Lesson Learned: Missed Photo Opportunities

[jeff_jarrett]

Here's a valuable lesson for those of you (me) that still don't take

your camera everywhere:

 

As I was pulling into work (I work at a private home as a chef), I

stop my truck at the end of the driveway to get their mail. As I go

to get out of the truck, I glance up to my left where there is a

very nice landscaped section of rocks, trees and plants, and there

is a beautiful 8-point buck standing on the rocks, looking directly

at me, stark against the wonderful blue sky. He stood there for a

solid minute, just staring at me. Now did I have my camera with me

to capture this wonderful picture? NO! What an idiot! I had my

tripod and monopod, but no camera! UGH!

 

I have now learned my lesson and will start taking my camera

everywhere for just those unexpected moments. What about everyone

else? Any good stories of that missed great shot?!?

 

Still bummin',

 

-Jeff

[stephen hazelton]

If you take your camera, you won't have the right lens for it. Or you'll see a colorful scene and have B&W film in it. Or it'll be half dark and you'll have slow film in it, etc. But on the plus side, there's no shortage of 8-point buck photographs in the world. Not like it was the last dodo bird or something.

 

And, as soon as you went to get that gear out of your car, the buck might have been gone. That's how he got that old. I was just out at the arboretum, saw a mockingbird about 10' from and thought I'd take a shot. I sat my camera bag down, and off he flew.

[stemked]

Sometimes even having a camera with you isn't enough.

 

I was with my wife photographing orchids near Ely, Minnesota. We got up early and headed out. On the road less than 30 feet away was a Timber Wolf! All I got with Velvia was a lovely blur (no time even to change the exposure compensation).

[phyrpowr]

Glacier N.P., on the Going-to-the-Sun Highway near Logan Pass, on my way back to St. Mary's from having missed the Lake McDonald boat ride by 10 minutes, round a turn, a BEAUTIFUL bighorn sheep, full, I mean full curved horns, right there in the parking lot licking up some gum or something, I don't know, grab my EOS1n, as opposed to the Elan 7e or IIe, all on the seat, pick it up hit the shutter...CLUNK...huh?...look at it, lens to me....CLICK....had it on timer/mirror lock up from shooting sunset stuff...Oh, well, you'll have to take my word on how magnificent he was....%$#@?&

[awahlster]

I work as a local heavy truck driver we operate in about a 3600 square mile area of the Willamette Valley here in Oregon. I will be in as many as 5 different trucks in any one day from a little single axle dump truck to a Freightliner with a 45' chip trailer behind it. I carry a "Tim Taylor" Tool bag with my phones, CB, a few tools some hand cleaner AND Two cameras my Canon G3 digital and a Canon EF with (currently) a 50-135mm f3.5 nFD zoom. I have managed to get a few stunning photos in the last couple of years. I have wasted a bunch of film but in every case I have had at least a chance to catch the perfect light over Mt. Hood or to grab shots of 8 different Mushrooms in a little wood lot I travel past. I never go anywhere with out my cameras. Being a photographer without a camera and film would be like being a gun fighter without a bullet! Hard to shot something with nothing to do it with!

[erik_loza]

My missed photo op of a lifetime: Hiking with a friend through some hills outside of San Diego, October 2002. Heard rustling through dry leaves adjacent to the trail, assumed small lizard. Looking, it was an adult Pepsis ("Tarantula Hawk") wasp dragging a large paralyzed tarantula which it had just stung (the adult female Pepsis does this, then lays eggs upon the still-alive but disabled spider. Then, the eggs hatch and larval wasps burrow into the host and use it as food during their growth) back to some burrow. I can state without a doubt that I will never see this act of predation again during my lifetime and, of course, the camera was back at the house. Now, F3 always in the waist pack!

[mickl]

I was attacked by a tiger once. To be more precise the vehicle in which I was sitting was attacked (open top - no guns - very scary).

 

I didn't get any pictures because my camera was fitted with a 300mm lens with 2 times extender and it wouldn't focus that close.

[mark pav]

I've missed a bunch of beautiful sunsets by being in the wrong place at the right time and having ugly buildings blocking most of the view. Once I didn't pull over to take the best pastoral sunset shot I've ever seen. Idiot. At least it's only been the once.

