Things are not always as you plan...

[Maureen Allen]

This is what happens when you are out in the pitch dark photographing holiday displays and you trip over the tripod mid-exposure I caught the camera and landed squarely on my backside, so no permanent damage.

Hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season and that you have a Happy Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!

[Steve Adkins]

And you still got a cool image!!! This really is a contact sport.
Best wish for the holidays, Maureen.

[denise ippolito]

Maureen, What a save! Love the way this turned out. A Happy Holiday Season to you and to your family!

[Cheryl Slechta]

Hey, Maureen, looks like you had a nice trip I love the image and I'm glad your gear survived the fall.

[Mike Landwehr]

Maureen, they claim that many of our most important discoveries are the results of accidents! In this case, you created a rather pretty, and interesting, holiday image. My initial impression was Christmas lights reflecting from water in the foreground!

[Jay Sheinfield]

Great find, Maureen. Unique capture of holiday lights. I agree, this would make a great card.

[Nancy Bell]

A new technique for an in-camera blur ? Glad all turned out well, including the image! I would consider cropping much of the black off the top and make it more of a holiday-color pano.

[Judy Howle]

That truly embodies the term "happy accident"! I think it's a great shot and you couldn't have done better if you'd planned it! I agree about cropping some of the black off the top.

[Dennis Bishop]

It's fun looking at this and trying to do accident reconstruction. I'm glad you, your gear, and the image came through it well.

[Maureen Allen]

Thanks for the comments.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Maureen, the trip and stumble blur technique worked great for this one...love the effect. Hope you have a great holiday too!

[Anita Bower]

You got a good photo out of your accident. Glad no one and no cameras were hurt. I agree that a tight pano crop would work well with this image.