the missed shot you can't forget

[JoeFriday]

I attended a family reunion this summer, which one naturally assumes would provide a wealth of photo ops.. at the time I only owned a Nikon D70.. typical DSLR, weighing about 40 lbs, and requiring a pack mule to carry around all day.. I had the camera handy for all the requisite photos of relatives.. mostly posed.. a few candid shots, of course.. but nothing spectacular

well, I eventually got tired of carrying around the behemoth, and decided not to bring it along when we all went to my uncle's cabin for an afternoon 'picnic'.. big mistake!

to cut to the chase, as the day wore on, my 12 year old niece decided to take advantage of an old fashioned tree swing on the edge of the property.. here's the scene:

the swing in a big maple tree in full greenery.. cornfield behind it, with tassels blooming.. my niece with her long golden hair and summer tan, wearing a bright red t-shirt and denim shorts.. and of course a huge smile.. totally oblivious to the world with her eyes closed and her head thrown back.. the color of her shirt stood out in awesome contrast to the green all around her

and to complete my torment, she was swinging, facing the imminent sunset.. the light was perfect

and I missed it because I didn't have a camera.. I sat on the porch for a half hour just mentally framing the shot.. it's been about 5 months since then, and I still can't get that picture out of my head

I thought you all might empathize.. anyone else have a similar story?

 

[Tim]

Many years ago, hiking in the Barrington Tops. Miles from anywhere, three days out. Early morning, sitting on a hillside just above camp, watching the early morning sun trying to break thru the mist.
Suddenly, it breaks thru! .....weak sunlight, just enough to send beams of light through shreds of mist into the valley. Magical soft muted colours. Trees slightly damp from the night's rain glisten in the light.
Excited, I fire off about 6 or 7 shots, then the mist swirls and closes in again. A moment etched in my mind forever.

No film in the camera........

:bang:

tim

 

[JoeFriday]

oh man.. I read the part about "6 or 7 shots" and thought, 'what's the big deal.. at least you had your camera with you'.. but no film.. ouch.. yet another lesson learned for each of us

 

[Tim]

oh man.. I read the part about "6 or 7 shots" and thought, 'what's the big deal.. at least you had your camera with you'.. but no film.. ouch.. yet another lesson learned for each of us

Yep. That was twenty-odd years ago and since then I have never failed to check that the rewind knob is rotating......even to the point of wasting a frame to check.......

And I have also made a point of nearly always carrying a camera of some sort, even if it's just slipping the Minox 35 into a pocket.

Of course, it still doesn't stop me from missing a good shot the ONE time I don't have a camera with me. But it's still that mist shrouded valley that I remember.

tim

 

[JoeFriday]

yeah, within a week of that blown opportunity, I picked up an Olympus Epic p&s that slips into my pocket.. it's usually not far out of reach now

 

[Natalia]

well, I am just plain "chicken".....I met a movie star (Johnny Goodman) at our local bookstore - he was just browsing - and my daughters recognised the voice of Sully ("Monsters, Inc.")....We came up and said hello, but I was too much of a chicken to ask for a shot of him with my girls..........

 

[Socke]

Wasn't it Winogrand who said something like "there are no pictures when I change film"
Anyways, there are times when I regret haveing nothing to record the scene, or I have Tri-X in the TVS but need colour and/or higher ISO, or I have the TVS with me but 28-56/3.5-6.5 is nether fast nor long enough.

And then there is the one lost picture I realy remember. Late in the afternoon after a thunderstorm on the river I took a picture of the setting sun shining through the remains of clouds. Lots of nice reflections and colours.
I shot that with a Canon Powershot G1 at 1024x768 medium JPEG. That day I should have taken the Master Technika with me!

 

[Roman]

After an all night drive from Vienna through Slovenia and Croatia with my girlfriend, we were racing down the Eastern coast of the Istra peninsula to catch our ferry to the island of Losinj - there was this really ethereal(sp?) morning light, very soft pinks and violets, kinda hazy, and the flickering lights of fishing boats dancing on the waves of the Kvarner Bay of the Adriatic Sea while the pine trees on the beach were still covered by darkness
- but of course
-) my Pentacon Six and tripod were underneath loads of stuff in the trunk
-) we were really late for the ferry (because we lost lots of time in Slovenia due to morning fog that let us go at 30 - 40 km/h at most)
-) the road that leads down to the ferry is quite narrow, with lots of curves and bends were you don't see around, so there was no way of safe parking.
Of course, once we reached the ferry port, the light was gone...

