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UER Forum > Archived US: Mid-Atlantic > Rebar Ate My Camera (Viewed 426 times)
Mr.Coffee 


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Rebar Ate My Camera
< on 7/23/2006 6:32 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
(note: this is an update to the "abandoned school in chattanooga" thread that's buried in here somewhere)

Well, since I had to miss out on spook 'n 'splore due to car troubles, I figured i'd do something worthwhile and take some shots of the school that's just down from my apartment. I went at about 1am last night.

after crawling in through a ground floor window, I started snapping shots, not too interesting, I waited too long, as most of the place has been cleaned up, and the remodeling is about halfway complete.

the ground floor (pretty much the basement the way the building is constructed) had no access to the upper floors, so I clambered back out the window (no easy feat, i'm a big guy) and started looking for access to the upper floors.

all the doors and windows were securely shut. there was a pad lock on a hasp that i could have unscrewed, but i figured i'd check one more place.

around back there was a platform about eight feet up, it looks like they were rebuilding the rear staircase. basically there was a staircase "edge", like stairs one cinder block wide, with bits of rebar sticking out (where they plan to anchor the stairs, no doubt)

anyway, I climbed up the stairs and checked the windows and doors on the "platform" to no avail. whoever is remodeling this has made sure the place can't be wandered in to (the homeless population in the area probably has something to do with it).

on my way back down the cinder block stairs, my pant leg got caught on a piece of rebar (One i hadn't seen on the way up and therefore didn't know to avoid).

anyway, as soon as it caught my pant leg, i knew what was going to happen, but falling on a rebar spike from a height of 8 feet doesn't sound like fun to me, so i tried to regain my balance. that didn't work, and i fell forward. trying not to impale myself on the rebar, i pushed out and sideways with my left hand, which, unfortunately, still held my beloved SLR. one crash, rip and thud later i was on the ground.

the soft clay and gravel broke my fall quite well, the only injuries i sustained were two gashes, one on my left forearm and one on my left thigh. not too bad, definitely good for the "oh shit" factor, but really they're just bad scratches.

the worst part was looking up and seeing my camera sitting on the rebar, lens first. the rebar went all the way through the lens and into the camera body.
i'd take a picture of it, but for obvious reasons i can't. the film was a wash too, as it broke into the light box.

so yeah, the building is still interesting, but i'm going to wait untill it's a bit more completed before i go back. i guess this only cements my need to move to digital.
i had my last tetanus booster two years ago, any body think i should get another one?

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c1rc4 


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Re: Rebar Ate My Camera
<Reply # 1 on 7/23/2006 7:38 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
tetanus last like 10 years or something. i didn't have one for 12 years, and i'm still alive even with my stupidity.

Oherian 

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Re: Rebar Ate My Camera
<Reply # 2 on 7/24/2006 1:11 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Oh man... Honestly, you ought to get a booster. Tetanus boosters are supposed to be every ten years, but the medical professionals that gave me my last one instructed me that it was best to get a booster any time something like this happens. That's probably the "better safe than sorry" approach, but tetanus is nothing to play with.

"If the door's open, you might as well stick your head in."
-- Lil-trouble
argonian 


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Re: Rebar Ate My Camera
<Reply # 3 on 7/24/2006 2:33 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Personally, I am more concerned about your heartache after seeing what became of your camera. I recently damaged a lens when I went through a floor. Although my camera is salvagable, my heart still broke. I really feel for you.

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Mr.Coffee 


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Re: Rebar Ate My Camera
<Reply # 4 on 7/24/2006 4:59 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
yeah, it was a relic, a pentax spotmatic 2, been in the family since my uncle bought it in japan (where he was stationed during the vietnam war). my mom gave it to me when i went to college. that was the worst part, but c'est la vie, when i told my parents they were like "at least it was an old camera" so if they're ok with it, i guess I am too.


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hydrotherapy 

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Re: Rebar Ate My Camera
<Reply # 5 on 7/24/2006 5:02 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
I just cringed on behalf of your camera, but of course there's always being thankful that if anything had to get skewered, it was your gear rather than an organ.

I'm all for saying get the tet booster- it'll be good for now, and you won't have to worry next time you step on a nail, which is bound to happen. Sorry to hear about the camera, glad to hear you're still intact, and I applaud the tenacity it took to find a way up in that building. Besides- with those gashes you can now claim you were attacked by a mountain lion and gain infamy and prestige. It at least sounds cooler than saying "I fell after getting my pants caught on rebar."

Sorry we missed you at Spook 'n Splore, but glad adventures were still had all over.

Get down, girl, go 'head, get down.
Mr.Coffee 


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Re: Rebar Ate My Camera
<Reply # 6 on 7/24/2006 7:10 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
GREAT NEWS!
so I just got back from A&P photographic (our local one-guy-in-a-tiny-room camera shop). This guy is an avid collector of old cameras (he's where I get my darkroom chemicals too, he lets me add stuff to his orders so I can buy it wholesale)
anyway, I brought in my pentax and told him my story of woe, and he said he could fix it! apparently the body is repairable, and he has the parts to do it. he even has some old pentax lenses! $75 and he'll have it done by friday. this guy is my new personal hero, although I think i'm gonna leave this one on the shelf from here on out, too close of a call.

oh, and my left arm hurts.
[last edit 7/24/2006 7:12 PM by Mr.Coffee - edited 1 times]

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DoktorVivi 


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Re: Rebar Ate My Camera
<Reply # 7 on 7/24/2006 8:06 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
I dropped my camera into knee deep water. An hour-long cursing spasm ensued. Good thing I got it insured.

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Re: Rebar Ate My Camera
<Reply # 8 on 9/4/2006 7:07 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Damn, what aim for not trying. Your not impaled, which is the better of the two. Don't get a tetanus if you had one recently; too often can have adverse effects. If you had one within five years of an extensive injury you should be safe, from tetanus that is.

I can sympathize as I came closer than I like to taking the "plunged" a few days ago. I was climbing a fifteen foot fixed steel ladder into a clock tower. What I didn't know was there was a 2 inch wide angle iron beam running across the top of the ladder. My hat was on and it was dark, and my hands were full handling the ladder. Bang. Not enough to knock me out, but it got my attention. I was lucky and not going fast, otherwise it would have been bad.

Just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in.
UER Forum > Archived US: Mid-Atlantic > Rebar Ate My Camera (Viewed 426 times)



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