I wouldn’t sell yourself so short, your OP in this thread alone proves that you’ve got some gears turning over.
this reminds me of the old “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?”
thinking about it in a different way, does one mountain look upon another in awe? I think you, me, Ansel Adams, or anyone else is by far the most important component in the relationship between themselves and the environment - at least when it comes to appreciating the importance, or if you like the beauty, of that very relationship.
As a ‘people photographer,’ my answer would be ‘Who cares!’
Joking aside, though, the genre you like is the genre you like; we all have different tastes in photography in the same way we all like different genres of music.
Anyway… where was I? Ah, yes… Trees are boring!
Again, just a joke. I think all you ‘landscape lovers’ are amazing — and if the standard of the photos on this forum are anything to go by , exceptionally talented to boot.
Never was my regret bigger than today. I was actually considering to take my camera with me to work in the morning, just in case I come across some random nice autumn scene on the way.
Decided against it and now just stepped outside into this wonderful scene of the full moon over a red sky over an autumn forest.
I get so many great sunsets on my way home from work. I walk basically due west…the problem is there is so much urban obstruction I can’t get a good shot…there are a couple of buildings on campus where I could get some “altitude” but then I would have to shoot through a window… I need a roof key
Maybe I need to scout out a location…well I do know one that is perfect its just getting there at the right time…the Dundas Peak offers an amazing view of the Dundas valley and the Niagara escarpment with nothing blocking the sky…I’m inspired now to ditch work early…
Interesting topic. My short answer is no, I usually have no regrets, for two reasons I can identify.
First, I am not very good at judging the quality of a photo before processing. Yes, some are obviously good (well composed, interesting topic, good colors), some are obviously bad (uninteresting subject, focus error, blur, too much noise), but 90% of the time photos come to life on the computer, with its big screen. So when I think I missed some great shot, I think about the photos I thought were great when I took them, but turned out to be duds.
Also, I find that when I am taking photos, I am easily lured by what I think look interesting by some general standard (even though I do not post on social media, I am influenced by it), but when it comes to photos I happen to like later, they are always the ones documenting personal memories. Of these I have plenty, the problem is culling them.
So, do I need yet another spectacular sunset? Not unless it is attached to a memory, like an enjoyable hike or a holiday.
I’ve tried to scout locations locally / regionally but that quickly became a fools errand. The two or three “10%” locations within a few hours drive are just that, hours apart, so the chance of being in the right place at the right time (even with effort) is nil. I’ve resigned to the fact of potentially getting photos only with travel.
When I have that type of intense regret, I am usually at the same place the next weekend to reshoot. It really bothers me when I miss or fumble the shot.
I used to wake every morning, see the clouds lit up through the bedroom window and kick myself for not being out shooting. I got in the habit of going through avaiation forcasts, US govt weather data, and local weather data every night to “know” what was going to happen around sunrise.
It really helped in avoiding the regret. Not because I actually know what conditions are really going to be, but because the forcasts often vary enough that I can give myself some slack.
@lphilpot : You had some images recently in the capture challenge that looked like it would be a great location for dramatic skies over interesting landscape type shots
That only works, if the place still looks the same then. I don’t think that full moon, clouds and sunset will again align so perfectly for me anytime soon.
But on the other hand, since I didn’t have a camera to fiddle with, I just spent the time watching and enjoying. So I don’t have a picture to show but a wonderful memory of the moment, which actually lasts longer than the regret.
When I get a bored with my local area, I always think of new techniques to try. Have you considered macro? I feel like that can be done everywhere and opens up a world that most people don’t see.
But I know what you mean about travel. There’s nothing like it for inspiration. It’s an interesting aspect of human psychology that we stop seeing things the way a tourist would when we see it every day. And conversely, when we are the tourist, we find something interesting in what the locals consider exceedingly mundane.
The old “familiarity breeds contempt” adage is certainly true and no doubt it’s a factor. But as a landscape photographer it’s a practical matter for me. Most “landscape-legit” natural-world features don’t exist here. For example, we have none of the following:
Attractive or rugged coastlines / seashores / sea stacks
Dry climate features (deserts, mesas, etc.)
Predominantly hardwood / deciduous forests
…and so on.
So it’s just a matter of necessity – if I’m to photograph any of that I basically have to travel, at least some distance. Not always thousands of miles but at least hundreds.
Wherever you took these shots looks amazing. If you have those cool looking trees closer to home, that would be even better. Its easier to swallow the forcast being wrong when you didnt drive 1+ hours to get there…at least for me lol
Last year we went sailing around the Greek island of Skiathos. The harbor is right underneath the final approach of the airport, with planes coming in spectacularly close to the road and boats.
Alas, we had to leave port before I was able to go to the threshold and take a picture of the approaching airplane.
Then we came back this year, and this time came prepared. We positioned ouselves on the hill opposite, and took a cool shot of the plane in front of the town. But, as it turned out, we still missed the shot right from the threshold, and there wasn’t to be another flight coming in before our own flight would leave.
Except, later that day I checked again and there was indeed one more flight that somehow we had missed earlier. But it would arrive in just twenty minute’s time, and we were currently offroading on a dirt track somewhere in the hinterlands. What followed was one of the most fun I’ve had in a long time: we gunned down the dirt paths, took shortcuts through tiny town streets, all the wile I was monitoring the plane’s approach on a flight tracker. When finally we came to a screeching halt at the barrier before the threshold, the plane was just coming in for final approach:
Another ‘regret’ here. I wish I could take pictures while driving (no not the dashcam type, but proper zoom and crop)
Specifically, last week’s trip to Saarland showed me backlit lonely trees on hilltops with winding roads as leading line, stunning fall colors and rolling hills….while driving on the highway with no place to stop
I sometimes ask my spouse to handle the camera but she doesn’t have the photographic vision nor does she see the fun
If the dashcam type is what is available, at times I have:
mentally noted the time of day that I want to grab a capture of
downloaded the relevant 5-minute video/s
played through and grabbed a still from the video.
2 grabs from August 2024:
The quality isn’t fantastic, but a capture of any sort beats none. Granted, the wallaby or kangaroo (couldn’t pick it) is small, but in the context tells a story.
Just over a week ago. Getting a single frame from a dashcam video to show the lightning bolt was challenging; again, not a high-quality capture, but it beats no capture.
I will confess to sometimes pulling out the MFT Olympus I keep in the car when stuck in traffic. Technically I think I’m ok with road regulations here if I engage “Park.”
I’ve had as many flat grey skies from the “get out and hope” approach as I’ve had amazing sunrises tbh. With the cost of fuel and the length of the drive needed to get to the areas I prefer, I have to be more circumspect with my timing than I used to be - a round trip to the Highlands can easily cost £100 for petrol alone, and getting up at 3am and driving for 3 hours is nothing to sniff at either. When you come back empty handed, that’s hard to swallow.
So all that said: don’t beat yourself up. There’ll be other nice mornings.