 

Getting away from nature shots, I took an entire wedding before I understood the lens/shutter speed reciprocity rule. Of course, I wasn't the official photgrapher, but then her shots didn't work out either for some reason.

[klix]

Sometimes logistics (or traffic laws) just prevent you from even trying...

 

Going north on the 5 freeway from LA, there are a lot of scenics within the "Grapevine" and several spots off the freeway in Kern County that are just begging to be captured in APX 100 (I like B&W), but pull over at some of those spots and you risk a $$$$ ticket.

[gloria_hopkins]

Sometimes the missed moments are not meant to be captured :)

[rich long]

I kicked myself a few times over the years for not having a camera with me. But now I just try to enjoy the moment to its fullest. I've concluded that the important thing is that I appreciate my surroundings, not necessarily capturing every memorable event on film.

 

Of course last Sunday morning, when those two bull elk were standing 50 yards off the road in the new snow.... Well, at least I have the image in my mind.

[nathan_cohen]

I've already discussed my feelings on this:-)

 

I suggest that the only way to get past this is to mentally discipline yourself into two modes: 1) you are observant and open to shots; 2) you have blinders on and don't allow yourself to scan for them.

 

I always carry a K-1000 in the 'boot', but there are plenty of times where I just don't look. I often WANT to look, but won't stray:-)

 

When you CAN look, then have at least a cheap camera stowed away--and loaded:-)

[greg s]

The pursuit of bird photography is bound to include missed opportunities. Part of the discipline is to maintain appreciation for the opportunities which turned out and a zen mindset for those which don't.

 

Of the more noteworthy missed chances was the rainforest walk I took in Ecuador last year (without the heavy camera gear, drizzling rain) and a Blue-plated Mountain Toucan landed in plain view a tree about 30 ft away. The bird then proceeded to perform its display routine for which it is famous and puts it on the cover of the Ecuador bird book. This was one of those super rare opportunities... on the bright side though I did spend my time watching the bird rather than working the camera. But, I would have dearly loved to have taken the photos.

 

I'm going to buy a shoulder mount to allow for freer roaming around w/o a tripod.

[gearoid_osullivan]

I afraid it's all too common a story.

One of the most annoying for me was when I was hiking in Ecuador. Went hiking to a beautiful hilltop. No tripod, rubbish lens, but that didn't matter yet. Then, no sooner had I put down the camera and walked away, a huge buzzard came out of the mist and started circling no more than 20ft over my head. I think it was taunting me! Of course as soon as I made it back to the bag, it just turned and disappeared back into the mist.

 

On the same hike though while negotiating some tricky underfoot conditions, I put the camera over my shoulder so both hands would be free for when I would fall forward (repeatedly!). So while walking forward admiring the view, I NEARLY STOOD on an Andean Gull!! I nearly had heart failure when the bird came thrashing out of the grass literally under my foot! In the long seconds it took me to recover the bird flew away over a cliff side and well out of range of my camera.

 

While I regretted not getting either shot on film, I remember both vividly, and I know for a fact that even if I had been ready and waiting my camera skills were so raw then I wouldn't have done either any kind of justice. So perhaps it was better that way.

 

There is always the danger of spoiling (or failing to appreciate) the experience when trying to get the photograph (particularly true of underwater stuff).

[phyrpowr]

Oh, yeah, also shot Arches at sunset (Balanced Rock, just on fire) with 400 speed print film in one of the bodies, to show friends at the coffee shop....it was ISO 400 alright, Tri-X. Just because you have a camera, or three in my case....

[Brian]

Funny you should ask this. I live in a small town and we have our fair share of eccentrics. One of them is a man with a pet goose, which follows at his heels like a dog as he walks round the town centre. Shots of man with goose would not be very remarkable, but last week I saw him just after the goose had stopped to take a dump on the sidewalk. He scooped up the poop then pulled a toilet roll out of his bag and began wiping the goose's bottom. Needless to say I did not have a camera with me.

[amanda_b.]

This is a great thread!

 

I second the poster who said that missed shots are often due to the basic inability of getting to the shot, most noteably, those lovely shots you sometimes see fleeing by you on the interstate.

 

I don't know how many times I've been a passenger in car going 70 mph and getting whiplash, saying "OH!! LOOK AT THAT!!!" It's the "perfect" scene, whether it be a beautiful rolling field, or sweeping farm and homestead, or a big looming old house teetering on the edge of the road.

