I took the Nikon Zf out to Myles Standish State Forest for a relaxed afternoon of photography — just a short hike, some quiet frames, and maybe a bit of late light through the trees. It turned into a far better test of the camera’s weather sealing than I had in mind.

While parked on the side of the road capturing a scene, a firefighter pickup stopped nearby and asked me to stay put — a Boston MedFlight helicopter was about to land for a medical emergency.

As the helicopter touched down, a sudden wall of dust swept through, blasting everything in sight — camera included. It was an unplanned but convincing field test for the Zf’s build quality and sealing. Back home, a careful dust-blower and lens-pen cleaning confirmed everything was perfectly fine.

I didn’t photograph the full scene out of respect, but it was a striking moment — a reminder that sometimes real-world tests find you, and that emergencies can appear in the quietest places. Wishing the best for the person whose day changed so suddenly.