I’ve made many, many mistakes in photography but in July 2006, I made one of the dumbest errors I have ever committed … so far.

My wife and I were on a trip to Colorado and were on one of the scenic drives in Rocky Mountain National Park.  We had driven up the Old Fall River Road and I wanted to stop and get a shot of Chasm Falls.  We hiked a short distance and I set up my Nikon N75 on a tripod.  Using a polarizer, I stopped down my 28-80mm lens to its smallest aperture, trying to get a ½-1 second exposure to blur the waterfall.

Then I pulled out my brand new Nikon ML-L3 wireless remote to trigger the shutter.  I pointed it at the camera and pressed the button.  Nothing happened.

I pressed it again.  Nothing happened.  Repeating the procedure a few more times didn’t change the results.  No picture.

OK, let’s investigate what’s wrong.  I turned the camera off and on again.  When I pressed the shutter button directly with my finger, I heard a welcome “click” and the camera took a picture.  OK, the camera works.

After making sure the N75 was in the correct mode for using the remote, I tried again.  Nothing.  Pressed the button a few more times.  Same result, no shutter click.  Starting to wonder if my remote is defective.  I’m getting frustrated and my wife is getting impatient.  And I’m the one who thinks he knows a few things about photography.  A few more button presses.  Same nothing result.

Finally I throw in the towel and dig the camera manual out of my bag.  Finding the section about using the remote, I look at the helpful illustrations and read the text.

I was pointing the wrong end of the remote at the camera.  When I turned it around in my hand and pressed the button once more, I heard the shutter make the sound I wanted to hear, “Click!”

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P.S.  The Nikon ML-L3 really is an excellent little device once you learn which end to point at the camera.  It works terrific with my current Nikon D50 and the rest of the D40-D90 line and sells for $15 at Amazon.  Get one.

The monkey-proof-bottle photos which accompany this article have nothing to do with Rocky Mountain National Park, the State of Colorado, or Nikon photo gear, but have everything to do with my mental state at the time.