Roman

 

[Pherdinand]

Once I had a wild night with Milla Jovovich but had no camera with me. What a miss!

 

[Roman]

Shooting TV screens is not that easy, anyway, Pherdinand! 😉

Roman

 

[Rick Waldroup]

One shot that I remember missing was not very dramatic or exciting, but I still remember it to this day. Back in the 80's, I was at a local flea market with my wife. I had a Nikon F2 with me. There was a guy there who was a shark hunter and he had many "jaws" or mouths of the sharks complete with teeth hanging all around his display booth. I turned around to look at his booth and about the same time a young mother holding her 3-4 year old child stepped in front of one of the jaws and the baby's head was framed perfectly in the jaws mouth. I instinctively raised my camera but by the time I got it to my eye she moved on and the shot was lost. I actually hung around for a while thinking that maybe someone else would come along and I might get a similar shot, but to no avail. I don't know why but missing this shot has always bugged me.

 

[FrankS]

Shooting TV screens is not that easy, anyway, Pherdinand! 😉

Roman

Or shooting one-handed.

edit: This is inappropriate. Pherdinand, I apologize. I thought it was funny at the time, but obviously I didn't think about it enough.

 

[oftheherd]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Roman
Shooting TV screens is not that easy, anyway, Pherdinand!

Roman
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Or shooting one-handed.


__________________



Poor Pherdinand!

It's OK Pherdinand, I believe you.

Don't pay any attention to these churlish naysayers.

They are just jealous.

What they say doesn't mean a thing ...

BWAhahahahahahaha

Oops, sorry. 😀

 

[oftheherd]

For me, too many times in too many places. I have made a real effort in the last six months to have a camera with me at ALL times. A Welti 35mm folder, 6x6 folder, or 4mp digital. Others as circumstances seem to dictate.

The last was about a week and a half ago while driving to work. I was passing the Washington monument in Washington, DC. As I looked to my left, I saw a nice (not once in a life time) shot of the monument lit by the artificial lights and the moon close above and to one side. I was a little late so I decided to drive in early the next morning with a 35mm SLR and some wide lenses. By the time the cloudy weather had moved out of the area, the moon was no longer in that picturesque position. Oh well, next year God willing.

That wasn't so bad. There have been some painful ones to remember like those mentioned above.

 

[JoeFriday]

well, I am just plain "chicken".....I met a movie star (Johnny Goodman) at our local bookstore - he was just browsing - and my daughters recognised the voice of Sully ("Monsters, Inc.")....We came up and said hello, but I was too much of a chicken to ask for a shot of him with my girls..........

after checking out your online portfolio and seeing your girls, I bet John would have loved to have his photo taken with them, as opposed to vice versa.. they're very cute!

 

[Russ]

I, like Joe, have never missed a shot. We have photographic memories. It's all recorded in the mind's eye...

Russ

 

[Flinor]

A couple of years ago I was in San Francisco for a program at my grandson's elementary school. Since it was San Francisco it was a grey, rainy, moody day. I happened to look out a window that overlooked the playground and saw a little girl with an umbrella, standing in the rain all by herself, Looking wistfully at the playground equipment. I had my CLE loaded with Scala, the 40 gave perfect framing and her expression was perfect. I got off 5 frames before she moved. As soon as I got home I mailed the roll to the Scala lab, convinced that I had the shot of my lifetime.

I never saw that roll of film again.

 

[st3ph3nm]

Travelling back along the Great Ocean Road (one of *the* great roads of the world) came down the road to see a white lighthouse lit by late afternoon sun, with a very heavy overcast sky as a backdrop which really highlighted it. With the road leading the eye up to it, it was an incredible shot, but like Roman, no place to pull over safely, and the camera was in the boot. I'll never forget the sight, though. Just beautiful.

Cheers,
Steve
(given the number of photographers who go up and down that coast, I could probably find the exact photo somewhere anyway! 🙂 )

 

[Russ]

All the more reason to always carry a camera of some type with you.

Many, many years ago, I was taking a photojournalism course in college. On the first day, the instructor informed us that if he ever caught us without a camera, he would deduct one full letter grade from our final semester grade. Well, months later, I was in the supermarket at around midnight, when I hear from a distance,"Butner" where is your camera?

Yep, he deducted me one full letter grade.

Russ

 

[Natalia]

after checking out your online portfolio and seeing your girls, I bet John would have loved to have his photo taken with them, as opposed to vice versa.. they're very cute!

Thanks, JoeFriday.....I agree with you that the girls are cute....and I think my little 4 year-old firmy believes that, too!