Craziest thing you have done to get a shot

To what lengths are you willing to go to get the shot that you want? Please share the shots and your stories behind them.

Not as crazy as Stockshooter hanging out of choppers over mountains, but this took maybe 20 actual minutes of shooting, extended WAY over the railing, feet hooked into the anchor capstan, camera held upside down on tripod, me holding tripod by the feet, while straining to frame and stabilize the shot staring at the camera's LCD. That Z5 gets really heavy after a while! The Skipper thought I was nuts but could tell I had it under control and was committed...

Added to cart yesterday....I'll keep my fingers crossed!

*Update* It sold! Thanks Anonymous Buyer! (see? It's worth it to risk one's life for "the shot!"

Did you watch to much deadliest catch? :P

Great shot!

Thanks!

Define "too much".....I think I gave it up after a few seasons....but it is the spirit....by next season the contacts I'm making now should enable me to finish destroying my camera in the "line of work".

Will "in the line of work" be your compositions working title?

Sounds more like an epitaph. For the camera, anyway. The VF is taped down because the red channel goes out if I move it, and today the iris stuck for hours...and three upcoming projects to shoot, not to mention the stock shooting obsession....

Soon, it goes to the cam doktor, but when?

Thanks Mizamook for pointing me in the direction of this thread - very nice opening shot I might add!

A quick disclaimer, I don't recommend taking overt risks or putting others at risk. I aim to make the shots "look" dangerous whilst maintaining an acceptable level of risk. My motto is cover the story, don't become part of it...

Here are a few of my additions.

This clip involved a treacherous hike up a ice covered path for over an hour with all my gear. The exclusion zone was 2km that day but was extended to 4km 48hrs later when the area I'd been filming in was showered by lava bombs!



Shooting the lava lake climbers was a lot of fun but standing on the edge of a giant crater with strong winds, toxic and corrosive SO2 blowing everywhere and a fiery end if you fell in was admittedly a concern!



During the Mayon eruption in Philippines in 2009 the exclusion zone was 10km but we thought the view was much better from about 2km out:



Standing on that ledge during monster flash floods in Taiwan was very freaky - the ground was shaking due to giant boulder being washed downstream:

TyphoonHunter,

Those are some scary shots! So, do you have nerves of steel or use something to strengthen them prior to shooting? :)

Yep. That's fun stuff! I feel most alive in the presence of Mother Nature's power. Maybe it's that the closer to death you are, or at least experiencing the proof of how puny and fragile we really are casts life in proper perspective.

Very inspiring, TyphoonHunter. This is making me realize that the ability to jump up and go to where the intense stories are happening is one of my goals. Something to work toward. Moose and fishing boats are only SO interesting....

Stay safe.

Mizamook,

What kind of treacherous danger is there in Alaska? Do you have a telephoto lens that can see what the Ruskies are doing? :)