Missed Photography Moment?

[ricwis]

After this missed opportunity, I have argued with myself about whether it is better to keep the camera in the car or bring it in the house.

I have an extensive bird feeding setup in my back yard.  Most of it is pretty close to the house.  As I was looking out the kitchen window, there is a Cooper's Hawk sitting on the fence about 30 feet from the window.  Where is my camera?  Down in the car.  Should I go get it and have this guy gone by the time I get back or should I just stand here and watch this?  I decided to watch the action. He flew into a bush after a bird and came up empty.  Leaving the bush, he sat on the lawn and just looked around.  Sitting there in bright sunlight, catch light in the eye, perfect light.  Two more trips into the bush but no catch.  With my 400mm lens, he would have nicely filled the frame in such good light.  Oh well.  The camera was down in the car. It was all over in about 45 seconds.  

[Sandfalcon]

Another bird-related one-

In the United States, Great Kiskadees are found only in the southernmost parts of Texas.  An audacious-looking bird- brown, yellow, black, & white, about robin-sized.  When one was found in a small town in the southern panhandle of Texas, far from its southern haunts, that was pretty cool.  Went to look for the bird on Sunday morning, walked the streets and alleys for about an hour, then heard the bird calling, and it popped out on top of a pine tree in someone's backyard.  Bird in front of me, sun at low angle and behind me, skies clear as can be, perfect light.  Bird calmly sitting on top of tree.  Did I mention it was actually glowing up there on that tree?  Camera?  In the truck, 100 yards back up the alley.  I ran to the truck, and back to the spot.  Never saw the bird again.  

Remember- good judgement comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement.  

[Ben Rubinstein]

ah the good old days when you could knock someone out with a camera...  

my 10D would just bounce!

[DiaAzul]

You're just going to have to believe this one.

I was in Tibet hiking with a couple of friends when we came across some large footprints in the snow. Out of curiosity, and because they were heading mostly in the same direction that we were going, we followed them up into the tree line to see if we could see some local wildlife. Anyway, after about an hour hike through the trees we came to the edge of a clearing and saw some movement on the other side. It took us a while to actually pick out the seven foot 'bear' as it was well camouflaged and left very quickly into the woods. It was only later that we realised that it must have been the abominable snowman, and I regret not carrying a camera with me for that opportunity    

Anyway, if you don't believe that one then you won't believe the one where we were camping in Mexico and in the middle of the night an alien spaceship landed. Whilst I had a camera that time none of the pictures came out (film was completely trashed).

Oh well, at least I have the memories and life couldn't be described as boring  

[wolfnowl]

We've had threads about the worst photographic experience and the best photographic experience you've ever had . . . how about the time you most wished you had a camera?

In thinking about that a few occasions come to mind... Several years ago I was at Canada's Wonderland (think Disney World for Canadians) with some friends.  Jesse was about 2 or 3 and Autumn was 4 or 5.  We'd spent a great day at the park, and one of the day's activities was for the kids to get their faces painted.  Autumn became a puppy with a white face and one black eye area, and Jesse was transformed into a lion.

At about 8:00 that night, the kids were hungry (again), but also really tired.  I framed this beautiful shot in my memory of Jesse the lion-hearted (and faced), trying to eat this hot dog, but he was so tired he was falling asleep as he was chewing.  With the lights from the park as background and with some motion blur, it would have been great.  Not equal to the memory, but great.

Another occasion was from taking a walk after a rain storm.  Came across this bench that was covered in big drops, including the pale green sign that said, 'Wet paint'.

Another street scene was of a woman and her granddaughter walking down the street in a light rain.  The woman had her black umbrella pulled down so tightly that I'm surprised she could see her way, hunched over and stomping home.  About 10 feet behind her, her granddaughter was twirling her umbrella absently out horizontally in front her while gazing up at the sky as she wandered along.

Then there was the time a Great Gray Owl carried a groundhog past the hood of my truck, but I wouldn't have had much time to shoot that one anyway.

Mike.

[Gordon Buck]

My son and I were practicing our photography in the local zoo.  Most of the shots were, well, zoo shots but it was good practice.  Realizing something was approaching, I turned to see a golf cart coming down the path.  A cheetah was riding on the front of the cart -- looking just like a large hood ornament!  Flabbergasted, my son and I could only stare in astonishment completely forgetting about our cameras.

(Of course, later I learned that the cheetah loved his daily ride on the cart.  But given the unexpected opportunity, I didn't react as a photographer.)

[StanS]

It was 1974, I was a young photo pup, an undergraduate photo student, photographing a small parade in NYC, I saw Henri Cartier Bresson "dancing" thru the parade photographing, I stepped off the crub, and as only a young pup would do, waved to him and said "oh Mr Cartier Bresson..." to get his attention. (I knew he did not like to be photographed and thought I was quite the hot dog with my motorized Nikon F), he danced by me, and, well, thumped me on the head with his Leica, not too hard, but enough to catch me off guard and stun me for a moment. He then kept working the parade down the street, and I just stood there, a little stunned.

Ah Youth

[DaveLon]

About 10 years ago, standing in the shelter of a large bandstand during heavy rain. As rain stops and the sun breaks out, I can see a rainbow and since it was partly caused by the bandstand it is an arch (as usual) and I can see the start and the end. Lovely but no camera!

Am I allowed two. Walking on a path by the river and I come upon some Willows with almost a dozen ducks calming sitting in the trees! Very few will believe what I saw and again no camera.

Dave S

[FGARVIN]

One year ago I attended a funeral for my aunt, upon arriving at the cemetary, the procession was held up as a military burial was in progress. The temperature was probably no higher than 18 or 20 degrees, fresh snow on the ground with sun and crystal clear blue skies above and a group in full military dress proceeding to the graveside less than one hundred yards in the distance. What I would have given for even a Kodak Brownie at the time.