testmeat photoblog

there are a few different reasons as to why i haven't been updating the site so regularly since i returned from travelling. perhaps the most legitimate is because i haven't really had a camera since i came back, or more accurately most of my lenses. two years travelling around south america took it's toll, and 3 of the 4 lens i took with me developed faults. my 55-200mm lens was the first casualty when i was at the top of a hill in sucre, bolivia. i had balancing issues with my tripod and the resulting impact instantly changed it into a 165-200mm lens. my 18-55mm lens was doing fine until i got to cuba. i was kneeling by the sea on a beach and when i turned to zoom i saw the lens fall from the camera body and land in the sand. after some nervy investigation i discovered that the rear mount was broken, which meant that i could still use it if i pushed it in place at the same time as pressing the shutter, but it wouldn't 'click in place' as it should. however the most regretful of my three accidents was my 10-20mm wide angle which performed perfectly for almost 22 months, right up until i dropped it in angel falls. it was in a waterproof bag but the drop was still strong enough to mess up the focus sensor which meant i could only photograph objects which were exactly one metre away. that's a far from ideal focal distance for a wide angle lens. upon my return to england i took all three lenses to a camera shop where they were able to pull them apart and successfully put them back together again. i only collected them yesterday but it feels good to have a fully functional setup for the first time in almost 18 months. of course this also means i now have one less excuse for not posting new pictures.

here's the original