Just a quick note. Don't get discouraged if things don't go your way photographically. Yesterday I drove five hours round trip to take some photos at Frederik Meijer Gardens's butterfly house. It rained the whole day, so the lighting in there was horrible. It was mobbed with families with small children, God bless 'em. But I kept getting jostled while trying to take pictures. I only took about 150 photos total for the day which, for me, is a new low. Especially after traveling so far with such high hopes. Then, I couldn't really get any outside pictures because of the rain. Stubborn to the core, I DID take a wet, freezing cold walk to see the newly installed Japanese Garden - GORGEOUS! (I can't wait to return on a sunny, WARM day to see everything in bloom!) Then, I got lost driving home. Ha ha. Right. When I brought my photos up on my computer at home, I was appalled at the horrible quality. Really? So, pretty much the whole day was a scrub.
The point? Don't lose heart. Everything happens for a reason (even getting lost on a familiar road - ha ha). Take a few deep breaths and start planning your next outing. Chalk it up to a learning experience. Thank God for safety and lessons learned. Thanks for letting me vent! I'm sure everybody has a "FAIL" story to tell. If you're up to it, I'd love to hear a few. Misery loves company, and all that. :)
I'm so sorry you had a bad day, Julie, but am glad you are having a positive attitude about it. I've had days like that, too, and get very discouraged at times.
Hopefully you'll be able to go back to the butterfly house again soon on a nicer day.
Usually, my fails involve a dead battery or a forgotten SD card. My cell only takes mediocre pictures. Makes me so mad. I even keep an extra SD card in my purse and a charger in my car (not always in my car and sometimes I can't find my SD card).
There's always something to make into a photographic statement. Looks as though you found a few despite the weather. No time with the camera is ever a failure, always something to see, do or learn.
oh and as always expectations are the only thing that went wrong really.
@homeschoolmom I went to town without my battery yesterday and when i do such silly things there are always great 'photo ops' like a demolition and a dog in a truck sigh....
sorry you had to go through that but it might be my fault. I have just spent several hours editing a photo to post today and ...not once, but twice.... my computer just shut itself off. The second time I was almost done with the edit. After the first time I started saving as I went but apparently not enough because when I opened it up again the second time it was only about half done. I got disgusted and just quit trying. Then I saw your post. It was just what I needed at that moment. Thanks Julie for sharing . Sorry you had to suffer for me.
@kali66 True! We can always ETSOOI! ;) Yes, I momentarily forgot my recent yoga training - let go of expectations. The Bible says something similar - Desires are what cause disappointments, fighting between people, etc. Thanks, Kali! :)
@kali66 LOL, I was without battery yesterday afternoon when I saw a man walking two dogs on a lead. And a goat. Also on a lead. Only in New Plymouth...
Oh dear - hope you've got a cup of tea to keep you company in your misery...
Reminds me of the time I stood with my back to the biting wind, one puddle-wet foot (poor footwear choice) waiting for the sun to come out and cast a shadow on this gorgeous cattle ring I'd spotted in the field... I waited and waited for the clouds to pass - cheering myself up with the thought of an awesome photo to share on 365... finally a weak sun returned and I decided I could wait no more so I returned my lens to the subject... and my battery was dead. Cue miserable, cold, sulky walk back to the car.
@graemestevens on the west coast there is a family that walks their goat without a lead, and a barlady that walks her sheep! yet to get the shot of that
@juliedduncan I had a bit of a mare tonight. There was a storm front moving in as the sun was setting which looked spectacular I walked up the road with my camera to get a good view only to find I hadn't put my memorycard back in from last night. by the time I made it back home and found my card the storm front had moved further in and had lost its glory.
@kali66 Would love to see that! I did see a lady in Ecuador carrying a piglet on her back like you might carry a papoose. Hilarious! Of course, no camera at the time. ;)
@juliedduncan You CAN totally blame me! I will be glad to bear the burden. After your encouragement I eventually went back, finished and posted what I had thought to give up on before I read your post. Thanks.
@juliedduncan Crikey - its great to hear that others have days like that ... I was intrigued that 150 photos/day is a low count! You're a machine! ps.. love your work!
@grammyn Aww Katy! You are just the cutest!! @juliedduncan I feel you so hard today!! I took the morning off work because there was just the perfect amount of light coming through my windows and I was challenged to do an abstract photo with things in my kitchen, I thought, wow how perfect for a high key abstract. I got everything ready, took photos for 3 hours with all sorts of different arrangements. I was so happy with the results and super excited to post, only to put my SD card in my laptop to see that all the photos are half or full grey screens because my SD card has some issues and has not saved the data properly!!!! Crazy.
Thanks for sharing, I spent 4 hours sulking looking at my computer last night, just got back from a trip to Newport, it was freezing cold but went out in the evening wanting to try some long exposures on a lighthouse, get there and realize I left the piece to tie down my camera to the tripod at home, I ended up balancing my camera on my tripod, but once getting back home, none of my pics are sharp enough... I spent hours messing with them trying to sharpen them, I'm just not satisfied, plus it rained our whole trip...I was feeling very down today...it is nice to vent sometimes
I have spent hours on the bank of a brook waiting for the kingfisher to appear so that I could get some photos - but zilch! And it rained too. I lost all my lovely pics of him when my hard drive broke on my laptop so I know how it feels. Keep on plugging away is my motto!
First, I love reading all the responses, and see myself in many of them (especially like Frank's statement that no time with a camera is a failure - amen to that) I'm reminded that everytime my friends plan a visit, I'm so sure that we will have time for some portraits - something I really need to practice - and we never find the right moment! Maybe next time...but, thanks to this post, I won't be disappointed! Oh, and I agree with Kali - if you're at a loss, just take a photo of anything and then edit amazingly, as always..you know it will be a fav for me!
@linnypinny Thanks, Lin! I have been really touched by all the responses. Sometimes we think we're alone in our misery, but we never truly are! Thanks, everyone! :)
Write a Reply
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
Hopefully you'll be able to go back to the butterfly house again soon on a nicer day.
@homeschoolmom I went to town without my battery yesterday and when i do such silly things there are always great 'photo ops' like a demolition and a dog in a truck sigh....
Reminds me of the time I stood with my back to the biting wind, one puddle-wet foot (poor footwear choice) waiting for the sun to come out and cast a shadow on this gorgeous cattle ring I'd spotted in the field... I waited and waited for the clouds to pass - cheering myself up with the thought of an awesome photo to share on 365... finally a weak sun returned and I decided I could wait no more so I returned my lens to the subject... and my battery was dead. Cue miserable, cold, sulky walk back to the car.
@juliedduncan I feel you so hard today!! I took the morning off work because there was just the perfect amount of light coming through my windows and I was challenged to do an abstract photo with things in my kitchen, I thought, wow how perfect for a high key abstract. I got everything ready, took photos for 3 hours with all sorts of different arrangements. I was so happy with the results and super excited to post, only to put my SD card in my laptop to see that all the photos are half or full grey screens because my SD card has some issues and has not saved the data properly!!!! Crazy.