Wow, am I excited and honored to be Tuesday’s Talented Twitter Find at the Digital Photo Experience. This is great!. This photo was chosen by Rick Sammon who is a great photographer and photography teacher.
This photo has a special story. It was taken with a Canon 70 – 200mm f4L IS USM lens that had just been dropped and broke into two sections. I was setting up to take this sunrise photo in Kenya on the 5th or 6th day of our three week safari. In the darkness of the morning, while trying to attach my camera to my tripod, I dropped the camera. I looked down and there was my lens broken into two sections. My heart sank as I knew that my wife, Cathleen and I still had over two weeks left of the trip.
I picked up the camera and lens and fitted the two sections of the lens together. I looked into my Canon 40D DSLR and it looked Ok. So, holding the two sections of the lens together with one hand, I pressed the shutter with the other and took this photo. It’s hard to believe how it came out. I was blown away.
I taped the sections of the lens together with adhesive tape and continued to shoot with it all day. That evening, at the lodge’s dining hall, I met another Pediatrician (not in our travel group) who was carrying a Canon camera. I told him what happened to me that morning and how worried I was about how well the lens would perform on the rest of our trip. Incredibly, he offered to loan me an “extra” lens his son had been using, as they were done with their trip. The lens turned out to be a Sigma 150 – 500 mm lens. I could not believe it. That lens made the rest of the trip an even greater photographic experience. I was overwhelmed with his generosity. I guess I was meant to meet him. There are good people out there in the world offering to help when things are looking bleak. Thanks Ramy.
To see more of my photos from Africa, check out my Africa Photo Gallery. And please leave a comment here on my blog.