Frustration in missing opportunities?

[JonA_CT]

I'm sure this is a common feeling, but I'm getting to the point where my eyes are constantly thinking about what might make a good or even great shot. The only problem is my real life/job get in the way consistently. Even though I've taken to carrying my camera with me most days, I can't slow down the things I have to do to get the shot.

Today, I was five minutes late out the door for my 35 minute commute, and I also drop my daughter off at daycare each morning. Long story short, the leading edge of a storm front helped create a sunrise that filtered light in a way that illuminated some local architecture in a way I hadn't ever seen before. I immediately knew where I should go to get the best frame of it, and then immediately realized that I couldn't possibly stop.

I know there are lots of "easy" solutions. Give myself more time. Be okay with being late to work. But the reality is, I guess, is that I can't always have the camera ready to go at the perfect times. Goes for everything I guess -- I definitely feel that way with catching the best moments of my daughter as she is growing.

Done whining now Anyone else feel the same way?

 

[Overread]

This is why I often leave the camera behind (yes I know a terrible sin!). Ido that because life has taught me that there are times when its just a burdon and a distraction to what I'm doing in the moment. Thus I only end up worrying that I missed the shot and messing up what I'm doing as well.


Far better in my view to leave the camera behind on such days and learn to enjoy the experience of seeing things and of looking without worry that I didn't get a photo of it at the same time. It's also a nice thing because phtography starts to teach you to "SEE"the world around you not just live within it. However without the camera you can really just enjoy seeing it without thinking "Ok what aperture, what angle, oh wait what is my ISO set too etc....".


So learn to enjoy those moments without the camera is my view; learn to treasure the experience of just being lucky enough and aware to see those things.

 

[spiralout462]

I ride by a Red Tail Hawk every day. I enjoy watching him. I might stop once every couple of months.

 

[runnah]

Studies have shown the you remember a moment better when you don't have a camera.

 

[The_Traveler]

I'm sure this is a common feeling, but I'm getting to the point where my eyes are constantly thinking about what might make a good or even great shot. The only problem is my real life/job get in the way consistently. Even though I've taken to carrying my camera with me most days, I can't slow down the things I have to do to get the shot.

Today, I was five minutes late out the door for my 35 minute commute, and I also drop my daughter off at daycare each morning. Long story short, the leading edge of a storm front helped create a sunrise that filtered light in a way that illuminated some local architecture in a way I hadn't ever seen before. I immediately knew where I should go to get the best frame of it, and then immediately realized that I couldn't possibly stop.

I know there are lots of "easy" solutions. Give myself more time. Be okay with being late to work. But the reality is, I guess, is that I can't always have the camera ready to go at the perfect times. Goes for everything I guess -- I definitely feel that way with catching the best moments of my daughter as she is growing.

Done whining now Anyone else feel the same way?

Disregarding the idea of being 'in the moment' for just a second, I see there being two kinds of 'missed opportunities'.
The first, the worst, is those moments that will never come again and that you regret not having the opportunity to catch. (I have waaay too many of those first kind of misses) TBH, the better one gets at seeing moments, the more of those that accumulate. The second are moments that inform you for the future. It seems like this one was that type. Now you recognize how a stormy day will light the front of a building in a certain way - and when it happens again, you can be there.

 

[astroNikon]

As everyone has stated you'll learn more.

The good thing is you can check for weather coming, and prepare yourself to be at certain spots to catch those specific moments in the future when you have the time to be there.

Write a journal of missed shots and the situation around it.
Then try to plan on being there in the future when those situations arise again.

 

[imagemaker46]

It happens to everyone. I've missed shots simply because I missed them, wasn't ready or not paying attention. The others are ones where you can't stop to shoot because of traffic, people, whatever the reason. There are others missed even though you are prepared, all set up and then it just doesn't happen, or turns out to be less of a shot than you think. I've missed great opportunities because I have left the camera in the car to run a quick errand, and then something happens, you can only stand and watch. I have more missed opportunities and regrets than I can even count, many of them of them cost me thousands in sales, but you can't dwell on any of them. I know I'll miss more in the future, can't get them all, sometimes crap happens and there is not a camera to be found. That's life.

 

[limr]

Sure, you could leave yourself more time, but then you may not have even seen that shot that you missed. Maybe you didn't see it because you were busy getting your daughter dropped off at school, or maybe stuck at a light, and by the time you passed that architecture, the light wasn't illuminating it anymore. Maybe you would have missed a different shot that you wouldn't have seen had you left sooner.

There's no way to guarantee that you're going to be able to see/take those shots by rearranging your life - unless of course, you rearrange your life to the point that ALL you do is look for shots. So go ahead and leave earlier if it will make the commute less stressful or give you more time with your daughter, or give you some flexibility to stop the car and take the shot, but you're still going to miss shots.

