Late last year, with my Panasonic Lumix TZ3, I was out in the woods with my friend Curtis and his cousin Lem. Now, Curtis and Lem are hunters so they were out with shotguns looking for small game...

I was "armed" with my trusty Panasonic Lumix TZ3 and I had a shotgun too, but I was more interested in getting a few wildlife snapshots for my office. It was a lovely day in the early autumn, with just a few clouds in the sky and the leaves barely starting to turn colors.

We didn’t have much luck in the morning: Lem and Curtis hadn’t had a chance to miss anything yet, and I hadn’t been able to focus on any wildlife either. Even the squirrels seemed to have deserted us.

Late in the afternoon I got separated from my cousins. I was on the trail of a rare warbler and I must have wandered over a property line. Just as I was focusing my Panasonic Lumix TZ3 in on the black-throated beauty, I heard a shout up ahead in the distance. It was the adjacent landowner, a farmer named Tom Johannsen. He was furious that I’d crossed over onto his land. And of course, my warbler was off like a shot at the first echo of his voice.

Now, crossing over into No Man’s Land really was an accident and I certainly hadn’t meant any harm. I apologized profusely at my error, but on the way back I started seething. After all, that might have been my only chance today to get a good color photo of something other than weeds and trees! When I finally reached Lem and Curtis, I was hopping mad and I gave them an earful about how I had the perfect shot and how Farmer Tom had behaved like an absolute ogre.

Although there was still an hour of light left, the day was ruined. I left Lem and Curtis in the woods and walked back to the car. I tossed my Panasonic Lumix TZ3 on the back seat. As I cased my gun, I heard three gunshots in the near distance. A little while later, the duo walked out of the woods looking very satisfied with themselves.

When I asked where the game was, Lem replied “Well, Jerry that man made you so mad by ruining your perfect shot that I had to take a few shots mysel’. I killed three of his cows!"