Dumb and Dumber

I spent ages getting my camera ready to go for a dive once, then drove the 90 minutes to do it and realised when I got there that i'd left my TTL cable behind and didn't have the blank to block off the Port .... had to leave the Camera in the car for that dive

Well just when I thought I wouldn't do anything stupid with my camera I went out on the weekend for a play with my new toy (A Diveyak) and took the camera along, I think I was that involved with getting the Yak organised that I didn't pay enough attention to the camera set up, end result I got in the water went to turn the camera on and realised I hadn't flipped the LCD Screen around before putting the camera in! I still managed to take a couple of pictures using the viewfinder but with the Wideangle lens blocking half of that I'm not expecting much ...I haven't even looked at the photos yet! Still it could have been a lot worse!

Well this one might be too recent for for me to laugh about it. I got back from a Caribbean trip last week. Before the trip I bought a new strobe for my C5050+PT015. I got the Ikelite DS-50 with TTL sensor. I got the strobe plenty early so I could work out the bugs prior to my trip. It turned out I had alot of issues to resolve prior to the trip in getting the TTL to work properly.

After days of fiddling and one day prior to my departure I finally got the thing working consistantly. Prior to the fixing it I was nervous that I wasn't going to get it working in time. Therefore, when I got it working I didn't want to change anything else on the setup. I just set it aside to be packed.

On my first dive in Belize I got in the water and I was about to descend when I looked at my rig and noticed bubbles coming from my TTL sensor. I realized that I forgot to replace the cover after adjusting the preflash switch for the 100th time.

Since I blocked the internal flash I couldn't even use the camera that dive at all. I borrowed a screwdriver from a U/W photographer that was much better prepared than me between dives. This at least allowed me to remove the internal flash deflector. I used the camera the rest of the week, internal flash only. So much for getting the new flash for the trip!

It was my first time ever diving with sharks. Remeber that?, well I was excited to say the least. Shooting Nik V w/20 mm lens, I got back on the boat and just knew I had some memorable pics of this shark encounter. Probably would have if I'd removed the lens cap.

About a month ago I made my first attempt at WA with housed SLR. good results for first time out. Changed divesites and I switched to macro, you quessed it, made the whole dive on manual focus set at infinity. Got Nada.

One more, just last week, that I haven't seen anyone else admit to. First time with dual strobes. one DS125 on a synch cord, second DS125 slaved to the first. Trying to get a macro shot of a nudi and the strobes won't fire. 2nd, 3rd, 4th attempt, still nothing. What's wrong with my settings? Nothing except the primary strobe head was pointed backwards. It won't fire the slave but it does blind everyone behind you. B)

What's wrong with my settings? Nothing except the primary strobe head was pointed backwards. It won't fire the slave but it does blind everyone behind you. B)

Oh dear, that definitely qualifies for an LOL, maybe even a ROTFLOL. That made my day.

My Dumb and Dumber:

We are in the Galapagos, at Darwin's Arch, having just finished a dive when we come across a whale shark at the surface feeding. Frantic rush back to the boat to change film in the Nikonos and get a new battery for one of the videographer's cameras. I'm in the middle of changing the film when I am reminded "Come on Craig, you've got the digital".

Leap back in to the dinghy, head for shark, jump into water (sans snorkel, swallowing quite a bit of water). Line up shark, switch on camera, batteries dead.

:angryfire:

It was a fun snorkel though...

I could write a book. At least I am not alone.

1) Left lens in manual focus - six times I shoot manual focus almost exclusively on land.

2) Limit switch turned on - twice

3) Almost did a dive with the 20mm lens and 105mm Ike port. I test fired the strobes at myself and then noticed it. It was a wierd looking self-portrait.

4) Did an entire dive with the mode lever depressed. Kept wondering why I wasn't getting any exposure information in the viewfinder.

5) Accidentally knocked the ISO setting off DX coding to 6400. Not good when shooting Velvia. Didn't realize what I had done until I called the Nikon repair guy. He diagnosed it over the phone. Obviously I wasn't the first to do this. Why couldn't I have knocked it the other direction? No shots of Diamond Rock, Saba dive, the best dive of the trip.

6) Improperly threaded film in the Nikonos....twice.....in a row.

7) Battery went dead after the second shot on Big Drop Off in Palau. I am used to having the battery pack and two batteries. Didn't switch in time. The best dive of the trip.

8) Forgot to switch out film between dives. Forgot to switch out CF card between dives. Missed lots of shots while trying to delete the crappy ones.

9) Shot in continuos mode. Fired about 12 frames in the first 5 minutes of the dive. Had to lighten up the touch a bit.

10) Didn't connect the bulkhead to the hot shoe. Ambient light macro photography sucks.

11) Went on a shark dive with the 105mm with diopter. Hmmm. Good move.

12) Didn't turn on both strobes during descent. Didn't notice one strobe was off until after the dive.

13) Ikelite SS200's can be charged while the battery is in the strobe. Stobe must be off. It took four years, but I finally screwed that one up. Bye, bye Ni-cad.

14) Did an entire wreck dive with one strobe head drooping downward. Why is the upper right quadrant completely dark?

I've carried my rig around often like an anchor, but usually only on the most eventful dives.