Go Never FS- Salvaon Mounin

Huh!?!? Previously, I had spoken about bonding with my XT-1; two other curious things occurred this past Sept. One was rather frightening- said camera fell right outta my ever lovin' camera bag (my fault entirely for not securing it properly) upon exiting our rental to witness the Grand Canyon. I didn't see it happen- I heard it! And I was more than a tad hesitant to actually look down and view the remains. A significant part of me just wanted to keep on walking... But walk back I did, and I was considerably taken aback to find that other than a bent up lens shade on the 18mm (28mm~e) and a barely perceptible scratch to the screen shield- the XT-1 was... completely intact! Immediately, I checked to see if the damn thing actually worked, and... all systems- go! I set about bending the lens shade back into shape (have always put a shade and filter on all my lenses for protection), and the universe was whole again as my adrenaline gradually began to diminish. Oh, and the fact that I also chose to adorn my XT-1 with a Lensmate thumbgrip also helped, I got mine "used" on eBay at half price for $30. Yes, they are ridiculously over priced, but also ridiculously ergonomic (and in this case, protective)!

The one major failure disappointment I encountered with the XT-1 was the Panoramic Mode- and I must admit I'm at least partially to blame on that account since I didn't properly read up on how to adjust the damn thing. I rejoiced in true manic fashion with my beginner's luck which just nailed the composition on first try- Absolutely Perfect!!! Until I realized... no, not really, not quite. Instead of proclaiming "God Never Fails- Salvation Mountain" (Leonard Knight's iconic creation), I got: Go Never FS- Salvaon Mounin. 

Go Never FS- SALVAON MOUNIN (It also has 4 feet- not 3);  FOTO FAIL: © S. Banos

Yup- it screwed up where it counted most. Couldn't have done it to the left, or the right where it would have been barely noticeable- had to do it right smack in the middle of the goddang sign! Turned the car around ignoring my now protesting wife, and proceeded to make another dozen attempts- none of which came anywhere close to what I wanted or achieved the first time! Of course, the smart, logical thing (that I had actually planned on doing) was to just take a series of normal (vertical) exposures and seam them together in PS. But my single minded determination to now will it to work took over in the 106 degree heat that was relentlessly baking my already admittedly miniscule brain, rational I was most decidedly not!

So, chalk one up to: God (Supposedly) Never Fails (Stan Most Definitely Does).