Scary things when shooting ladscapes?

Crazyhorse

Crazyhorse

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I got my ten stopper the other week. Couldn't wait to try it out so the next evening, I went to a location by myself. Bit scary, by the river near a city centre, some well dodgy characters around. Felt really uncomfortable (this is the woman who has been going to Appleby horse fair with thousands of gypsies since the 80's and never felt vulnerable).

So I decided to take one of my trusty dogs with me in future. He's proved himself in the past, so I feel safer with him.

Anyway, last Saturday night in the search for 'that photo', we had to negotiate a style which led straight into the path of several mother cows and their calves. The dog and I stood there for over five minutes, too scared to go into the field. One of the cheeky mother calves even came up to us and put her head dangerously close to my astonished dog. Eventually a woman and her husband came along and shushed the cattle away, so off we went.:lol:

Then today, I went to a weir. After a few test shots, I realised I needed to be a lot closer to the weir. There was a sort of concrete 'path' for want of a better word. So, I took off my sandals (that was my first mistake), I took one step into the water and WOAH! fell heavily on my side. The tripod with camera, one ten stopper and two nd's remained firmly in my left hand and thank god, remained upright.

I had my lowepro rucksack on my back with my heliopan polorizer in it, and other filters etc, but thankfully they were all undamaged.

Oh, I ache all over, I've got frozen peas on my left foot which is turning black and blue as I type. Thankfully, a lovely young fisherman came to my rescue. Apparently, I slipped on the weed growing over the concrete.

Best bit is though, I have 'proper' walking boots 'non slip' as best as can be, but of course, they remained in the car.

So from now on, take dog with me and wear sensible footwear.

Anyone else got any tips etc?

Lisa
 
Keep up the frozen peas!

Not had the misfortune of having any mishaps other than a few wet feet and a tripod leg that shot off into a river which I had to recover.

The worst experience shooting landscapes was coming across a dead sheep in a mountain stream stuck half way up a hill and it really did stink! yuk!
 
With the cows, they never know what to make of dogs, so in that situation let the dog go. Aslong as your dog is not likely to attack them..
Cows are easily overwhelmed by their suroundings, very much like those with autism.

Try not to make any sudden moves, but be confident and talk to them as you move on. They will move aside and not do you any harm, however if they have young the mothers can be protective so gauge the situation and try to keep moving..

Try to understand the body language etc. That will help.. I used to break all the rulles with bull beef on a farm I worked on, but could read their feelings and emotions pretty well.. They played like big puppies, and stopped when I said usually about three inches from me at a full speed bounding prancing run across the enclosure.... I wasn't beleived until someone else was with me...

Dogs will attract the cows if t is on a lead with you, it is the dog that interests them..
 
I had a bath in a waterfall pool. Luckily the camera was on tripod well away from the accident. I got away with getting wet, but my phone survived somehow. The lesson is stones can be very very slippery.

Another story is about cycling though the muddy seafront in Burnham-on-sea at midnight. I found myself 20m into the sea at one point; luckily I got away with it in the end. This is why driving to location by car and avoiding trains is safer.
 
Them 10stoppers are like gold dust, i'd be gutted to wait another 12 weeks if i damaged mine, your foot will be like new after just 2 weeks !! :D
 
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Heres a shot of the near miss yesterday!
 
No tips but "Bit scary", I understand that...been out on several night shoots in Leeds on my own recently and ..hhmmm, quit scary. Kept looking over my shoulder expecting Freddy Krueger to appear.

Shudder.
 
AliB said:
The worst experience shooting landscapes was coming across a dead sheep in a mountain stream stuck half way up a hill and it really did stink! yuk!
Click to expand...

all too common - and THE reason not to drink from supposedly "clean mountain streams" when out walking. Carry water with you
 
From the numerous falls I've had to endure, mainly due to my wibbly-wobbly body, I now make sure I always have a whistle with me. Keep it around my neck all the time, just in case :shrug:


On a different note, I always drink from natural streams; may be that explains all the weird sounds & gases :gag::bang:
 
jerry12953 said:
Yes, liver fluke....
But allegedly 200 yards below a sheep corpse in a stream you're OK!
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dont do "allegedly"........:D

here's..........."Wiki"
The Giardia cyst can survive for weeks to months in cold water[3], and therefore can be present in contaminated wells and water systems, and even clean-looking mountain streams, as well as city reservoirs, as the Giardia cysts are resistant to conventional water treatment methods, such as chlorination and ozonolysis.[3] Zoonotic transmission is also possible, and therefore Giardia infection is a concern for people camping in the wilderness or swimming in contaminated streams or lakes, especially the artificial lakes formed by beaver dams (hence the popular name for giardiasis, "Beaver Fever").
 
TriggerHappy said:
That has to be one of the best quotes I've seen from this forum :lol:
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It is very true.. moving a herd through a yard can be brought to a sudden stop by a feather or piece of plactic. If that happens stubbornness is re-defined beleive me. they won't budge for toffee..

