I have to explain the following image and why it looks the way it does. Our first day in Banff National Park, we went for a walk down to Bow Falls, just outside of downtown Banff. While we walked, I would stop to make photographs, and I stopped to make this one. I got the tripod set up, and composed the photograph, and got the exposure figured out. It would be a six second exposure, with my neutral density and polarizer filter on. So, I started the exposure, and turned my back just real quick to see what Gina was doing. I only had my back turned away for one second. It was just one of those quick turns. When I turned back, I turned just in time to see the tripod tipping over. I jumped to try to save the camera from crashing to the ground, but I was too late. My camera face-planted right into the dirt. The fall crunched the two filters, and bent the front of the lens in (I was using a Tokina 12-24mm), sort of like a bike wheel after a real bad bike wreck. As far as I can tell the glass of the actual lens is ok, but with the front of the lens bent in the way it is, I can't get the filters off to really check out the glass. Even if I could get them off, I wouldn't trust the lens to be able to focus and operate properly. The camera body itself is ok, thank goodness. And I did finally just get a replacement, but this time, I got the Nikon 12-24mm. I should have just gone with that one to begin with, since the Tokina had some issues (chromatic aberration being the worst) that I had to fight a lot. But, I guess it's good that the cheaper Tokina got smashed, and not the more expensive Nikon.

The whole ordeal could have been prevented if I'd have checked a bit better on the stability of the tripod. While I had my hands on the camera, it was fine, but its center of gravity was forward enough that once I let go, gravity was allowed to do its thing. So, kids, learn from me and check your tripods.

This is the last photograph that lens made:

Luckily, I had my Nikon 24-120mm lens, so I wasn't shut down from making photographs with a real camera, instead of finishing the trip with my phone's camera. Unfortunately, that lens was still in the hotel room. And, years ago dust got into the focus mechanism, so it won't autofocus, but it works, and it got me by for the rest of the trip.