like my kinda fun!

[Chris Hansen]

I recently stood just off to the side of the end of a runway to shoot images of a crop duster coming in for landing. I thought the plane would come straight in. The pilot had other ideas as there was a crosswind. He came directly at me and then banked about thirty feet over my head onto the runway. I was a bit stunned to realize how close he came to me. Not the brightest thing in the world for me to do.

God's blessings,

chris

[denise ippolito]

Chris, I would have ____my pants!!! Don't think I'll be trying that anytime soon-but did you get the shot?

[Jay Gould]

I'm a newbie and just learning; what would I do to get a photo?

Well, nothing harmful to Man :eek:; however, thanks to a few other threads ;) I have now learned about feeding, baiting, phishing, and all those cool photographic techniques to obtain the ultimate image. :D

[Chris Hansen]

Denise,

Yes I did get the photo as I kept right on shooting. In looking at the photos though they really lacks the drama I wanted. Probably the only way to do it would be to mount the camera on a ground pod on the end of the runway and use a remote. With the pilots permission of course.

God's light and love to all,

chris

[denise ippolito]

Chris, At least you tried your best-I don't think I would have been able to stay focussed!!good idea with the ground pod!


Jay-Have fun getting the shot and when you do get an image that made you do things you thought you'd never do -Share it with us!!