Three weeks abroad

[jdepould]

As everyone on the forum no doubt noticed, I haven't been on since August 1.

I was in Africa without internets. It was quite an adventure. Now, one beard, eight flights, 23 days, one dead D700 and a slightly sick 24-70 later, I'm home, but only because American Express rescued me.

Sadly, I can't post pictures from Sierra Leone until February (licensing). I can, however, post pictures from my two nights in London.


London Eye after dusk.
D700/24-70mm f/2.8; 24mm, 1/5s, f/2.8 @ ISO1600

The first thing you're probably wondering is "What the !@#$ were you doing in Africa, and why can't I see the pictures until February?!!?!?"

To which I answer: I was doing some multimedia work for an NGO, focusing on their efforts to fight HIV and AIDS. You can't see the pictures until February because they have an exclusive license until then.


Mmmm, duck.
D700/24-70mm f/2.8; 48mm, 1/400s, f/2.8 @ ISO200

The second thing you're probably wondering is "Dead D700!?!?!?!? 24-70?!?!?!?!?"

Well, this one is fairly simple. August in Sierra Leone is monsoon season. It started behaving erratically toward the end of one particularly rainy day, and now the AF/shutter systems are knackered. It's going back to Nikon next week. The 24-70 is less severe, the zoom ring is just a little stiff at the wide end. I think it just might need to be cleaned or re-lubricated. Also going back next week. Both are insured, and I'm not particularly worried, but it will suck to not have my D700. I managed to get by on just the D300, but I ended up using more flash than I had originally intended, since it's not as good as the 700 in low light situations.


Big head, little clock.
D700/24-70mm f/2.8; 24mm, 1/320s, f/11 @ ISO200

Now you're probably wondering how American Express rescued me, or why I needed rescuing in the first place. Due to a chain of unfortunate, but uncontrollable, events, I missed my flight out of Sierra Leone. Thus, I was stuck in Africa, beginning to panic, without the slightest idea what to do. I called the number on the back of my AmEx, and they put me through to their Global Assist, whose sole job is to solve problems for customers abroad. They got me all situated on new flights, it added two days to my trip and a night in Chicago, but I honestly don't know what I would've done without them.


Empty space pod.
D700/24-70mm f/2.8; 35mm, 1/10s, f/5.6 @ ISO1600

I have lots more stories, but I think I'll stretch this out a bit.

[Saralonde]

Stories and pics are pretty good so far, even without the smilies. Love the big head. So sorry to hear about the camera and lens, but at least it was okay for most of the trip.

Hooray for AmEx!