The Right Decision

Nikon D700, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens @ 116mm, f/4.5, 1/250s, ISO 500.

Rick is a new Realtor, a wildland firefighter, and fan of Theodore Roosevelt (can you tell?). I had the pleasure of working with him for a few minutes this morning creating some images for him as he launches his business. Pictures can help show who you are, and Rick wanted something different from many of the other Realtor pictures--something that "doesn't look like the seventh grade photo lineup." I hope I met his expectations.

Right after we finished shooting and were about to begin reviewing which pictures he wanted to keep, he told me in conversation that Roosevelt said,

    "The best decision is the right decision, and the worst decision is making no decision at all"

Ten seconds later I was panicing in my heart because the pictures we just took wouldn't show up on my computer, and when I put the card back into the camera, they weren't there, either! I had just an instant to  decide what to do: I could try using the software for recovering files that came with my SanDisk cards, which I had never used before, or I could reshoot the pictures.

I decided to explain this little problem and said the best thing would be to reshoot a few frames--the software would be a gamble, but I'd still try it later on my own time. He agreed, and we went back into the Studio for a few more minutes. Actually, I could have faked another faulty card and done another shoot--talking with Rick is so enjoyable that the time passed too quickly; I hope to have him around again and pick his brain for more interesting experiences.

So, we reshot and the images turned quite as well as the first session, if not better! I think that was the right decision.

Now I have to figure out this software thing and see if I can get the other pictures back. I always tell my students to format their cards every time they put the card into the camera to prevent just such an occurrence; this was one of the only times I have not done just that and I suffered the consequences--which in this case was another half hour with a very interesting fellow...

Wish me luck as I delve into SanDisk!

Nikon D700, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens @ 180mm, f/4.5, 1/320s, ISO 500.