Most extreme situation you've been in

[ALwin]

What are the most difficult, extreme, arduous, or detestable conditions you've been in to get that 'one shot'? The most extreme lengths you've ever taken just for a photo.

Like sitting inside a tiny tent for hours on a very hot, humid or cold day waiting for an animal to appear? Swimming in shark infested waters? Climbing sheer vertical cliffs thousands of meters high in a blizzard? Wading through murky alligator infested swamps? Hiking through dense humid tropical jungles full of mosquitoes and poisonous snakes/spiders?

Anyone willing to share their experiences, tips, advice?

As for myself, I've taken one extreme length to get a shot that ended up being a disappointment. Hiking up a long wooded hill on a moonlit night in knee deep snow with 30something kgs of gear. Lessons learned: choose your gear wisely, don't take everything, buy good thermal insulation clothes and remember that weather reports are just 'predictions'. At least the way down was smoother.

I admire the photographers for National Geographic for all the risks they take just to share with us places and things we would not normally see. What I did was probably a walk in the park compared to what they do.

[ravens-eye]

Ha Ha, yeah ok I have had one. Not Extreme but all other boxes ticked.

My workplace had a photo competition. Prize was minimal value really and 1st, 2nd & 3rd place got their image blown up, framed and hung in the reception area. No biggy but was a challenge and gave me a goal. The theme had to be local area (1mile radius) or work related. I picked local area as if I came in the top 3 I didn’t want a photo of the workplace on the wall at work. I’m a bit of a non conformer at work lol.

Any way I Google mapped the area and looked for interesting landmarks and found an old castle style building. I visited the site and other than the building there was little else in the area that could make the shot interesting. It was mid October last year and the dull overcast days were here and with no sign of shifting, so I was finding it hard to even capture a dramatic sky. Strangely though the nights were mostly clear and I had the idea of bringing some star trails into the mix. I had never tried these before so this was a great reason to learn and give it a try.

So I researched the method and then learnt a bit about stars (Polaris etc) and moon position and illumination as I have enough light pollution where I live as it is with out that floodlight adding too it (lot more to this than I first thought).

Anyway I waited for the next clear night with moon well out of the way etc and ventured out for a long night. Set camera up, composed image and set the shutter interval timer and started. Then not wanting to abandon my pride n joy a braved to icy cold night for the next 3 hours while the stars did their magic and then returned to my Camera. I had however not picked up on one very important lesson. Cold weather and glass lens = Condensation !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was gutted and very cold and went home with tail between my legs.

But I didn’t give up and tried a second night. I got my self a bunch of instant hand warmers and using a sock, I covered the outside of the lens barrel and tucked the warmers in. Set camera up, composed image and set the shutter interval timer and started – again! This time I returned 3 hours later to find I had incorrectly set the timer and had only taken 18 mins worth of shots. Useless and another night wasted.

I had one more night available to me before the deadline and gave it one last try.

The final result was not perfect and to be honest I was not happy with it, but it was a huge learning experience and I will be better informed when I attempt it again, which I am sure I will (in the summer).

I didn’t come 1st or 2nd, the workplace snappers got in there (love for the company n all that), I came joint 3rd and they still haven’t framed them up to this day.

Oh and to top it off, all that hard work researching and 9 hrs in the cold scary darkness…….after speaking to 1st and 2nd place photographers about their images, they both said it was a point n click moment and just though it looked ok so took the picture. Didn’t even seem bothered that they had even been picked?

I guess some of us do it for the passion and others do it because there is a few quid in it.

[ALwin]

Well I don't know what the 1st and 2nd place photos look like but your photo is amazing. And I'm happy to know that your gear was not stolen while you were away, I'd be too worried to leave my stuff out like that. But I'm sure it was one hell of an experience for you. I have yet to do star trails like this, I will wait for spring/summer.

[JamieWillmott]

I did a studio shoot with 8 kids of various ages - most of whom didn't want their picture taken. You don't get much more extreme than that!

[ravens-eye]

Well I don't know what the 1st and 2nd place photos look like but your photo is amazing. And I'm happy to know that your gear was not stolen while you were away, I'd be too worried to leave my stuff out like that. But I'm sure it was one hell of an experience for you. I have yet to do star trails like this, I will wait for spring/summer.

Oh no, I didn't leave my gear. It’s worth too much for me to walk away from, just to get a photo. That’s what made the 3 hour wait all the more difficult. Was just above freezing conditions and pitch black and I'm a few meters behind the camera pacing up n down trying to keep warm while at the same time getting spooked every 10 mins after hearing movement in the woods behind.

It was peaceful at the same time though just looking up at the stars. When your eves adjust to the dark more and more stars become visible. Not to mention all the other things moving up there. Saw some strange things.

I’m glad u like the photo. I don't to be honest, that why I never uploaded it to my gallery. Just wasn’t what I had seen in my head before taking it. Need more practice?

As for 1st & 2nd place. I think the word to best describe them would be "snaps". Basically they were picked because they were in the workplace theme category and management love anything that promotes the workplace.

Jamie - I feel for you there fella. I have enough trouble getting my 8 month old boy to sit still and you don't mind so much when it's your own.

But 8 that are not your own, wont sit still and the client wants 1st class shots!!!!! Very brave. I hope you pulled it off.

[ALwin]

I guess some of us do it for the passion and others do it because there is a few quid in it.

Some of my friends tell me I should go into photography as a profession, I tell them that I would rather not. I won't mind making a few bucks from it now and then, but I want it to be because I feel passionate about it. Not because I want to make money.

[ALwin]

I did a studio shoot with 8 kids of various ages - most of whom didn't want their picture taken. You don't get much more extreme than that!

8 kids...how did you manage in the end?

[Chris Humphreys]

I took some photographs at my sons birthday party once, a room full of 4 year olds, that was pretty extreme!

[JamieWillmott]

I managed ok in the end - I was working for a studio, you had to come up with the goods really. I did a few bizarre sessions whilst I was there, pet owners who only wanted shots of their pets, newborn baby session that the parents didnt want to be in on, large family groups. In each case you had about 45 mins shooting time to come up with 35-40 different shots that were good enough to be shown in a preview show. You would often have numerous sessions back to back - I think that 8 on the trot was the most I did on my own in the one day.

[ALwin]

I almost forgot I had this timelapse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klH7_Q6WNKU,
the only good result I got from that effort of hauling my gear through the snow. Done on the Jura mountains near St. Cergue, around 1200m above sea level.

And here's another timelapse I made some months before the one above
http://www.vimeo.com/8906564, the 3 final shorter sequences at the end of this clip are shorter timelapses I made in 2008 when I first got the D90.

I also have an all-nighter timelapse sequence somewhere but I never got around to uploading it so it's lost somewhere in my hard drives.