Really stupid

The stupidest thing I've ever done in my life was take this picture of a Nile crocodile in Kenya. Thirty minutes earlier my photo tour group and I saw another croc swallow an impala whole in two gulps -- horns, hooves, and everything. So, we'd stopped for a bush breakfast next to the river, and always on the lookout for a good photo opportunity, I wondered down to the water's edge. I spotted this croc about 80 feet away, and I figured my 500mm f/4 telephoto plus a 1.4x teleconverter would allow me a tight shot while shooting from a safe distance. I estimated this beast to be about 15 feet long and perhaps 5 to 6 feet wide. I'm not exaggerating. My guide later told me it probably weighed about 2000 pounds. I know they can move extremely fast, but I calculated the slope behind me offered protection because crocodiles don't climb well. I should have taken off the teleconverter so I could have filled the frame with more of the croc, but to be honest, I was so scared that all I could do was take a quick shot and then retreat back to the vehicles. I've been charged by rhinos and elephants and been way too close to venomous snakes, but this was the situation that made me the most terrified. My settings were 1/1250, f/5.6, and 320 ISO. In my next post I'll tell you the other incredibly stupid thing I did.