What are your favorite missed opportunities?

Hey all.....

I (we) hear so much about "missed opportunties" and about the times we wished that we had our cameras. On another website I made the comment that some opportunties were not made for the having. Sometimes they're not meant to be captured. They're too special, too sad, too sacred, too personal, too joyous, whatever....

Where there any times in your lives when you just let the camera set where it lay? Thanks.

Gloria

Gloria, interesting question. I'm not sure this qualifies as a 'lost' opportunity, but to get the discussion started...

A few days ago I was out by the coast at a place called 'the Mavericks' which is known as a hot spot for large wave surfing. The sky had really dramatic colors with the sun peeking out behind dark ominous clouds. As I descended the bluffs to get down to the shore I came upon a white cross with fresh-cut flowers resting against its base, obviously in memory of a big-wave surfer that met his or her last wave.

I am not a very sentimental person but the power of the scene struck me with force. The cross, the flowers, the ominous skies and the vast steel blue Pacific ocean in front of me. Immediately, I saw a strong composition - but at the same time it was obvious that this scene was not meant to be photographed just for pleasure.

Instead, about half an hour later, I got this shot down by the shore.


Anders

Good topic Gloria.
I have one that is still in my mind like it happened yesterday. It is not an event where I let the camera down, just one where I kicked myself for missing it.

It was on our trip to the Galapagos, diving at the remote islands of Darwin and Wolf. The two main things you go all that way for are hammerheads and whale sharks. Well, we had an 'OK' time for hammerheads, but kept missing that elusive 'Mr. Big.'

One one particular dive, almost giving up hope that we would see a whale shark, I put on my macro lens to take advantage of the smaller critters there. My head was in the reef while my wife ventured on a bit with her friend.

Well, you could have guessed it. She practically got ran over by a whale shark - surprised her completely from behind. She got off one quick shot and her friend got some quick video - but they had the encounter.

Me?? Upon surfacing - of course the words out of my mouth were 'What whale shark???'

Not another was seen the entire trip.

I really don't like to think about this one. On a return dive trip to the Solomons on the Bilikiki, I took a Pentax 6x7 with housing along with my other stuff. Lugging that beast with the housing and two lenses is not fun.

Was really looking forward to some spectacular shots but on the first dive there was a slight problem. The housing flooded and the rest is history. The loss hurt but not as much as the things that I could have shot with it. All in all it was still a good trip. BTW the camera was donated to the God's of the deep for protection on rest of the trip

I have missed opportunities almost every morning between 9 and 11 AM where the sun (which is below the horizon this time of year in the Arctic) creates spectacular skyscapes which I only can enjoy through my office window... Makes me very Jack Nicholson'ish in the movie "Shining" - Lets hope I can survive the pain of not being out there... Of course, when the weekend comes the weather sucks and the camera stays on the shelf .

Missed opportunities would not qualify as favorites - just frustration

E.J. Peiker wrote:Missed opportunities would not qulify as favorites - just frustration

Agreed 100%

Last summer, just a couple weeks after I got my 50-500, I was driving to a kayaking location just west of Jasper townsite. I was slowing down as the pullout was only a couple hundred yards off, so I was only doing 50km/h or so, and this wolf steps out of the woods and onto the shoulder of the road. Not just any wolf, but the most massive grey wolf I've ever seen. He was HUGE! I've seen several wolves before (and after), including two even closer than that one, but none compared in size.

And where was my camera? Stuffed behind my seat with no film in it. :roll:

I console myself by thinking that I wouldn't have got a shot anyway--the guys in the other car, only a minute behind me, didn't see him, so I probably wouldn't have been able to stop and roll down my window for a shot before he disappeared...

-Paul

Gloria,
You had to go and bring back this very painful memory. I have tried my best to rid myself of this missed opportunity but I'm sure I never will.
I had been spending a lot of time on a ridge watching the comings and goings of a pair of peregrine falcons. Peregrines have not successfully nested on a cliff in CT since the 40's. One day I sat for the longest time from my vantage point without seeing either bird. I decided to take a quick walk along the top of the cliff to see if I could see if the birds were roosting behind one of the rocks. When I got to the top I heard the male calling and saw him flying up the ridge well below me carrying food. Still well below me he flew straight at the cliff face until I lost him. There was a good stiff breeze coming straight at the cliff face and when he got close to wall he flared his wings and rode the updraft directly in front of me like an elevator till he was pretty much in my face motionless hanging in the wind with a yellow-shafted flicker in his talons with it's wings and tail spread in the morning sun which was just over my shoulder

I most certainly was thrilled at just witnessing the scene but not being able to capture the fantastic event will haunt me forever.

Gloria:

This happened to me all summer long actually. I started sea-kayaking this past summer on inland waters throughout the Adirondacks and Hudson River. With a full spray skirt on, lots of splash going on, and being new at the sport, I decided to leave the good camera stuff at home and bring an Olympus Stylus Epic. Good thing! Within one paddle, the Epic filled with water and got ruined. I paddled and observed so many mountain views, colorful dusk skies, and bald eagles flying by-no shots taken. Initially, it was killing me that I was photographing nothing. But I soon realized that it was not only OK, but pleasurable at times, to enjoy nature as is without the technological stuff going on. I spent more time talking to fellow paddlers and enjoying the scenery. But with that said, I just bought a Canon digital P and S and waterproof housing so I will not let every shot get away! Great question.

Several years ago during the week before Thanksgiving I went to Bear River National Wildlife Refuge and found it to be overun with hunters. I turned around and Went to some state wildlife area at Farmington Bay. I pulled off the side of the road near the entrance and put the body onto my 600 and drove in with camera and lens on the passenger seat of the SUV. A few hundred yards in there was a Golden Eagle sitting on a post immediately to my left. I quietly put the camera out the window onto my bean bag--and attempted to focus. I was too close--the extension tubes were in the back.

The bird flew as I was attempting to get the tubes!