I went to my favorite fox location this morning, hoping to find a few fox kittens while there - it's that time. I had the camera and lens mounted on a monopod, and I was about to cross a small foot bridge over a small creek, something I've done dozens of times there.
The track slopes downhill to the foot bridge, and the trail is covered with old leaves, and it was fairly wet and muddy. I stepped down with my right foot, trying to be careful to place it firmly to avoid slipping. In the process, I managed to step on the end of a fairly large stick. When I stepped on that end, the other end lifted up and out of the leaves, catching my left shin about mid way up.
It felt like a hand reached up and grabbed my leg. I had enough momentum going that my body kept going even though my feet weren't going anywhere.
While I was falling, I very clearly remember thinking, "OK, if I fall this way I'll land head first in the creek, knock myself unconscious, and drown, or I can try to twist around and try not to land on my camera . . ." Everything else happened pretty quickly after that.
I managed to not land head first in the creek, but I did manage to twist my ankle and knee and tear a nice chunk out of my leg (I was going to include a picture of that, but decided not to - I figured if I didn't want to see it, you probably didn't either). Because my hand was through the strap on the monopod, the camera and lens went down too, harder than I was hoping. I checked my gear before I did myself.
The camera checks out OK so far. The lens has some marking on the hood, but focuses and the later pictures look OK, but I noticed that I have a mark on the front element of the lens. I'm afraid to look too closely at it, so I put it away for now - I'll check it later tonight.
The lesson learned? Well, watch where I'm stepping, obviously, and maybe I should keep a filter on the lens in the future.
Posted by Todd Caudle on April 13, 2008 at 12:38 AM
Ouch! Is this pic from this same morning? If so, well done! Way to press on with the task at hand.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on April 13, 2008 at 2:31 AM
Jay,
A scratch on any lens element is very unlikely to damage picture quality but may affect resale value. If it were, the camera would have landed in the creek.
Nature photography is at time times a full contact sport. Glad to hear your ok and the gear also survived.
Fox photographed broadside can be tough, because the tail extends so far. In this case, the missing piece of tail is a distraction. They are also canids, so the young are pups, not kittens. I'd recommend keeping a filter on the front of the lens. It will degrade image quality (most likely) and you won't fall again (for a few years).
I've seen several references to young foxes as "kits" (not kittens - my bad), cubs, and pups.
I wish I hadn't cut the tail off, but the shot was just for illustrative purposes, so I hoped it would be too bad a faux pas (get it? "fox paws"? - never mind . . .).
I'm thinking maybe of a protective bubble covered in camo material - that way it would protect me from falls AND serve as a hide from wildlife.
Posted by Warren Xato on April 13, 2008 at 12:29 PM
Or you can be like me and watch young foxes from behind the safety of my LCD screen.
PS I'm glad that you and your cameras were not more serioiusly injured.
Prime time for the Kits to be out. Hopefully you'll find the den. Its usually in the middle of a field or in a bank or under some tree roots. Hopefully you'll get some shots and share them.
I have found that early morning or late evening is best as the adults are busy hunting and feeding them.
P.S. I have had two small pin marks on the front element of my 500F4 which I'm not happy about but it does not show up on the image. Glad to hear you didn't break any bones!
Posted by Dan Walters on April 13, 2008 at 5:23 PM
Sounds like a painful fall. Glad to hear it was not more serious for you and your camera.
I did something very similar last summer on Trail Ridge Road, I was walking on some talus, to start I was getting photos with my digital then the battery died on me and I realized I left my camera bag in my truck, so that needless to say perturbed me to put it politely, I started to stomp my way back to my truck when my left foot went between two large rocks and into this nice hole and, at the same time I was spun around (I only twisted my ankle suprising I didn't do anything worse) but I came crashing down with the camera in my hands (luckily it was on a tripod), I did everything I could to not let the camera or lens hit any of those rocks, boy did I get lucky, but I did end up with a nice gash on my elbow and one hades of a nasty twisted ankle. I then stumbled my way back to the truck using the tripod as a crutch, to retrieve that camera battery, and I continued getting photos albeit very painfully
Posted by Kalin Wilson on April 14, 2008 at 12:21 AM
Sorry to hear about the fall, I about did the same thing today tromping through wet undergrowth on a hillside in Oregon. Hope you find those kits!
