Not too long ago I was in Spokane Washington for business. While there myself and a fellow photog decided to spend our evenings taking pictures. Our choice for the first evening was Coeur d’Alene Idaho. This, at first, seemed to be a bad decision. Although Coeur d’Alene is a beautiful place, the weather was not so beautiful. It was cloudy and drizzling the whole time we were there. One of the problems was that the weather was almost too bad to shoot but not good enough to have the camera out for more than a couple of moments. With all of that said we decided to make the best of it anyway.

The results of this situation are evidenced in the photos attached to this post. Instead of having what would be generally considered beautiful we had to search for it. We had to look and to find. We had to find the beauty in the situation and capture it before it was gone. I am sure many photographers have converged on this location. It is a very beautiful area. But will you see them on a cold and rainy day? Probably not.

Remember always when you are in a bad situation sometimes you need to put your camera away and call it a day. But you also have to know when to find the beauty in the scene before you. Like Kenny Rogers says in his song the Gambler “You gotta know when to hold’em and know when to fold’em” Just remember that some of the best pictures you will take will be in less than optimal conditions. You won’t always have the time to compose and setup and check twice. Sometimes you gotta go with your gut and take a chance. Remember to always find the beauty in everything and keep your eyes and mind open to the unexpected in life.