You read this story again and again.\u00a0 The setting may be different but the plot is always the same.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a dreary, overcast day.\u00a0 You had planned this photo session for months, scouting it on Google Earth for the best location, checked the sun position on TPE (The Photographer\u2019s Ephemeris), and received inspiration from the photographs of other photographers.\u00a0 You made travel plans and booked lodging.<\/p>\n
You arrived early at the iconic location, having traveled across the country and driven many miles in a rental car to get there.\u00a0 But as you approach the sky turns dark with low hanging, gray clouds.\u00a0 The light is a disappointment but you walk out to a viewpoint and set up anyway.\u00a0 You keep telling yourself that good fortune happens to those who are prepared.<\/p>\n
The minutes tick by and the sun, unseen behind a thick cloak of clouds, continues its inexorable decent to the horizon.\u00a0 Other photographers join you and you ask each other, \u201cWill it happen?\u201d\u00a0 Most shrug their shoulders and reply, \u201cIt doesn’t look like it will.\u201d\u00a0 It turns chilly and a cold breeze starts blowing.\u00a0 Many photographers mutter, \u201cIt\u2019s not going to happen,\u201d pack up their gear and head back to their cars and a warm meal waiting them in the comfort of a nearby restaurant.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You begin to feel a little foolish yourself as the crowd dwindles, holding out against what are sure to be enormous odds.\u00a0 You check the time which is quickly running out.\u00a0 You don\u2019t want to come home empty-handed so you look around for other options.\u00a0 There\u2019s something going on behind you.\u00a0 It\u2019s not nearly what you had hoped for but you set up and shoot it, trying to make it work. At least you\u2019ll have something, even if it wasn’t what you had come for.\u00a0 You get absorbed and almost don\u2019t look back over your shoulder at your primary subject.\u00a0 But when you do, it\u2019s happening!\u00a0 It\u2019s glorious beyond your wildest expectations.\u00a0 You grab your tripod and run.\u00a0 You set up and get off one shot.\u00a0 Then you grab your tripod and run again to a location with a better composition, set up and get off one more shot.\u00a0 You take 20 seconds to recompose and get off a third shot but the light has already started to fade.\u00a0 And then, in less than two minutes, the drab gray of the overcast day reclaims the landscape.<\/p>\n
Everything happened so fast that you pray that in all the rush you didn’t make a fatal mistake.\u00a0 You know you checked your exposure (it\u2019s a habit of yours to always check your histogram) and you were very careful with the focus.\u00a0 But still, you can\u2019t wait to see the image on your computer.\u00a0 That evening in your hotel room you upload it and have a look.\u00a0 BINGO!\u00a0 You sit back, smile, and then go to work.<\/p>\n
McWay Cove, August 2013<\/p>\n If you have a similar experience to share please leave a comment.\u00a0 We always enjoy hearing from you.<\/p>\n And please feel free to Like this post and share it on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or your favorite social media site.<\/p>\n![\"mcway_cove_130806\"](\"http:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/mcway_cove_130806.jpg\" "\\"mcway_cove_130806\\"")
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