Have you ever missed/screwed up an EPIC moment?

I'm wondering how often you've ever been presented with an INCREDIBLE moment, either by fluke or design, and got home to find you botched the photos?

Out today on Qualicum Beach, a very long stretch of gorgeous beach on the East coast of Vancouver Island. I truly beautiful place!). I pull over to use a public restroom, and as I get out, I look up and see in the top of an old, dead, but incredibly beautiful tree, a PAIR of Bald Eagles. (Which one flew away after a few frames) But, directly behind the top of the tree (which was maybe 130 yards away) was a crescent moon, against a drop dead gorgeous CLEAR Blue sky. The eagle and the tree were PERFECTLY framed in front of that moon. For me, an AMAZING shot, and oh so incredibly rare.

BUT, I was NOT set up. I had a 17-40L on my 5D2, my only telephoto was a non IS 300L Prime, my tripod was in the trunk, had NO idea where the tripod mount plate was.. I could see the moment slipping by.

So, I got the 300, slapped it on the 5D2, and started shooting, hand held. I'll post a couple of the best shots from that series as soon as I get them off the camera, but even on the LCD, I could tell that the photos weren't very good. I just wasn't prepared, and the moment was short lived.

So. Anyone have some stories of the moments you missed or borked due to circumstance? I'd love to hear them and feel better about mine!

Robb

Yeah just last week I saw a baby fox while out aurora shooting. It stood there in the dark in my headlights and I quickly switched over the the 70-200 but couldn't get focus in the lowlight. Then it started to move away out of the beam so I moved back with the car and pointed it back at the fox...to which of course it ran away.

So close too, could see the detail in its eyes from where I was sitting.

Yup...

Just this past Thursday ( 2/18 ) shooting the Blue Angles in winter practice and the #6 jet may have had a tail strike performing the max pitch departure done after passing the end of the runway. Should have kept clicking all the way through the maneuver but wanted to watch it more than shoot it.

Dumb...

Yes, and I'll never forget it. In Oct/Nov my partner and I were in the City Championship Finals in golf, and I thought, I'm gonna bring my gear and get a picture of us or something in the Final. I changed my mind because I didn't want to mess up my partner, so I left it in the car. Well, on the first hole, I looked up, and there was the Space Shuttle being piggy-backed by a huge 747? or something. It was so low, I could have hit it with a golf ball. It had just refueled and was headed to Florida, I believe. I can only imagine the awesome pictures I could have taken of it. I am still upset at myself for leaving my camera in the car............it would have been AWESOME and a RARE shot !!!

I'll add my best (worst) missed shot. I was on a road trip through South Dakota/Wyoming on the way to Yellowstone a few years back. On the highway south, heading towards Cody there was a construction zone where the road follows a tributary of the BigHorn River. We were forced to join a convoy following a pilot car and wouldn't you know it - across the river was a group of cowboys herding a dozen or so horses on the banks above the river. In the dust and haze it was a Remington moment.

I tried to stop but the people behind me started honking (not photographers, obviously).

In retrospect, I should have swapped places with my wife and dropped off to take pictures and walked up the road to catch up with her.

Good excuse to go back again.

I would LOVE a chance to get down that way and shoot some horses and wild stallions, etc. Before they're gone.

Here's that Eagle shot I mentioned in the original post. I'm really not happy with it, but, I did the best I could given the time, the gear and the conditions. It's about 60% cropped, as I was REALLY far away, and it was a non IS hand held.

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I've missed infinite number of EPIC moments. Luckily, I'm only aware of a few. One was an EPIC run-for-your-life battle between a squirrel and my neighbor's cat. I heard the the sound of something running on the fallen leaves, then saw the squirrel leap on top of my capped fence and jumping across the gap between an open gate. The cat was right behind.

Unfortunately, my XTi was at my side. I didn't have time to even turn it on.

I have missed too many to count. The worst I ever heard was a pro press photographer standing right behind Reagans limo changing lenses when hinckly started shooting. I heard he retired from photography.
I miss more stuff by walking through a door and not immediately changing the settings for the light change. I try to remember Door = change, but I seem to be incapable of..............sorry, what were we talking about?

Yeah, but my epic moment was spoiled by over-eager processing, not the shoot itself. I'm pretty sure that I nailed it. A police officer fighting with an escaped convict while floating down a river. Nice and tight. I was at the point where they hit land. I can still see it in my head. But the chemicals weren't up to temperature when I processed so the film simply didn't develop.

I can still see it like its yesterday...

Not a screw up per-se, but I just returned from a trip where I brought my wife's P&S camera (I don't always have the flexibility to bring my regular stuff on business trips). So on Sunday night I get the opportunity to be 300 feet from the edge of the runway for the Shuttle Landing. With the P&S and the night landings, all I got was blurred images (not even close enough to save). So . . . I guess I screwed up in once again not taking my gear because of the inconvenience of travel . . .

Wow - this is a highly depressing thread! LOL

Novus, I think that's a great shot!! I'm still waiting for my epic shot!

I was shooting a college basketball game last week. I got into position to get ready for the tip-off, composed, focused, had my finger on the shutter button and was so totally focused on being ready for the shot that I didn't notice a woman was going to walk right between me and the players at just the right moment to ruin the shot.

NovusPhoto wrote in post #9666156
...
Here's that Eagle shot I mentioned in the original post. I'm really not happy with it, but, I did the best I could given the time, the gear and the conditions. It's about 60% cropped, as I was REALLY far away, and it was a non IS hand held.

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Robb,
I think you've been smoking too much - haha
You've got to be kidding.
What is wrong with that?

Over the years, there's been too many to mention, here is just one.
I try not to lose any sleep these days over shots that I miss.

2 shots from a sequence of 5

Matt Halliday - Ford Performance Racing
2007 Bathurst 1000
Sunday morning warm-up

Looking at these still hurts...

/\ your camera obviously doesnt like ford

360° wrote in post #9668306
/\ your camera obviously doesnt like ford

Clearly a case of Japanese camera makers in collusion with Japanese automakers.