Broken Macro Lens = Tears

This is the story of how my lens got broken.

A little while back this happened. It was a sad sad day in my house. This is my 105mm micro lens.

It was a chilly day at the end of January and I decided this was a good day to go outside in the backyard and try to get some macro photography of the little snowflakes falling on the grass. I got my camera ready, checked the battery, changed to my macro lens, and set it up on the tripod so that I could get low in the grass and keep it steady. I have to stop right here and say that usually I just hold it in my hand and try to keep it steady. But, for some reason I was shaky that morning, so I went with the tripod in hopes of getting clearer images. I set it all up by the back door and went around the corner to get my jacket and rain boots on. 

All of a sudden, I heard a huge crash from the kitchen. I freaked out and ran in there. My camera was on the floor. Since I wasn't actually present when it fell, this part of the story is just from my assessment of the situation. The macro lens is pretty heavy and had caused the camera to lean forward a little bit, just enough to cause the tripod to tip over from the adjustment. And my camera went down, lens first.

I was so upset. 

I ran in there mumbling "no, no, no" under my breath and hoping nothing was broken.

But it was broken. 

It had fallen onto our hard tile floor and now was sporting horrid cracks in the front glass.

The good news is that we have insurance on my lens. The problem was, I couldn't send it to a Nikon company in the USA, I had to get it done in Germany. There is no Nikon repair service near me so I had to mail my baby off. Let me say this whole process of fixing it has taken way too long. I'm still waiting on the repairs to be completed and I'm starting to get frustrated with the slow communication with the service center. I can't get the insurance to cover it without some paperwork from them and they haven't gotten it to me yet.

But, hopefully I'll have it back in my hands soon. Preferable before I fly over to the states for a few weeks. I leave in less than 2 weeks.