I agree ... the wife LOVES that stump shot (#2) ... me, not so much. When I scouted the location the week before, the stump caught my eye ... but the angles and the light just didn't come through.
The birds in flight came as I was setting up the other shot. I had bracketing on and was not at all prepared for the honking geese to come cruise through my frame. I panned on the tripod and got 5 shots at a variety of shutter speeds. I have one that captures the birds 'photo-realistically' against the blur at a much shorter shutter speed, but this one really speaks to me.
@mike ... I think even by your definition I was lost ... I was trying to get to this pond before the sun rose, and I was going in exactly the wrong direction for at least 10 minutes before I realized I was no longer on the trail ... it was DARK! Seriously - without GPS and a track on the map from the week before I would have been wandering for a LONG time ... I was not anywhere close to where I would have guessed I was ...