Last May I was amped up to photograph the first day of the Connecticut Spring Boat Show in Essex, CT. I arrived early and I was thrilled to find a parking space on the street close to the entrance of the show. I couldn’t wait to see the exquisite yachts that can cost as much as a large mansion. Everyone attending the show had to take a short ferry ride to the docks. I got nervous when I found out that the docks are constantly moving up and down on the water; since I need to take the 360-degree images for a virtual tour from a stationary tripod. I checked in with the show owner, and we walked through the areas of the show where he wanted the Google virtual tour to go. I took a bunch of still shots around the show which had multiple walkways and boat slips. It was one of those perfect spring days.

I had only taken the two cameras and the tripod, since I didn't want to lug my big camera bag around. I set up my tripod to start taking the virtual tour images,  I turned my camera on and …. nothing. I have been a professional photographer for over fifty years; and I was furious at myself for making the classic rookie mistake.

I always fully charge my batteries after each assignment before I place my camera back in my camera bag. Apparently, this battery was at the end of it's useful life and did not hold a charge, and I failed to check my camera before leaving my car. I had made the classic rookie mistake! How embarrassing. Being a photographer can keep you humble because there are so many things that can go wrong. I had to tell the show owner that I had made a rookie mistake and that I would be back. 

Fortunately, I keep many charged batteries in the trunk of my car. I had to take the short ferry ride back to land and then take a walk to my car. By this time the crowds were starting to arrive making the virtual tour photography a bit more difficult. You will see many blurred people walking around me in the virtual tour images.  At least the weather and the yachts were beautiful. I keep my fingers crossed that the moving dock would not be a problem with the panorama photos. The next day I stitched up the panoramas on my computer and they looked great. What a relief! Then I ordered more camera batteries. You can’t ever have too many batteries in your camera bag, and you need to bring extra batteries with you! The Google tour is here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/bTHREpZ4TvqgngBq6