Averting disaster photgraphically speaking...

Harry, I feel your pain. The only time that my wife and I have EVER turned our back on a dishwasher was in 2006, when we started the dishes, packed the truck and headed off to the Tahoe area. When we returned on Sunday, I discovered that the (non-plastic) drainpipe had disintegrated due to water alkalinity, the cabinet under the sink had as much water as it could hold, and the remainder had spilled over onto and under the Pergo flooring.

Never turn your back on a possible rogue appliance.....

Unfortunately, there are drawers under the kitchen counter where I store some of my doo-dads. Including such things such as strobe lamps, thermometers, tools, film tanks, cables, slave trigers etc.

I'm guessing you're single, and your diet consists mostly of frozen dinners. ;-)

I'm reminded of when there was water rationing where I lived, and everyone had to turn off their lawn sprinklers by midnight on the designated watering day. That created a pressure surge that blew apart some jerry-rigged plumbing connection the previous owner had concocted and buried in the insulation in our attic. I woke up in the wee hours of the morning, hearing water running. When I stepped out to have a look, it was raining in the kitchen and living room into probably an inch of water that had pooled in the tile floor.

My worst photographic mishap was with a beautiful Kodak Monitor Six-20 I had restored. I had it perched on a very old cinema tripod I had also restored. That tripod had no locks or limits on the travel of the legs. My dog brushed by one of the legs, flipped it out, and the entire rig went BAM on the floor. Other than that, I've been careful/lucky enough not to have anything major happen.

I think the worst disaster I could think of would be to have my equipment stolen. If equipment gets broken, well that's an unfortunate accident. On the other hand, theft is a deliberate act. People deliberately causing harm or anguish to others without remorse is something I just cannot stomach. I cannot fathom how one could just take something that somebody else rightfully earned and be ok with themself.

As for equipment "failures", the worst I've experienced was when my puppy destroyed my camera and memory card by chewing on it while I was at work. He also chewed up my favorite hat and TV remote. 6 years later, I love him to bits. I'm sure getting him out of his chewing phase has a lot to do with that.

>>> What would be the most terrifying experience you ever had concerning your photo equipment.

Though I wouldn't categorize it as terrifying, I suppose the closest would be the time a guy on the street with an attitude threatened to "break my effing camera" when I refused to give him money after taking his picture.

Had a cheap P&S on a clamp hanging out of the sunroof. Reached up to adjust at about 75 MPH and got beaked by a crow in the palm. Guts everywhere. Killed the P&S too.

Never been crucified by a crow before, but there's a first time for everything.

Shooting over a high railing at a coal-fired power plant, I dropped an RB-67 rig about 30 feet to a concrete floor. SPLAT! The camera/lens/prism/back practically exploded. I could of killed someone with that thing! Lucky for me, no one was nearby. I had a backup system in the car and could finish the assignment...after I cleaned up the major mess.

Left my camera bag with Olympus Pen F, 20mm f3.5, 38mm f1.8 and 100mm f3.5 Zuikos in the rental car I returned. My sister ran back and managed to locate the car and the camera bag. That was in October of 2009.

I had turned 70 and decided to get out of the photo business that I had started after I had earlier retired from my real job. I had been more successful at weddings than I had anticipated and had had a lot of business.. Anyway my last wedding was a large one at an old stone church by the sea. Very picturesque. Things went fine through the course of the wedding until after the ceremony when I was attempting to do groups inside the sanctuary. The bride was statuesque and looked lovely in a dress that sculpted her figure and had about a ten foot train. I shot a roll of medium format film inside the sanctuary. As the bridal party was leaving I realized I had changed fixed focus lenses and forget to reset the aperture on the new lens. I blew the whole roll of film. In my anxiety to catch up with the bride i forgot about the wedding dress train and stepped on it and this of course stopped her very abruptly on her way out. That really got her attention and I then confessed that I had blown out the chapel roll of film By this time I was mortified. This gracious woman forgave me on the spot right in front of that church. We a agreed to go to the church garden and reshoot and add to the chapel pictures that were not taken. I breathed sigh of relief. She also wanted some departing pictures as sho got into her limo by herself as she and I were headed to a cliff over looking the ocean to photograph her dress.

I was to meet her there. I grabbed my Canon 70-200 2.8 for the car pictures and was carrying my MF camera as well as my Canon body with a lens that needed changing to the 70-200, I dropped the 70-200 on the concrete side walk trying to run after the limo and do a lens change at the same time. It bounced about two feet in the air. I picked it up and used Canon lens I had thinking I had just destroyed a 1200 dollar lens. I went on to take her cliff pictures and we parted as if nothing happened and went on to the reception. She later ordered enlargements which I supplied and then called me wanting more. I asked her if she wanted the negatives inasmuch it was my last wedding and becuase she had been so gracious. I thanked her for being so understanding. I sent them to her which is the first time I had ever given up wedding negatives. The 70-200 survived and since has come off the camera recently as a swim meet. It is still going strong after fifteen years of my abuse. It is one tough lens. She was my best bride ever.

John wrote:

"Left my camera bag with Olympus Pen F, 20mm f3.5, 38mm f1.8 and 100mm f3.5 Zuikos in the rental car I returned. My sister ran back and managed to locate the car and the camera bag. That was in October of 2009."

I can do that one better. I returned a rental car at the airport and left the trunk open. I was running tight on time so I was rushing. In the trunk was my Canon 7D. I boarded my flight and at the next stop I realized it and called the rental company. Luckily it was found and I had to pay to ship it back home.
I also had my 7D on a tripod extended pretty tall and the pistol grip ball head was a bit loose and the weight of the camera tiled it down knocking the tripod over lens hitting pavement dead on. Luckily it was a lens that was built like a brick outhouse. The lens and camera survived.
My external hard drive with my photos got knocked over from the desk and it cannot be read. I need to send it to hopefully get recovered. I do have some of it backed up.