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Appreciation post: My worst astrophotography fail at Joshua Tree
Last fall, I drove 4 hours to Joshua Tree to shoot the Milky Way with my new tracker. I spent 45 minutes setting up my tripod and camera, got the perfect composition, and started a 3-minute exposure. Right as it hit the 2-minute mark, a gust of wind knocked the whole rig over. My camera hit a rock, cracking the lens filter and scuffing the body. I was so mad I almost packed up and left. Instead, I used my phone to take a wide-field shot of the scene, which actually turned out decent. Has anyone else had a setup disaster like that in the field, and what did you salvage?
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joel_clark371mo agoTop Commenter
My old tripod got blown over at Mono Lake, so I started using a heavy sandbag on the hook. Did you try any kind of weight to keep it steady?
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Ugh, that's the absolute worst feeling... watching it tip over in slow motion. My stomach dropped just reading it. I had a similar thing happen with a light tripod on a beach once, salt water everywhere. Using your phone was a really smart save, turning a total loss into something you could keep. That trip must have been so frustrating after all that driving and setup time.
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gracec161mo ago
Oh man, the slow-motion tip is the worst part! It's like your brain is screaming "NOOOO" but your body is frozen. I've seen my coffee cup do that dance on the dashboard more times than I can count. You just have to watch the disaster happen, totally helpless. At least with a phone you get a blurry picture of your sadness instead of nothing.
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