Heads up for anyone shooting at the old mill in Cedarville

I was there last weekend with my Pentax K1000, trying to get some shots of the rusted machinery. I set my bag down on what looked like solid ground near the main wheel, and when I came back, the whole side was soaked through. There's a slow, constant drip from a broken pipe overhead that you can't hear over the river. It ruined two rolls of Portra 400 I had in there. Has anyone else run into hidden water traps in places like that?

4 comments

4 Comments

tylerbutler3mo ago

Honestly, my buddy lost a whole Mamiya 7 back in that old textile factory off route 9. He leaned it against a wall to change lenses and didn't see the moss was covering a crack that seeped water straight up from the ground. The bottom of the camera bag was a soggy mess in like ten minutes.

jake_kelly245d ago

Man do you think that moss just decided to grow there as a trap? Haha. I had a similar scare once in an old church basement where the floor looked totally solid, but my tripod foot sank right through a thin layer of concrete into mud. Now I always tap the ground with my foot first before setting anything down, its saved my gear a couple times. Really makes you paranoid about every surface, but better safe than sorry with cameras that cost that much.

graytorres3mo ago

It's always the quiet water that gets you. @tylerbutler's story about the factory moss is a perfect example. These old places look solid but they're slowly falling apart in ways you can't see. I've started checking walls and ceilings for damp spots before I put anything down, like some kind of building inspector. Ruined film is such a gut punch after you've spent the time to get the shot.

susan3505d ago

Wait, what? A whole Mamiya 7? That camera costs more than my car did back in college. @tylerbutler, I can't even imagine watching that happen in slow motion, like realizing your gear is soaking up water from the floor. It's those tiny cracks in the concrete that you never think to check, you know? I'm definitely adding "stomp on the floor first" to my pre-shot checklist now.