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True story: About an hour before sunset, I jumped into the Focus to shoot the swans at the Bay (actually, photograph the swans since it’s against the law to shoot swans out of season), pull into the parking lot where the swans hang and see four of them begging for food from a lady not 10 feet in front of me. I took out the camera with the short zoom since I don’t need the tele and turn on the camera. Oh, oh. Dead battery. Actually two dead batteries. And the back up for my back up is sitting on the kitchen table. Get back in the car and head for home trying not to exceed my usual five miles an hour over the speed limit, grab the D80 and drive back to the Bay, pull into the parking lot and find it completely deserted. No lady feeding the swans. And no swans. So I shot the photo above as I watched the sun go down.
2clicksaway 
So disappointing. Great photo above.
Thanks, Sue.
. . . not sure I should have clicked “like” . . . sounds a tad frustrating.
Still, I got this photo!
Yes you did . . . I suppose we should concentrate on the good things instead of letting the bad stuff take center stage.
Nice shot.
Murphy’s law… I guess. 😉
At least you got the opportunity to photograph the gulls instead. Lovely image and beautiful light. I like the colours!
Thanks, Malin. I do like the gulls photo.
It’s a lovely shot. I love seeing the moon in the daylight.
Thanks, Ash. It’s really the sun, though.
Hahahaha! Just as well I know how to laugh at myself!
Maybe, as well as the camera (with batteries) you could try bringing some food yourself, next time. Just to see if the gulls like you as much as they like the lady…
I did bring some day old bread with me. They seem to like that.
Great shot though…I did something similar last autumn. I hiked 5 miles saw an amazing sunset only to find the sd card was in the computer…
Thanks, Smacked. Fortunately, the D600 has two slots and I have a card in each.
Good plan☺
You figure if you have a back-up then you should be covered… but not always.
Next time bring a roll of film.
I still have a few rolls of black and white!
Well, you came away with a good picture anyway. I’ve shown up with _a_ dead battery, but not 2 man! 😀
Thanks, Paul. I don’t think the batteries in the D600 hold a charge as long as the batteries in the old D80, especially in the cold.
Maybe you should start carrying a sketchbook and a pencil?
Obviously you haven’t seen any of my drawings.
Just consider yourself to be Avant Garde and Innovative and Ahead of Your Time.
Dang, I hate it when that happens. Fortunately for me, checking the battery and card seem to be hard-wired. I’ve been lucky!
I’ve learned my lesson. This won’t happen again.
I should probably mention . . . my camera bag has two fully charged batteries always in it. When I replace a battery, it gets recharged as soon as I get home. The plastic cap is placed on the counter as a reminder, and as soon as the battery is recharged, it goes back in the bag,
My camera also has two card slots. One has a 16GB card, the other has a 32GB card. Also always in my bag, a memory card wallet with eight 32GB cards. All the cards, including those in the camera, are empty. Unless on vacation, I download photos the same day I shoot them.
Downloading means saving them to one of my external discs, and then reading them into Lightroom. Lightroom creates a copy onto another external disc. I trust at least one of them will survive until the monthly backup.
. . . I’m an engineer . . . it’s how I think.
I have two batteries for the camera, one in the body and one in the handgrip. But they work in tandem so they both could run out. The battery indicator in the panel is supposed to monitor both batteries. I think that they may have run low because of the deep cold we have been having for weeks and, of course, my lack of charging them regularly, which I blame on Emo.
A beautiful photo! Well worth going back to the scene!
Thanks, Meander. I think so, too.
No swan Ken but this is a great shot, I love it.
Thanks, Chantal. Swans next time, for sure.
Good old D80! Always there, always ready. Now, about this “out of season” thing…is there actually a “it’s okay to shoot swans” season?
Thanks, John. I still rely on the D80 for some shots. It’s a real workhorse.
There was a swan season in Minnesota when I lived there and a co-worker claimed he bagged 2. I’m not sure about NYS but I sort of doubt there is a season for them.
Oh Dear! I’ve done that too – maddening. Still, you eventually got a good shot, in spite of…
Thanks, Andy. I am pleased with the shot and a few others taken around the same time. I guess if there is a moral to this story it’s that we may not get the shots we’re after but we may get some unexpected surprises that can turn out quite well.
Bummer to have missed that first photo op but this one certainly saves the day, Ken. Nice catch.
It’s so disappointing when the battery goes down on you. I was out once and really got on a roll with a half charged battery, expecting to only be out for a short time. Of course everything I saw looked great and I was quickly running out of power with no backup. It has likely happened to us all at some point. 🙂
Thanks, Jimi. When I bought the camera I also got the grip which holds an extra battery. The two batteries work in tandem and if you aren’t paying attention (like me) they both run out at the same time. I need to be more mindful about it in the future.
Ken, this photo is simply wonderful 🙂
Thanks, Jocelyne. It’s my reward for being patient.