I Wanted Sunset

“Disappointment is inevitable.” – Charles Stanley

Earlier this summer the family and I took a trip to Golden Valley North Carolina. We camped over at a camping resort. That week I had photographed the trails at the camp ground, hiked along the streams, and visited South Mountains State Park to see the waterfalls there. One thing I had not captured on this trip that I had wanted to was a good sunset. I checked the weather to see when it would happen, gathered my camera gear at the right time, and headed over to a spot that I thought would pay off. I went to the spot, and I waited. While I was waiting, I took some photos. I was hoping these would be my shots before sunset, but things never changed. As I waited, it got darker and darker outside with no golden glow. If you look at the photos you might have noticed why. The cloud cover that evening was too thick. I was hoping it would clear up some before sunset, but it never did. While I didn’t get the sunset shots I wanted, I think these photos of the lake turned out pretty good. Sometimes we don’t get the photo we want, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have an opportunity to capture something amazing on camera.

For those of us who have taken our photography seriously for any amount of time, we have all had a moment when we had to face some form of disappointment. The sun was too bright, cloud cover was too thick, it was too crowded, or our camera battery was too low. I could list a thousand things that can happen while out taking pictures. What do we do? Here are some things I have learned when things don’t go according to plan.

🚶‍♂️ Walk around a little bit more before you decided a location isn’t going to work out. You might see something that you have missed. You might find an angle that you haven’t seen before.

📷Make sure you have all right gear and some back up gear. I try to keep an extra battery and memory card with me at all times. Heaven forbid my camera decides to not work at all, I have my cell phone. It has a pretty good camera on it. I think I take better pictures with my camera, but I’m glad I have a back up.

🌲 Capture what you can. You might look back and realize it isn’t that bad.

What tips do you have for when things don’t work out the way you wanted them to, or how do you prepare for the worst when it comes to photography? Share your thoughts in the comments.