Disaster in Banff... or is it???!! Hand-holding my Chamonix 4x5...

Hi all,

well, a couple of days ago I flew Sydney to LA then LA to Calgary, arriving to discover that none of my checked in luggage had made it (and now, 30 hours later it appears that it never will...). First problem was how to stay warm wearing a t-shirt, a thin jacket and jeans. At least none of my film went near a scanner - one small victory at least.

The next and far more serious problem remains the issue of shooting my 4x5 with no tripod, which was checked in with its lovely geared head. Never mind the tons of clothes and motorbiking gear that has gone as well.

So early today, sporting a new heavy jacket, my mobile phone and a little Fuji X10 (with one battery and no charger) I decided to follow the excellent advice in Darwin Wiggett's "Banff National Park" (see oopoomoo.com/ebook) and headed out to scout some good spots, check for light/crowds etc. in the hope that my tripod would arrive for tomorrow (Fri). Wow - Banff is unbelievable and I am happy to plug Darwin's excellent work - his book has taken me places I would never have found otherwise.

Anyway - it appears all my gear has been either lost or stolen and I certainly won't be seeing it while in Banff (only here until Sat morning). So this means that tomorrow I will attempt to use my 4x5 with no tripod and no rangefinder (other than my Linhof viewer). I think I will stick to Tri-X 320 for some extra speed and keep my fingers crossed! Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I did the rounds of Banff during today to seek a loanable/rent-able tripod, perhaps foolishly thinking that someone in a camera store might empathise and help me find a solution* - only needed for a day. The guy in the Banff store (near the bridge) showed no interest, said his tripods were all new and too small (which is probably fair) and that as far as the X10 was concerned, I could either buy a charger for $50 or he would happily charge it up for $12. I had a similar reception from their sister store in the Banff Springs. "Damn dude - that's a shocker. You could either borrow one of mine or I'll ring a mate who'd love to help out." That's what we'd all say, right?

So any advice will be appreciated. I will set out tomorrow with the 4x5 and hope to get some usable shots. If I do, I'll post one or two!

Anyway - take care and cheers!

David (now the proud owner of new socks, undies and toothbrush!)

http://www.banffcentre.ca/va/facilit...raphy_gallery/

You might give them a call - contact at the bottom of page.

George

At least you didn't check in your cheerfulness- I'd be disconsolate. Though twenty minutes ago I checked in a camera too big for carry on, and the film is using up most of that allowance anyway.

In fact, reading this, I'm feeling a bit disconsolate already, just in case...

Good luck with your search, if I were you, I'd search for photographers rather than shops, they'd be more inclined to help out. I'm sure someone here knows someone there...

Very sorry to hear of your losses.

And the name of the airline is…?

George

Hello George,

many thanks for this advice. I will certainly do so and fingers crossed I won't have brought out all this gear for a dozen blurry images!

Much appreciated!

Cheers,
David

Hello Joseph,

thanks for your note. I understand your check-in anxiety but I'm sure you'll be OK. I have flown probably several hundred times over the recent years and this will be my first actual bag loss if it doesn't turn up. Naturally this auspicious event coincided with perhaps my most expensive baggage event ever! One bag was full of motorcycling gear - full leather suit etc. and I've brought clothing and other stuff for my stay in Calgary over the next 3 months so I don't have to ship it back and forth on my return trips to Oz. I've done an inventory of my equipment and a fairly conservative replacement value and it's certainly up there! This will test my insurer and their commitment to me...

As for cheerfulness - well, it's a bit of a "first world problem" isn't it?! After all, I am in Banff for a few days and will be living at the Sheraton in Calgary for nine of the coming 12 weeks. I've spent too much time in the 3rd world to get too upset about this. I suppose the frustration is more around just how difficult it is to communicate with the baggage people who are "handling" my case (pardon the pun). How two fully tagged bags can simply 'disappear' in LAX is beyond me, unless of course someone took a fancy to my leather outfit... :)

And yes, I'll try to chat with photographers today for at least a chance to put my camera on something sturdy!

Cheers,
David

Quote:

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Originally Posted by George Hart

Very sorry to hear of your losses.

And the name of the airline is…?

George

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Hi George,

the problem was that I was given bad advice in Sydney. The lady at Qantas (Sydney) check-in told me she was checking my bags through LAX to Calgary and that they'd be in Calgary without me needing to do anything. I've done this route many times and this was the first time someone had told me this so I specifically queried her and received assurance that they were going straight through automatically. I assumed that Qantas had made some arrangement with the TSA and Air Canada and thought nothing more of it other than it was nice to finally not have to do the carousel thing and the 400m drag between Tom Bradley and T2.

So it was an easy mistake for someone to make but in this case, sadly one with fairly significant consequences for me. At least Qantas showed concern in trying to expedite the tracking but I don't have high hopes. Fingers crossed...

Cheers,
David

Sorry to hear about the missing bags, I'd be steamed as well. Surely Qantas should be able to trace the bags through to LAX, unless they were pilfered as you think might have happened.

If you were in Toronto, you could have borrowed one of mine. Hopefully a member in Calgary can help out.

David,
Send me a PM with your address in Banff, I'll send you a loaner tripod; just ship it back to me when you're done.
I'll send you a PM right now in case you don't see this right away.

Don't be afraid to shoot without the tripod, you may find you can do reasonably well with improvised camera rests and leaning it against things. In fact, this may force you to shoot from different perspectives, you might get some really good photos. Though if you can get your hands on a tripod, I'm sure that would help too...