Just One Thing Went Wrong With A Shoot Yesterday....

Ooops.. It IS a nice flag photo though

Oh, gosh. Maybe you can go back again? I can see how it would be a nice capture. I recently went down to the pier to practice photographing seagulls. I didn't want to waste my battery by sitting there with the camera on all the time. Well, you know what happened. Every time I turned it off, a bird would swoop down. When I had it on, no birds would come. I gave up and went home.

You certainly have a lot of patience!

I know it isn't nice Joseph, but i had to smile a little (just a little honest). Try wildlife for a while.....

I feel your pain. I've waited for just the right train photo myself. One time my camera battery died at the crucial moment.

that's why you either need a flag hook, or a bridge harness to lower you down a bit.

---Mike Savad

Rudy, I know that feeling. Try going after a Rose-bill, and have something spook it. Damn! It was too dark for my big lens so I was trying to get closer. LOL That was the only one I saw all day too.

Joseph I think many of us have been there one way or the other, so we all know the feeling, and it is never a good one. LOL All we can do is laugh about it. Cuss it too, only as long as you laugh afterwards.

You got the focus and exposure just right.
Does that help you feel a little bit better?

Sorry but laughed. Would make good facebook post.

I did manage to salvage one shot when the train was further back. Now I'm considering those power lines and whether to keep them, clone them out (I hate that kind of work in post.) or save the shot for Flickr only. I was hoping for the train to be a little closer than the shot that worked, but perhaps not as close as the shot that didn't. (And I did machine gun fire it trying to get a clean shot.)

But I had to chuckle. I waited there for 45 minutes through all kinds of different lighting issues, flag issues, wind issues and told myself, "This is not going to work!"

And, yes, I posted it to Facebook. One of the people who "liked" it was the editor of Railfan & Railroad. I suspect he has had a few of those moments, too.

That's what keeps us going back and trying. Kind of like the fish that throws the hook.

Sorry, I had to laugh. A couple of months ago I was trying to get a shot of a hummingbird and a flag and between the two of them flying and flapping around, there was some cursing going on.

Bummer..... Yupp, had stuff like that happen as well. Mine usually involve people though....

Spent an hour waiting for the right light and litterally AS I set up my tripod up pulls a bus of tourists that flood out of the bus into my scene.

Out of ten shots that I machine gunned at that spot, there was exactly one that had a somewhat decent unobstructed view of the train, (At least when the train was close enough in the frame to make sense.) I finally got around to loading it yesterday.

Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse", which read: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley." (The best laid schemes of mice and men / Often go awry.)

Not a bad shot - so at least you got one to upload.
BTW - I just looked at some of your photographs. You've got some incredible train photos. Followed - 'cause I want to see more.

~ Bill
USPictures.com

Ach, hate when that happens. With me, it's usually an overcast day with just those brief sunny moments on what I'm trying to photograph. I'll check out that pesky could bank and wait for it to pass, then when I finally think it's just not going to happen and turn off the camera and walk to my car, I get one minute of stunning sunlight and I can't run back to the scene fast enough.

All you can do is laugh, I guess.....

ARGH. We have all been there. The worst is when it's in a location you are likely to never be able to return to...at least for many years. I just got back from a trip to Scotland and Italy. Naturally I got some great captures, but my mind keeps dwelling on the ones I just didn't quite catch because of cloud cover, tourists crossing my path, etc. I must just cherish the shots I DID and be grateful I had the opportunity to get them!

Bill;

I appreciate the follow! Might have some new railroad stuff tomorrow. Thanks to everyone else who shared my "pain." At least I got one keeper out of the series, even though not exactly what I wanted.

I have had similar things happen in the past, Joe. I can certainly relate.

To bring it all home, this image just sold over the weekend even with all of the "issues" I saw with it -- train not placed perfect, flag still a little too close to the train..... those power poles... Which tells me that sometimes the best course of action when we question our own work is to put it online and let the prospective buyers decide.

Congratulations Joseph!

Congrats, Joe!