A Hard Lesson on Caution
Some life lessons come pretty easily, but others require a little bit of painful personal experience before we catch on.
Normally, I’m pretty quick on the uptake for a lot of lessons. Touch something hot, you get burned. What goes up must come down. I may not have a lot of common sense, but I have enough to realize the basic stuff without a lot of difficulty.
Even caution is normally something that comes natural to me. I do a whole lot of things “just in case.” Data backups, an extra layer of padding, and 911 already dialed on my phone are just a few of the things I’ve done because I know things don’t always go as planned.
One specific example is the floaty back door for my GoPro. This floatation device ensures that if you lose a grip on the camera in water, it will float to the surface. If I’m getting in water any deeper than a swimming pool, I’m using the floaty back door. I don’t care if it’s just a few shots, I know how clumsy I am, and I know that it’s safer to use a flotation device. Obvious, right?
I got a new off-brand action camera for Christmas last year. Well, not exactly. I bought one on sale for my kid, but then they had an actual kid camera on sale later, and I bought it, too. We ended up giving him the kid camera for Christmas, and the action cam just sat in the closet for several months. Eventually, I planned on giving it to him, but it could wait until he might be able to use it a little more effectively.
Before a trip down to the beach, I was looking for my GoPro and couldn’t find it. I really wanted to shoot some video with the kids, and I wouldn’t trust myself with my phone or DSLR with all that water and sand around. When I determined that I wouldn’t be able to find the GoPro before we left, I decided I could use the other action cam we bought. It wasn’t technically earmarked as a Christmas gift, or for anyone in particular. Why not?
I got it out of the box, set it up, and played with the interface some before we left for vacation. Since it could shoot higher resolution and higher framerate than my old GoPro, I figured I would probably start using it as my main action cam. I knew I would probably find my original GoPro after we returned, but that just meant I could get two angles at once and twice as much footage.
The very first day of our vacation, I got the new action cam out and started shooting some video of the kids playing in the water. I stayed up on the beach, just so I wouldn’t risk dropping it. After a little while, I decided to get a little closer for some better shots. Then I got closer. Eventually, I my feet were just touching the water.
Around this time, I started to forget my rule about never being over water without the floaty back door. Honestly, I didn’t have a floaty back door for this new action cam anyway, so I didn’t really intend to have it in deep water. But you live and you learn.
I was on my knees in the water, facing the shore. I had the camera down low, getting a shot from just above the surface of the water. An unexpected wave hit me harder than I anticipated, and it knocked the camera out of my hands.
For a few brief moments, I could see the camera tossing in the surf. I grabbed at it frantically. My hands brushed against it once or twice, the smooth plastic standing out distinctly against the salty water and rough sand. Each time, it slipped away. After a matter of seconds, I lost sight of it completely.
I was frustrated for a while. I knew better than to have the brand new camera over water at all, especially in rough water without anything ot make it float. Fortunately, apeman is significantly cheaper than GoPro proper, so I was only out maybe $50 or so. Still, I lost a camera before I got to save a single picture or video with it. That’s disappointing for sure.
What I already knew, I now plan to put more diligently into practice. When I get another new action cam, a flotation device will be the first thing that I buy for it. And I did find my original GoPro, so I can still shoot cool video for now. I won’t be taking out an unprotected camera over water again any time soon.
Even caution is normally something that comes natural to me. I do a whole lot of things “just in case.” Data backups, an extra layer of padding, and 911 already dialed on my phone are just a few of the things I’ve done because I know things don’t always go as planned.
One specific example is the floaty back door for my GoPro. This floatation device ensures that if you lose a grip on the camera in water, it will float to the surface. If I’m getting in water any deeper than a swimming pool, I’m using the floaty back door. I don’t care if it’s just a few shots, I know how clumsy I am, and I know that it’s safer to use a flotation device. Obvious, right?
I got a new off-brand action camera for Christmas last year. Well, not exactly. I bought one on sale for my kid, but then they had an actual kid camera on sale later, and I bought it, too. We ended up giving him the kid camera for Christmas, and the action cam just sat in the closet for several months. Eventually, I planned on giving it to him, but it could wait until he might be able to use it a little more effectively.
Before a trip down to the beach, I was looking for my GoPro and couldn’t find it. I really wanted to shoot some video with the kids, and I wouldn’t trust myself with my phone or DSLR with all that water and sand around. When I determined that I wouldn’t be able to find the GoPro before we left, I decided I could use the other action cam we bought. It wasn’t technically earmarked as a Christmas gift, or for anyone in particular. Why not?
I got it out of the box, set it up, and played with the interface some before we left for vacation. Since it could shoot higher resolution and higher framerate than my old GoPro, I figured I would probably start using it as my main action cam. I knew I would probably find my original GoPro after we returned, but that just meant I could get two angles at once and twice as much footage.
The very first day of our vacation, I got the new action cam out and started shooting some video of the kids playing in the water. I stayed up on the beach, just so I wouldn’t risk dropping it. After a little while, I decided to get a little closer for some better shots. Then I got closer. Eventually, I my feet were just touching the water.
Around this time, I started to forget my rule about never being over water without the floaty back door. Honestly, I didn’t have a floaty back door for this new action cam anyway, so I didn’t really intend to have it in deep water. But you live and you learn.
I was on my knees in the water, facing the shore. I had the camera down low, getting a shot from just above the surface of the water. An unexpected wave hit me harder than I anticipated, and it knocked the camera out of my hands.
For a few brief moments, I could see the camera tossing in the surf. I grabbed at it frantically. My hands brushed against it once or twice, the smooth plastic standing out distinctly against the salty water and rough sand. Each time, it slipped away. After a matter of seconds, I lost sight of it completely.
I was frustrated for a while. I knew better than to have the brand new camera over water at all, especially in rough water without anything ot make it float. Fortunately, apeman is significantly cheaper than GoPro proper, so I was only out maybe $50 or so. Still, I lost a camera before I got to save a single picture or video with it. That’s disappointing for sure.
What I already knew, I now plan to put more diligently into practice. When I get another new action cam, a flotation device will be the first thing that I buy for it. And I did find my original GoPro, so I can still shoot cool video for now. I won’t be taking out an unprotected camera over water again any time soon.
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