In photography I do have missed moments and mistakes. As a result, I take many terrible photos. Do I have regrets over these setbacks? Not at all, because I can’t change what has passed, I can only learn from the mistakes. Three big “mistakes” that I have made in the past and try not to repeat:
1-I shot an entire afternoon of gorgeous flowering spring trees and blue skies with the white balance set to Fluorescent light. All the beautiful spring colors came out with a very blue / cyan tone. Of course, I was able to make corrections in Photoshop, but I kind of liked the resulting images. Now this is not an experiment that I would want to repeat, so I try to remember the mantra to check your settings before I starting shooting images. Lesson learned: Check your settings.
2-Not taking enough photos of images I really like. Invariably what was most inspiring looks terrible when I see the image. Or I have focus issues and I have not shot any back up images that might have turned out better. With digital photography it is so easy to shoot multiples that this lesson is a no brainer. Shoot more, vary the settings and the view point (if possible). This way I optimize the chance to have that one perfect shot! Lesson learned: Shoot more pictures of what I really like.
3-Not having a camera when an images catches my eye. Nowadays this is not an issue as I have my phone with me all the time and can always use that to shoot the image. Of course, it might not be the right “camera” for what I envision, so I may not really get the shot I want. I tried to solve for this by buying a point and shoot. While I do like it (it’s got great zoom capacities), I hate that it only shoots jpgs and that it does not have a view finder. They seem to have eliminated the viewfinder from the point and shoot cameras and I find that a real detriment.
Thirty-eight years ago I was in a beautiful place and saw 2 images where I regretted not having a camera. I told myself to memorize these glorious images. One was just a photo image of the full moon rising over the main town in Ibiza lit by late afternoon light. The other image included the sounds of the waves as they lapped over the rocks at the site where the “sirens” supposedly lured Odysseus. What is so amazing it that I still remember these images in my mind’s eye, so many years later.
The lesson here is obviously to make sure I have an all-purpose camera (for my needs) on me at all times. But I am not sure I am ready for that. And there is something so magical in the fact that I remember those 2 missed images from a long time ago.
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| Incorrect White Balance mode |
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| White Balance adjusted but still too blue |
Often times mistakes can be a seredipitous discovery of new techniques, as you found with white balance. Even though you didn't intend it, it had a unique effect and you learned something -both about checking your setting and about what you might want to try creatively in the future. I think your story about vividly remembering those images 38 years later is really important. We can retain the experiences in our heart and mind if we intentionally observe. But if we are relying on a camera to remember for us, we better have it with us and have command of it, or we may be disappointed. Great photojournal post!
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