The stories of tumbles, sprains, strains, etc. and the possibility of worse, brings to mind the search and rescue insurance that you get in Colorado when you purchase a Habitat Stamp from DOW. It's only a few bucks, but it will cover the cost of getting extracted from the wilderness if something seriously unpleasant happens.
Ouch! Sorry to hear it, Jay. I'm glad you came away mostly unscatched as those falls can often lead to much worse injuries.
As for scratches on the lens element, I doubt it will show up in your photos. My 17-40mm lens has a scratch on the front element and I've never noticed any degradation in image quality.
Posted by Rene Pirolt on April 15, 2008 at 5:48 PM
OUCH!! Glad to hear you are OK!
…well at least you got a fantastic fox shot out of it.
Discussion
12 repliesI went to my favorite fox location this morning, hoping to find a few fox kittens while there - it's that time. I had the camera and lens mounted on a monopod, and I was about to cross a small foot bridge over a small creek, something I've done dozens of times there.
The track slopes downhill to the foot bridge, and the trail is covered with old leaves, and it was fairly wet and muddy. I stepped down with my right foot, trying to be careful to place it firmly to avoid slipping. In the process, I managed to step on the end of a fairly large stick. When I stepped on that end, the other end lifted up and out of the leaves, catching my left shin about mid way up.
It felt like a hand reached up and grabbed my leg. I had enough momentum going that my body kept going even though my feet weren't going anywhere.
While I was falling, I very clearly remember thinking, "OK, if I fall this way I'll land head first in the creek, knock myself unconscious, and drown, or I can try to twist around and try not to land on my camera . . ." Everything else happened pretty quickly after that.
I managed to not land head first in the creek, but I did manage to twist my ankle and knee and tear a nice chunk out of my leg (I was going to include a picture of that, but decided not to - I figured if I didn't want to see it, you probably didn't either). Because my hand was through the strap on the monopod, the camera and lens went down too, harder than I was hoping. I checked my gear before I did myself.
The camera checks out OK so far. The lens has some marking on the hood, but focuses and the later pictures look OK, but I noticed that I have a mark on the front element of the lens. I'm afraid to look too closely at it, so I put it away for now - I'll check it later tonight.
The lesson learned? Well, watch where I'm stepping, obviously, and maybe I should keep a filter on the lens in the future.
A scratch on any lens element is very unlikely to damage picture quality but may affect resale value. If it were, the camera would have landed in the creek.
Fox photographed broadside can be tough, because the tail extends so far. In this case, the missing piece of tail is a distraction. They are also canids, so the young are pups, not kittens. I'd recommend keeping a filter on the front of the lens. It will degrade image quality (most likely) and you won't fall again (for a few years).
Be safe out there!
I wish I hadn't cut the tail off, but the shot was just for illustrative purposes, so I hoped it would be too bad a faux pas (get it? "fox paws"? - never mind . . .).
I'm thinking maybe of a protective bubble covered in camo material - that way it would protect me from falls AND serve as a hide from wildlife.
PS I'm glad that you and your cameras were not more serioiusly injured.
Warren
I have found that early morning or late evening is best as the adults are busy hunting and feeding them.
P.S. I have had two small pin marks on the front element of my 500F4 which I'm not happy about but it does not show up on the image. Glad to hear you didn't break any bones!
As for scratches on the lens element, I doubt it will show up in your photos. My 17-40mm lens has a scratch on the front element and I've never noticed any degradation in image quality.
…well at least you got a fantastic fox shot out of it.