Save Your Camera – Don’t Miss A Wildlife Photograph!

Posted on June, 24th 2017

It’s great to have the wildlife you are photographing looking at you, but this is not how you want them looking at your camera!  I have actually seen people drop their cameras into a fast-moving river too many times!  It sounds basic but a simple suggestion can save real heartache!  Get yourself a good camera strap and make sure you always have it around your neck.  There are a number of brands and types, though I prefer Op/Tech straps which are made right here in the Gallatin valley.  You can find them at Bozeman Camera (my favorite local camera store!) or online.  They are adjustable, easy to attach to the camera and much more comfortable than the straps that come with the camera and that helps to ensure you will use them properly to protect your camera!  Usually, when people drop their cameras into the water it’s because they normally use the strap but they have taken it off for something and forgotten that their camera is no longer attached to them, they let go of it and splash!  Cameras and water just don’t mix well!  If you have an accident and your camera does end up in the water it is possible that it can be saved but there are a few things you must do immediately:  dry off the camera as best you can, turn it off immediately, remove the batteries and the memory cards, put it into a plastic bag with dessicant packets or fill the bag with dry rice which will absorb a good amount of the water.  Be patient… do not test to see if it’s OK.  Leave it in the bag with the rice and take it to a local camera store.  But if you have your camera on a strap, safely around your neck and you stay out of the water, it will be a much better situation than trying to figure out if your camera survived it’s dive into the river or trying to convince a grizzly bear not to retrieve your camera from the river and keep it for himself!