I hate photographic disappointments, probably because when I feel disappointed I really feel bitterly disappointed. It is no different from the fisherman / woman who catch the biggest fish of their lives but end up loosing it last minute. The heartache is that you can't prove it or show it. That image just seemed to be seared in you mind; you "see" it, it taunt's you, and it reminds you what you missed. You can "see" it but you just cannot show it to anyone else to see.

          So why do we miss THAT shot? For photographers the reasons are typically the following:

1. Impatience; we leave the scene to early only to find the color appear once we are on the road all packed up and with nothing in the foreground because we left the spot we were at. I have spoken about this in a few blogs; please wait a little longer to avoid disappointment.
2. No being ready; having a full memory card or empty battery just when that moment appears. Setup early and check to ensure that everything is ready. Have spare cards and batteries on your person or in your bag which is right next to you. Know where these items are in your bag so that you do not have to search for them.
3. Wrong settings; oops, the camera was on the wrong focusing mode, or too high of an ISO, or whatever. Review your settings every so often. Quite often we only realize this when we get home and look at the images on a bigger monitor.
4. Not knowing our equipment well; quick, I need to set my camera on such and such a setting but forgot how. Fiddle here, fiddle there, I will figure it out in a moment. Yes, got it, all set. Look up, just to find the scene (color and or light) gone.

          A lesson I learnt was to shoot while you can to avoid disappointment. I cannot tell you how many times I have said to myself that I will come back later to find the flower open, or in better light, only to come back the next day to find the flower eaten by a bug or a bigger problem. Yes, please do come back for better light or a better situation but also shoot it during this session while you are there. Digital shooting is free (once you have your equipment). You can always delete the shot once you have a better one. However, you may never get a better one.

          This lesson was proved once again during my trip to Newfoundland. One day was totally socked in by thick fog. It was so thick that we did not even bother to go out. By mid afternoon we got cabin fever so we decided to go for a drive. About a half hour later the fog opened up just a little bit and we came upon this scene:

Having learnt the lesson to shoot while you can I shot this shot. I really liked this iceberg as it was not just a chunk of ice; it had shape (I know they all have a shape; I mean this shape was interesting to me) and character. So I vowed to come back late afternoon to get some nice light on it and if the fog was still in place I vowed to come back the next day. Closer to sunset we came back to this place as promised, but guess what ... Yes, you got it, the iceberg was gone; never to be seen again (by me at least)!

          Now, this may not be the greatest shot and it is certainly not a trophy shot. At some level though I do like it somewhat. There is depth, color and mood. One can almost feel the cold just by looking at it. Most importantly, I have the shot. What would have happened if I did not shoot it while I had the chance; dreaming about golden light on the iceberg at sunset?

          I do advocate to go back to the same scene over and over to get better conditions, but please shoot every time you get there (if it is worth a shot at least). Shoot while you can as it may never be the same again. Some opportunities only come by once. Just shoot it and see how it looks when you get home. What have you lost by doing so if the shot is no good?