Most of us have heard of the excuse "the dog ate my homework," something we say when we haven't done what we meant to and then blame it on our beloved canine pals. But I'd reckon most of us wouldn't use the excuse to explain why we didn't have the images for a client.
Well, it turns out that dogs will eat anything, and last week, my young puppy nearly swallowed my memory card with a whole shoot on it.
Most photographers have worried about the images on their memory cards being stored safely before. Whether it's data corruption, losing a card or simply wear and tear, faults with memory cards and hard drives can be an expensive and stressful business.
Heck, after losing a whole shoot due to a corrupted card, my colleague now says that he'll NEVER remove a memory card from a camera. Fortunately, I've never had to experience the pain of losing any stills or video due to a corrupted or broken memory card. But last week I got into the danger zone, as I found my 5-month old puppy chewing the important SD card full of images.
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Of course, I only discovered that it was a memory card after I'd fished out whatever the latest chewing object was from her mouth. It's usually leaves, sticks and stones, so I didn't rush to retrieve it at first.
The memory card contained a portrait shoot which, needless to say, I hadn't yet imported to my iMac ready for editing in Adobe Lightroom Classic. Instead, I'd left it next to the computer and had gone to make a cup of tea. Being plastic, shiny and small, young puppy thought it the perfect chew toy.
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The card was from the SanDisk Extreme PRO SDHC range, which the company says is "temperature-proof, waterproof, shock-proof, and x-ray-proof". Funnily enough, they don't mention it being puppy-proof (although if you're a new dog owner, you'll know that few things are)!
Let's not dwell on the fact that I left the memory card (carelessly) within reaching distance of a teething puppy. What's more amazing is that the images survived and the card is still functioning to this day – even after being chomped repeatedly!
Even though the card is marketed as a rugged and professional option, I'm still very impressed that it's remained intact, apart from a few tooth marks. For me, it's proof of why you should sometimes invest in accessories including the best memory cards. And, why I'll be keep my camera kit on very tall shelves from now on!
