See this pic? Aside from a few landscapes I took a day into my Hornby trip this is the kind of picture you can expect from the grand expedition. Why is that? Well, it's what happens when you

Don't take backup

They -- the pros -- are always telling you, aren't they? Take a backup. Anything. A G9. Uncle Bob's film SLR. That used 10D that someone on Craigslist posted for $250 last week. All of that I could have got last week -- even rented -- if I had known

my 30D's shutter was going to fail

I was on my way back after a morning shooting not much -- too hot a day -- all the animals had stayed home except for a couple turkey vultures. I had even wasted a few dozen frames trying to pan with a dragonfly. Steps away from home base, a little Lincoln Sparrow had dropped down onto a outcropping right in front of me. Moving slowly, I brought up the 100-400L, focused, and *snap CLANK*.

Black frame.

Hmmm. I recomposed. Tried it again. The LCD read: "Error 99". A sigh built up in me. I knew this story.

The screen advised: 1) replace the battery 2) Turn the camera on and off

I did all those. Nothing but a blank frame followed by the Error 99.

I went into the cabin. I made my breakfast. I spoke with Sarah. I mentioned: there might be something wrong with my camera. I tried it again. Same results. Then I tried the sensor clean function on the camera and took off the lens to peer inside.

The shutter was still closed.

Shutter Life
This is the thing about DSLRs. They still are SLRs. There are mechanical parts and one of them is the shutter. It's what opens up to expose the sensor to the light that your lens is allowing into it. Like all mechanical things, eventually it is going to fail.

The 30D's shutter is rated at 100,000 actuations. It doesn't mean that it will die exactly at 100,001. It is just an average. I have used my 30D quite a bit but there is no real way for a peon like me to determine how much under or over my shutter was before it stopped opening. All I know is

it happened 1 day into my 7 day trip.

What was that lesson again?

Oh yeah, TAKE TAKE THE BACKUP.