From amatuer to professional, every photographer has a set a photos they feel are their absolute best. We can all recall the time it took to plan the shot, trek to the location and wait for the precise moment that our vision will be realized. But our plans and ideas don't always happen the way we envision them in our minds, and photographers sometimes are forced to make the best of a situation (be it bad lighting or bad composition). So it leads me to wonder how often are your best photos not what you had originally planned for?
Posted by Chris Grabski on January 29, 2012 at 5:43 AM
My most viewed shot on this website is a perfect example of what you are writing about. I mean "Purple Flower" (WP 05/11). I loved the flower, but after I had taken the shot nothing or almost nothing was good. Only one element I thought worked - the lines. But I did not want to give up on it yet. And as I had some time I decided to experiment with it in CS3. And the final result pleased me and a good number of visitors, and it bacame my second shot in WP. I can only say keep your mind open.
Posted by Andy Richards on January 29, 2012 at 11:56 AM
I am not sure I completely understand your question. I know I have a number of photos that are what I would call serendipitous -- i.e., something I saw that was not the original composition I planned for or went to a location for, but was in the right light and place at the right time.
Serendipitous is a very good word for what I am talking about...something that wasn't planned for but yet turned out better than intended. I'm curious just to hear others' experiences.
Posted by Kent Staubus on January 29, 2012 at 1:48 PM
I could interpret your question several ways, but I'll stick with "elaborate preparation but didn't turn out as planned." One of my dream shots is to catch a snowplow (railroad) plowing at night. Problem is they don't run plows often, and rarely at night at that. I got wind of a train that would be heading down an unplowed track one night, and went for it. I set up about eight Nikon SB-28 flash to evenly illuminate where the train would burst through a deep drift, and found a good vantage point. I sat in a snow drift and waited in the dark. I heard the train sounding the crossings and coming ever nearer. Finally it came to my spot, and I hit the trigger. The flash all popped; the train sped by. I looked at the LCD. I considered the shot a "miss" because I wanted the photo to be of an engine emerging from a cloud of snow. I had hit the trigger about one & half seconds too early and only got a shot of a clould of snow with a headlight shining through. It's hard to time things perfectly when you're literally shooting in the dark and can't see what's going on. One of the editors of a railroad magazine I showed it to called it "genius," and said the shot was one of a kind. He loved it! OK, I guess I do too then.
Posted by Richard Ditch on January 29, 2012 at 2:55 PM
In 40+ years of photography I've never planned a single avian image that I can recall. My style is to go where I hope to see some birds, observe what they are doing, and be patient with them until I can get within optical range. Then I work or wait until I get a clear enough view with the light from a pleasing angle and take as many frames as I can get before the bird moves on.
The closest I've come to any planning is to set up my remote flash near a water feature in a park where I knew birds would come to drink.
It's a split for me. Our pro shooting requires elaborate planning and sometimes elaborate setups, and if you don't get great shots you may as well change professions. But the danger in that is, if you're so focused on the controlled setting, you'll miss serendipitous opportunities that appear. You have to be fluid enough and alert enough to recognize and capture those too, even if that means having a spare camera handy.
The habit of preparation spills over into our nature shooting in the form of planning where to be and when. It was serendipitous to be on hand in Death Valley when a fast moving storm arrived and parted, but it was planning that sent me headlong down the road to get ahead of the storm again for great clouds and light in Valley of Fire, Zion and Bryce. Similarly I'll make a dozen trips to the same location over a year looking for changes in light angle, gear and other factors, and it pays off sooner or later when I get the shots I wanted. But on each trip, I am alert for serendipity.
Posted by Jim Sabiston on February 2, 2012 at 1:15 PM
Wow. Tough one. By what scale does one measure? Most popular/best sales? I've never posted the print that qualifies under this measure to NPN as I don't think it measures up to the standards I see here:
Without hesitation, I go with the latter. These are the images that speak to the 'sense of place' or capture a certain essence I seek in my photography and if we don't shoot for ourselves, we can't shoot for anyone. Now that I consider it, I realize that most of the images I consider my 'best' are the ones I was prepared for but did not expect - so serendipity certainly plays a large part in that experience.The cardinal image was obtained after many hours of waiting. The dunes were shot during a planned hike with the intent to shoot the inlet area. The Met was seen accidentally and by chance as I was departing the museum and glimpsed a flash of light through a closed and covered window as I walked by. The entire setup and shoot: 1 minute at the outside for three frames.
I shoot a wide variety of subjects in very varied environments and each requires a rather different discipline. Wildlife - infinite patience and care in setup and preparation. Landscape - patience and timing. Street photography - really sharp observation and snap reflexes. They all require the need for preparedness specific to that environment.
It's kind of a split situation for me, too. Some of my best photographs were not planned: I was just wandering around keeping my eyes open. Here are two of them...
This photograph of a lupine and small cascades near Sonora Pass was planned. I saw the scene earlier in the day and went back when the light was just right. Cascades and Blue.
In my opinion, serendpity plays a role, and as Ansel Adams once said, "Chance favors the prepared mind"
Discussion
8 replieshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/96826069@N00/4229321806/
Kent in SD
The closest I've come to any planning is to set up my remote flash near a water feature in a park where I knew birds would come to drink.
The habit of preparation spills over into our nature shooting in the form of planning where to be and when. It was serendipitous to be on hand in Death Valley when a fast moving storm arrived and parted, but it was planning that sent me headlong down the road to get ahead of the storm again for great clouds and light in Valley of Fire, Zion and Bryce. Similarly I'll make a dozen trips to the same location over a year looking for changes in light angle, gear and other factors, and it pays off sooner or later when I get the shots I wanted. But on each trip, I am alert for serendipity.
http://www.essentiallightphotography.com/#living-form/39
An image selected for a WP or with the largest number of responses?
http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/ic.cgi?a=vp&pr=134554&CGISESSID=0bddfe71640dbfbcbf765c7d42d73e4e&u=16814
Or everything else be damned and go with the one 'I' think is best?
http://www.essentiallightphotography.com/#urban-landscape/33
Without hesitation, I go with the latter. These are the images that speak to the 'sense of place' or capture a certain essence I seek in my photography and if we don't shoot for ourselves, we can't shoot for anyone. Now that I consider it, I realize that most of the images I consider my 'best' are the ones I was prepared for but did not expect - so serendipity certainly plays a large part in that experience.The cardinal image was obtained after many hours of waiting. The dunes were shot during a planned hike with the intent to shoot the inlet area. The Met was seen accidentally and by chance as I was departing the museum and glimpsed a flash of light through a closed and covered window as I walked by. The entire setup and shoot: 1 minute at the outside for three frames.
I shoot a wide variety of subjects in very varied environments and each requires a rather different discipline. Wildlife - infinite patience and care in setup and preparation. Landscape - patience and timing. Street photography - really sharp observation and snap reflexes. They all require the need for preparedness specific to that environment.
Leaves and Stones, Big Pine Creek, Sierra
Heart of Autumn, Virginia Lakes Road, Sierra
This photograph of a lupine and small cascades near Sonora Pass was planned. I saw the scene earlier in the day and went back when the light was just right. Cascades and Blue.
In my opinion, serendpity plays a role, and as Ansel Adams once said, "Chance favors the prepared mind"
--P