Have you ever been in a situation where you wished you had your camera?  Have you ever said to yourself “there goes another great shot”?  Have you ever kicked yourself for having your gear but not having it ready?  I have been on both sides of this coin and I would like to tell you about both situations.  One will have a picture to accompany it and the other, as you would guess, will not.

While I was in Spokane a couple of months ago a friend and I were out with our cameras in a wildlife reserve.  We saw very little wildlife during the 2 hours we were there but we had a good time regardless.  Our time in the reserve was to be short due to the fact that I was to be on an airplane and on my way home soon.  When it was time to head to the airport we packed up our photography gear and headed for the exit of the reserve.  While drive toward the exit we were interrupted by a herd of Elk.  When I say a herd I mean 50 or 60 Elk.  As we approached the exit of the reserve this herd of Elk stampeded right in front of our car.  By the time I got to my camera, powered it on, and hit the shutter all I got was car interior and blurry sky.  Not one Elk.  Not a tail.  Not a tuft of fur.  Nothing.  If I had waited 15 more minutes to put my camera away who know what I might have gotten.

Now I am not kicking myself for missing that opportunity.  It happens.  We will all miss opportunities.  But it does hurt when it happens.  I do wonder what I might have gotten if I had my camera at the ready.  Should I cry the coulda, shoulda, wouldas?  No I shouldn’t.  It was one of those times where I couldn’t have predicted the situation and I couldn’t react fast enough to what was happening.  The problem was, primarily, that my mind was already on to my destination.  It was not focused on what was going on in front of me.  I was not focused and ready to react to whatever might happen.  That was the problem.  I was not ready.

Let’s contrast the story above with another story.  A story in which I was ready.  I story with a happier ending.  A story where I got the shot.

A couple of years ago while in Chicago I was sitting in a train station waiting to go to the airport: seems to be a trend.  It was a Saturday morning and the station was quite.  There were only a couple of others milling around.  After a couple of minutes an interesting thing happened.  The station appeared to be empty.  It might have been empty or the few people that were their might have been standing in places out of view.  Either way I had what I found to be an ideal photo opportunity.

I was sitting, for all intents and purposes, alone in the Blue Line at LaSalle Subway Station in Downtown Chicago and a perfect vanishing point photography opportunity had presented itself.  I knew this moment might only last a moment so I had to act fast.  I dug through my bag, found my camera, and took the shot.  It wouldn’t be until I got home that I would really know if I had gotten the shot (the display on my camera isn’t very good) but I had the chance and I took it.  Once I got home and I processed that shot it turned out that I did get it and for a moment I knew that I got a shot that would never present itself to me again.

What is the difference between these two stories?  Why did I come home with the subway shot and nothing from the wildlife preserve?  Was one situation so much different than the other?.  In hindsight I would say the biggest difference is that in Chicago my eyes were open and I was focused in the now, but in Spokane I was already onto the airport and my trip home.

Remember to always live in the now.  Stay focused on what is in front of you and not what will be down the road.  If you are looking at what might be you will miss what is right now.  Remember to always be ready