In the line of duty

I don’t seem to be having much luck at the minute with regard to damage to self and equipment, & the picture above confirms my suspicion that someone up there doesn’t like me much. After a quick job shooting fixtures and fittings in a very expensive house for conveyancing purposes on sunday morning, I headed to a Muttpix shoot with Danny and Ernie (Cairn Terrier and Patterdale Terrier puppies). The weather was getting better, with nice hazy sunshine, a secure space with different backgrounds, and toys to keep the boys interested. I always get down to ground level to shoot dogs, so I lay face down on the grass with the camera to my eye so that the dogs would get used to me being there, and to catch the odd candid moment. Without warning, the light coloured dog started sprinting at full pace, and ran past me. The Patterdale pup on the other hand, wasn’t looking ahead (as you can see), and ran at full pelt into the camera which was pressed against my face. 4kg of magnesium alloy rammed into my eye socket milliseconds after this shot was taken ( a horrible, out of focus shot incidentally), and the pain was like nothing I’ve ever felt. I was overcome with nausea, a fizzing sensation in my head, and an instant massive headache (which I’ve still got today). There was also a feeling of liquid running down the back of my nose & throat.

I really should have stopped there, went to the hospital, and got myself checked out, but decided to continue instead. A big lump developed from my temple round to my eye socket, and it hurts like a bugger. Luckily I’ve got years worth of high dose codeine phosphate to keep me going, so I should be able to carry on. Got some nice shots in the end.