Never Assume

On our trip to the 12 Apostles, I learnt some things I should never have forgotten. Fortunately, my students benefited from my learning experiences.
The Recci on a Wet Day. We needed to check out a location for the next day's shoot. Several students jumped into the car with me. It was raining, cold, windy and generally dull. Only some of us took our cameras. On arrival, the weather had cleared so we jumped out and walked. Presuming that it would be a brief visit - I only took one lens and no raincoat!
Lesson 1 - Never Assume the Weather will Stay the Same.

The Scenes were Spectacular - crashing waves, rocky escarpments and great light. It also rained again so I got wet and had trouble shielding my camera.
The photography was so good I ran out of battery power - the spare was in the car! I also would have loved a different lens!
Lesson 2 - Always Take All Your Gear including spare batteries - particularly in cold weather as the batteries don't last as long.

Dawn at the 12 Apostles
It was an overcast morning with no wind. We were in place at first light, taking some interesting shots - some facing East and some facing West. I had my camera on a tripod at full height to get some good shots. As more tourists started to arrived I tucked it into a corner and walked over to help some students. At that moment a gust of wind blew my camera & lens over and it landed on the bitumen. The lens was half ripped away from its mount. The camera was OK.
Lesson 3 - Never leave your camera unattended - especially on an extended tripod. Don't assume a gust of wind won't come.
Lesson 4 - Check your Insurance. If your gear is expensive - insure it. My repairs cost $1700