A Nikon D700 vs. a 200mph Parachute - Guess Who Wins?

"While setting up the Nikon D700 camera with a 400mm f2.8 lens that morning," writes Mark J. Rebilas, "I had no idea that it would be the last time I would ever set up that camera again."

Rebilas is a photographer with a taste for the extreme. He shoots sporting events of all types, but seems to have a penchant for things that go fast. Off road racing, indy cars and NASCAR are all in his repertoire, but it's drag racing that cost him his D700.

He had set the camera up on a concrete embankment to capture the action remotely, and all was going well until one car started to swerve out of control. The driver launched the parachutes to straighten the car out, but it was too late. The car hit the wall, narrowly missing the camera, but the parachute followed close behind and tore the camera to shreds.

Rebilas says that in addition to the frustration over losing an expensive camera, he couldn't even find the flash card, which would almost certainly have captured some exciting shots.

Check out the full story along with some amazing pictures over at Mark Rebilas' blog.