Camera Obscura

A Bridge Too Narrow

One downside of visiting a magnificent place like Iguazu is that there's no way a snap-happy traveller can keep his camera tucked away no matter what the ambient conditions. And Iguazu being a big, soggy waterfall in the tropics, those conditions were humid, wet and oppressively warm. I don't really mind that as long as I'm not trying to bowl 8 overs or work, but my Canon 300D, being elderly and infirm, was having none of it. About an hour into day one my 7 year old SLR decided that it needed a teensy bit of help with the focusing on things. Well, that happens to all of us at a certain age. Manual focus takes quite a bit longer to set up, but does avoid those irritating moments where the camera is determined to focus on something you're not primarily photographing, and it no great disadvantage, if slightly irritating.

At the end of the day, I dragged out the laptop and Googled away to find a solution to my problems. A forum eventually suggested that it was possible - in humid conditions - for one of the two primary mirrors to stick to the other one, and that if you prize them apart the autofocus should resume. Sure enough, on investigation only one mirror was visible, and it was indeed possible, with care and a thumbnail, to prise them apart. I aimed, pressed my silver button and heard the satisfying bleep of the autofocus doing its thing. I should probably have taken an actual photo, but hey - I was excited at my act of DIY, and not thinking entirely clearly.

The next day I set off to the Argentine side of the falls (see next post). The first sight was a beautiful waterfalls cascading out of think jungle. Out came the camera. 

The view through Ned Kelly's visor

And the result? Well, you can see for yourself. No sign of the waterfall, just a thick line of leaves and a lot of black. I tried again. And again. Focus fine, actual field of vision, limited.So, I sat down on a bench and disassembled the camera again, hoping that a combination of sweat, spray and giant brown wasps didn't get inside.

The first option to my befuddled mind was simply this: put right what once went wrong. Despite the mirrors looking quite happy at their right angles, I snapped them back together. Sure enough, my field of vision was again TV shaped, but the autofocus was buggered again.

So, my choice was, take ludicrously narrow photographs like some sort of desperate Peter Lik wannabe, but have autofocus, or take proper shots and have to do it myself. Clearly it was no choice at all.

It's sort of pretty. But at the same time, quite crap.

It only really became an issue when I was trying to get a good shot of the ubiquitous coaties who refused to stay still and smile for the camera. I will need to fix my trusty snapping friend before I try any wildlife photography again.

Stay still, you stripy shit! 

Alas, with so much time spent with the lens removed, some spray did get into the camera sensor, so when I got back to the hotel I had to spend hours cleaning up the pictures to get rid of the spots. At least it still actually works - I shouldn't complain.