 

Either way, to get out and compose a photo is to risk life and injury, not to mention getting in trouble with the law.

 

Ah well, you can't get them all, and I think it's kind of good to be eluded from time to time. Keeps me going.

 

But...on second thought, where there's a will there's a way...

[michael gordon httpwww]

I'm perfectly OK with the 'opportunities' I've missed.

 

Some things are meant to be recorded only into memories. Sometimes fussing for a photograph can not only change the moment, but change or diminish my perception of what <i>I</i> actually experienced.

[rayliguori]

Teriffic thread. I guess fishermen all have stories about the big one that got away. We photographers all have ours. It shows that we are truly passionate about making great images. Likewise, I'd bet we all have that perfect photo where we were in the right place at the right time with the right film and the right lens and the right exposure and the perfect composition ... It's a lot easier to screw up than to get everything right.

[j_a]

Sometimes I�ve missed them because I simply refuse to carry a camera EVERYWHERE. Sometimes I�ve missed them because I was in totally the wrong place to take it. Sometimes I�ve missed them because I knew that I wasn�t good enough to catch the moment or couldn�t have done it justice. Often times I�ll think to myself about how I would have caught those moments I�ve missed. But I cherish the shots that got away almost as much as the shots I got. I wouldn�t want to capture every shot that came along (not that its possible), otherwise the challenge would be lost.

[the lone ranger]

-Going north on the 5 freeway from LA, there are a lot of scenics within the "Grapevine" and several spots off the freeway in Kern County that are just begging to be captured in APX 100 (I like B&W), but pull over at some of those spots and you risk a $$$$ ticket.

 

I second that. I was comin up the grapevine about a week and a half ago and there was snow on the freeway and all over the mountains. i only managed to stop once, the light was amazing though. it is rather difficult to get in position to get good pictures driving the 5.

[greg s]

Bird name correction: that was a Plate-billed Mountain Toucan

 

Need to keep the names straight for those "opportunities"! :)

 

Greg, (who is glad he had the opportunity to see the toucan)

[babette_ross]

I have to contribute to the list of had camera but unable to get the photo. <br><br>This past fall was hiking just above ampitheatre lake in the teton's... it was a beautiful day and we heading back down and i was on a bit of a curve from where my boyfriend was but noticed he had stopped stock still. So i brought the camera from tucked into my waist belt to my hands, lens cap off as I slowly approached him. <br><br> What i saw was a huge black bear crossing our path not 10 feet awayfrom us. <br><br>His perspective saw the bear moving right at him. <br><br> In the 2 seconds it took for me to approach he turned to look at me saw my camera ready and calmly said PUT THAT AWAY BACK UP and thus began our very loud very scared back off to put space between us and the bear. <BR><BR>At the end of the day, he was probably right about pointing the camera at the bear as it could have been seen as hostile and turned a Wow encounter into something horrible but we both wish we had a picture (even the bear's butt sticking out of a bush which is probably what i would have shot before backing up) to illustrate the story. <br><br>Funny thing is, if we had seen the bear from a "safe distance" i would never ever have approached to get a shot but all i could think was wow i don't even need a longer lens. Then i got scared, very scared.

[nathan_cohen]

Babette--

 

You are one smart lady, and you certainly had a good excuse not to snap away::-)

[ellie designs]

My worst missed opportunity happened yesterday, and had more to do with stupidity and possibly fatigue. I was at a lighthouse/beach where I am doing a long series, and had shot one roll of slides, had gotten soaked again. I popped in another roll of b&w + to try something different when all of a sudden an enormous dark cloud started moving from the left, behind the lighthouse, an amazing golden light was highlighting the tower, the color/values and setting were incredible. I shot about 15 frames which would have all been incredible shots I'm sure, when I noticed that the film hadn't advanced. Of course by the time I realized, the light was fading and the cloud had changed value/structure. I know I will probably never be lucky enough to be there for that kind of light/atmosphere again. But since I will be going back again, hopefully I'll at least have a chance. I will never do that again! I don't carry cameras with me everywhere, but I know I have missed some beautiful sunset/moonrise etc. pictures this way, so maybe I should start to.