We're ALL always going to miss shots. And as others have said, the difference is really in how you perceive that moment. Is it, "Damn, I missed that cool sunbeam through the storm clouds" or is it "Damn, I got to see that awesome sky this morning"?

There's a reservoir that I drive over every day on my way to work. The highway at that point is separated quite a bit, so there are two completely different bridges. When I'm traveling south and going over that bridge, I can look to my left and see the northbound bridge, which is quite pretty. In the morning, the light on the bridge is gorgeous. Depending on the weather, the reservoir underneath it is either dead still and reflecting the bridge perfectly, or it's steaming with gorgeous tendrils of fog, or the light is streaming over the bridge...all of these scenes are torturous for me because even if I had time, there's absolutely no way to pull over and get the shot. There's no shoulder at all, and even if I pulled over after the bridge, there's no room to walk on the bridge. It's the kind of thing that almost makes me wish for a traffic jam at a dead stop just so I can finally get a picture.

So for the most part, I just enjoy the view and feel lucky that I get to see this on a regular basis. I even look forward to seeing how the view changes from day to day, and I allow myself to enjoy being in that moment or remember a particularly good morning instead of being annoyed that I can't ever capture it.

Having said that, I still do sometimes try And this leads me to my next point - sometimes you think that to get that shot, you have to stop, pay attention to all your settings, frame it all just so. Or you can leave it up to fate, stick your hand out the window and fire off 2-3 shots and see if you get something good

 

[JonA_CT]

Thanks for all the replies! There are so many good things that you all have said. It seems like the bottom line is that I should plan ahead if I want to try to get some of these shots, and not worry about it at other times.

I really do live in a beautiful place. The city I live in has water on two sides -- a river and a sound. The river is a solid 50-60 feet below most of the city so there always interesting views as you look out across it. On my commute, I cross the Connecticut River and the colors are often spectacular. It guess that's the double-edged sword of this as a hobby. One on hand, I am appreciating the things I see daily more, on the other hand, now I feel like I need to have each one saved forever. I need to remember while things I see today will never be perfectly replicated tomorrow, the opportunity will be there again when I'm ready for it.

 

[astroNikon]

If you don't mind throwing away more than 19 out of 20 shots,
At one time while driving I would just point and shoot. Hope that the camera focuses properly even through the windows at times. Most shots were worthless, some were worth keeping. If you can roll down the window for the shot it's even better. But keep your eyes on the road. And don't forget to have a really fast shutter speed.

some examples ==> Car Shots

 

[dennybeall]

If you don't mind throwing away more than 19 out of 20 shots,
At one time while driving I would just point and shoot. Hope that the camera focuses properly even through the windows at times. Most shots were worthless, some were worth keeping. If you can roll down the window for the shot it's even better. But keep your eyes on the road. And don't forget to have a really fast shutter speed.

I agree and do the same frequently. The camera stays in AUTO (I know the dreaded unprofessional AUTO!) or P Mode and the 18-140 with hood extended stays at about 80mm. I point it out the window or at the dog or Karen or whatever I want to capture. Shutter is on Slow multishot also. Point and shoot 5 or 10 is normal.
It only takes seconds to change to more appropriate settings but sometimes this old retired photojournalist ain't got seconds.

 

[limr]

If you don't mind throwing away more than 19 out of 20 shots,

If you're shooting digital, who cares?

Sure, there still needs to be enough preparation to make sure you can roll down the window and have the camera set up in advance, and there's of course a good chance nothing will come out. In my case, I had the Rollei 35 set for exposure and focus (infinity), and I rolled the window down before I got to the bridge. I took three shots, eyes on the road the whole time. Two were no good. It was actually the very first one that came out just right.

The point isn't to shoot like this all the time or expect it to always work. The point is to throw a little bit of caution into the wind and just have a little fun with it sometimes! And when it does work out, you had fun AND got your shot

 

[astroNikon]

If you're shooting digital, who cares?

just get a 750 or smaller 250 roll film adapter and shoot on continuous at 6fps

from
Film Back options for Nikon F3

 

[limr]

If you're shooting digital, who cares?

just get a 750 or smaller 250 roll film adapter and shoot on continuous at 6fps

from
Film Back options for Nikon F3

Because that's so portable and easy to handle with one hand out the window

 

[Dikkie]

I'll be in that same situation in like one hour or so...
There is the extra time between the moment I leave work and the moment I enter my commute train back home. This extra time is only a few minutes.
However, I already know ... the moment I'm done at work, I'll have to go to the toilet to leave a big message out there... and will miss the extra minutes for my shot and will have to hurry to the train.
GRRR