Penmon Point.
18th October 2022
This turned out to be a disappointing trip in more than one way.
First off Jim and I had headed off on a blustery day hoping for an active sea at this location only ti find the wind coming from the shore created a wind shadow and almost mill pond conditions.
We had also hoped for good conditions to take some shots of the night sky but that was almost completely wiped out by a powerful security light on the cafe wall that made the lantern of the lighthouse seem like a candle in comparison.
The morning promised slightly better light at least but this was quickly countered by a swarm of Italian photographers on a photo tour that swept over the rocks like the waves we had hoped for the day before.
This is the best shot I got before they arrived, which isn’t great, but I’ve put up because of what happened next.
I had seen a seal popping it’s head out of the water quite regularly so I set up my second body with a zoom and a teleconverter in case it came near enough for a shot.
I had moved forward onto the rocks you can see in the picture above to set up for another shot when sure enough, up he pops, quite close to me now.
I reached for the 5D with the long lens on it, put it on the tripod and as the quick release snapped shut, let go of the camera.
To my horror, the camera fell forward, lens first onto the rocks with a sickening crunch.
As if that wasn’t enough, the whole camera bounced into the water as well. Doomed...
My trust old workhorse, that felt like an extension of my arm at times was gone.
Fortunately the tide was receding so I was able to recover it after half an hour or so but it was full of water by that time and the front elements of the lens were shattered.
My heart sank. It was insured of course but I have never had to claim before and had heard many horror stories about insurance companies wriggling out of payments. In the end they turned out to be worth every penny and after getting a repair estimate, which confirmed what I thought, they replaced the whole set up with brand new equipment.
On that morning though we left the location in rather poor spirits.
