waykee7 Loc: Cortez, Colorado

Here's what I'm interested in. I'm curious if you can describe in words a couple of the photographs you've missed or messed up that you most regret.

Here are a few of mine. I was driving through FairPlay, CO in a blizzard. A cowboy was out to feed his horses in a near whiteout, and five of them were walking in a line behind him. I couldn't stop. . . it was glare ice, and I had cars behind me.

Another one involved a film camera. I had a Nikkormat and I had loaded a roll of 36 exposure film. I was hiking in southern Arizona, and I had taken 21 photographs. A large red tail hawk flared over me with a very large rattlesnake in its talons. I made a shot with a 400mm lens, went to advance the film, and there wasn't another SHOT. I rewound the film, and it was marked 36 exposures, but somehow it was a 20 exposure roll.
Wayne Keene
Cortez, CO

Mike D. Loc: Crowley County, CO.

I will spare you the whine-fest about my misbehaving Nikon as many here have heard the story more than once but the missed shots that annoy me the most are the ones of the kids and/or dogs that I just couldn't get because the camera had other ideas. This usually happens in low light conditions and on occasion it simply won't fire.

Dogs are hard enough to capture without the technical difficulties.

Another time I was looking at a killer sunset and the moment disappeared before I could even think about getting the camer. It was a cloud with a not-so-silver lining but it faded right before my eyes. Perhaps another day...

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

Bummer, that sucks!!
I always used to see quite the scenery with the guys on the way to work, and I considered a many times to take a camera along for all those daily (missed) shots, but then I thought, ahhh, the camera is just going to be all covered in dust and mud, or may get damaged at work, so I always left it home. It was just such a morning when I was thinking to may take it along after all, but as usual decided against it, that we came upon a bend in the river (we used to drive along that river every day for about an hour and a half. Right at that bend, the canyon is very, very narrow and across the river were a bunch of huge bolders and on top of them were SIX young bald eagles fighting over a couple of fish (looked like steelhead). If I had my camera on me that day, I would have most likely come away with images you get once in a lifetime. That's the one experience that I think hurts the most.

waykee7 Loc: Cortez, Colorado

I suspect as more people respond to this post, what we will hear are pained expressions of loss!

fantom Loc: Colorado

Some of the more memorable misses over the years:
Jewelry store robbery in Torino, gunfire near Western Wall in Jerusalem, commotion at the Korean DMZ, grizzly attacking caribou in Denali. Just shows you gotta have your camera with you and be prepared to shoot instantly when required.
But is this worse than taking 36 shots in the back alleys of Singapore's China town and Little India and then getting out of the sun to change rolls of film----and not realizing til the next day that you left the exposed roll on the bar where you changed film?

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

I shot a lot of Ektachrome during my 18 months in Nam, but there were so many more that I now wish I had taken. Others are just chance photos, those were memories.
Then there was this girl I once knew who dove in the pool and lost her bikini top...... :shock:

Marionsho Loc: Kansas

I've missed or messes up more than I can count. Just the other day, I grabbed my camera, tried to shoot a guy walking down the road in a clown suit, carrying a tuba, and wondered why the camera wouldn't fire. It was set on 10 sec. delay... from the last time I used it on a tripod.
I'm constantly missing shots, because I am trying to use M, exclusively, and can't think fast enough to shift to P, Av, Sv etc.

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

Just last week I missed a great sunset. I was downtown, and by the time I found a street perpendicular to it without trees and power lines it was gone. That's probably the most common one for me.

Marionsho Loc: Kansas

Yes, sunsets go away quick.
Still working on that time machine. Short one phlux capacitor. :|

Mike D. Loc: Crowley County, CO.

That last one REALLY sucks. A variation of the missed shot idea involved sitting on a bench near Georgetown, Grand Cayman and changing lenses on my Pentax K-1000. I put the smaller of the two on the camera and left the zoom on the bench. I missed a lot of shots after that. :-( In those days there seemed to be more money than brain cells.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Four vultures sitting on the overhead entrance to a ranch.

amehta Loc: Boston

Four years ago I was in New Mexico for a cousin's wedding and I spent two days in Santa Fe. In addition to a DSLR I had taken a Mamiya RZ67 with a dozen rolls of Fuji Velvia to shoot landscapes and sunsets. I took pictures during the day, left the gear in my hotel room, and went to dinner. Sitting by the window at the restaurant I saw the most spectacular pink and orange sunset. Now I have to just enjoy the memory and telling the story. :-)

Mike D. Loc: Crowley County, CO.

You may have something here Wayne. If you don't have a story like this, you haven't been paying attention to the world around you.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Nessie and Bigfoot!
Woulda had them BOTH, had I just NOT been on Manual!! :lol: :lol:

watchcow Loc: Moore, Oklahoma

I have a few. One of the weirdest was at a wedding I was shooting. For a change one of our other partners was the lead photographer and he had the 'blad' and i was carrying my Contax RTSIII. After the ceremony the guests were dismissed to the reception and we did all the usual arranged shots while everyone was still dressed up. We finished up while the bride got bustled and the wedding party moved to the reception. We had used all the magazines for the blad so i was helping reload those and get them ready for the cake-cutting and reception, we moved out and i was rewinding my camera on the walk and got stopped by one of the Grandparents asking questions. That little delay cost us a shot to remember. I was dropping the fresh roll of Ektachrome in the RTS as i rounded the corner into the event hall and the bride's father was spanking her. Neither of our cameras were ready. i don't think any of the guests had a camera at the time either. It seems the wedding day was also the bride's birthday and after some teasing daddy decided to give her her last birthday spanking. I am pretty sure there was some alcohol involved in that decision, but alas, there is no evidence.