The tinniest thing can stop them in their tracks..

In fact an autistic woman in America is taken all over the world designing slaughter houses because she sees things the way the cattle do. She was on TV last year or year before..
 
Yardbent said:
dont do "allegedly"........:D

here's..........."Wiki"
The Giardia cyst can survive for weeks to months in cold water[3], and therefore can be present in contaminated wells and water systems, and even clean-looking mountain streams, as well as city reservoirs, as the Giardia cysts are resistant to conventional water treatment methods, such as chlorination and ozonolysis.[3] Zoonotic transmission is also possible, and therefore Giardia infection is a concern for people camping in the wilderness or swimming in contaminated streams or lakes, especially the artificial lakes formed by beaver dams (hence the popular name for giardiasis, "Beaver Fever").
Click to expand...

I knew someone who spent a lot of time in sheep-infested Welsh wildernesses who swore that the best thing to do was

1. Find sheep corpse
2. Walk 200 yards downstream
3. Drink safely.

Is Giardia the same as liver fluke, btw?
 
Rough Edges said:
It is very true.. moving a herd through a yard can be brought to a sudden stop by a feather or piece of plactic. If that happens stubbornness is re-defined beleive me. they won't budge for toffee..

The tinniest thing can stop them in their tracks..

In fact an autistic woman in America is taken all over the world designing slaughter houses because she sees things the way the cattle do. She was on TV last year or year before..
Click to expand...

That's very interesting.......
 
jerry12953 said:
I knew someone who spent a lot of time in sheep-infested Welsh wildernesses who swore that the best thing to do was

1. Find sheep corpse
2. Walk 200 yards downstream
3. Drink safely.

Is Giardia the same as liver fluke, btw?
Click to expand...

do you really mean "upstream"............:shrug:

Giardia is a water contamination from fecal matters I think - it is rife in the US wilderness. We carried a "reverse osmosis" pump when "back-packing"
 
Yardbent said:
do you really mean "upstream"............:shrug:

Giardia is a water contamination from fecal matters I think - it is rife in the US wilderness. We carried a "reverse osmosis" pump when "back-packing"
Click to expand...

No, downstream!

If you walked upstream, there could easily be another corpse round the corner 50 yards upstream.....:suspect:
 
similar problem, wet grass, rain, water fall, lake district 4.00 am no one around.

slipped straight onto back sliding down steep hill to 60 foot drop, camera and tripod in hand no damage, only thing that stopped me was tree in between me spread eagled legs, ended up as a farmer............. with a couple of acres.

but did make me think about how to take shots and keep me self safe.
 
Anyway, last Saturday night in the search for 'that photo', we had to negotiate a style which led straight into the path of several mother cows and their calves. The dog and I stood there for over five minutes, too scared to go into the field. One of the cheeky mother calves even came up to us and put her head dangerously close to my astonished dog. Eventually a woman and her husband came along and shushed the cattle away, so off we went

Best avoid fields with cows (more so with calves and esp. if you have a dog). They can be unpredictable. If I cannot find a route to avoid them I walk beside the perimeter fence so I can hop over if need be.
 
arclight said:
Anyway, last Saturday night in the search for 'that photo', we had to negotiate a style which led straight into the path of several mother cows and their calves. The dog and I stood there for over five minutes, too scared to go into the field. One of the cheeky mother calves even came up to us and put her head dangerously close to my astonished dog. Eventually a woman and her husband came along and shushed the cattle away, so off we went

Best avoid fields with cows (more so with calves and esp. if you have a dog). They can be unpredictable. If I cannot find a route to avoid them I walk beside the perimeter fence so I can hop over if need be.
Click to expand...

Yes dogs should not be taken in a field that has heifers and calves in it, even if the dog is on a lead
 
Hi

Thanks for all the replies (and photos) LOL! Glad it's not just me then.

I'll explain the situation about the field.

It was in the River Soar area.

Small car park near the locks. Barges and boat moored up each side of the River soar. You walk past the boats, over a bridge, then there's a metal style at the bottom of the bridge. You climb over the style then you're into big fields with public access. It's very busy with lots of couples and families (with dogs too) walking in the fields along the river, particularly this time of the year with the nice weather. So it's not like a field by the side of the road I was passing and climbed over a fence. You can then walk for miles along the river but cattle are in the fields.

I appreciate what people have said about taking the dog with me. But it all ended with no mishaps. The woman and her husband clapped their hands and 'commanded' the cattle to go away, which they did. I then went into the field. I won't be going back there with the camera though because if I tried to get a shot without the power station in the scene, then the pylons were in shot and when I say pylons, there's millions of the buggers.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Lisa
 
Great fun Light Painting, nearly fell a few times LOL, I was dizzy and blinded by the lights it was pitch black :thumbs:

A shot from the morning as a reccy

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And the light painting

Spinning Tops

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remember to wrap the camera in bubble wrap
golden rule for those accident prone

:)
 
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