Those 'oh so nearly' shots - let's see yours

[Clactonian]

It is so frustrating that for want of better technique you miss a great shot. Here's one of mine. What have you got?



Ruined by camera shake! I was using a 180mm f2.8 lens without support in the middle of a crowd. ISO too low, shutter speed to low, aperture too small ... FAIL ... shame!!

[Dave Humphries]

I shot some swans flying by today Mike, but realised (after) that the lens was still on MF (manual focus) after an earlier shot

Obviously; I'm not rushing to download 'em, but will post here when I do.

[Trina]

Well here is one of MANY, I wish it had turned out though:<

EF-28-135mm ISO100, 1/200, 5.6

[Geoff F]

Most of my mistakes come to a rapid end, under a delete button!

But of the few that I retained; a couple come to mind.

This is the one that I most regret.



I was concentrating on an up close shot of this damselflies head when a hoverfly temporarily landed on it's tail. I pulled back and obtained a shot but the angle gave too great a depth for sharp focus on everything and there wasn't time to move.

And a couple of recent shots which I retained although I'm not happy with them.



A couple of fishermen clearing nets in the fog. I was shooting from a nearby road which was just too far for the conditions.

And a fishing boat entering the harbour.



I managed a good angle on the previous boat, and with a breaking sea behind it. That image is amongst the last of my Project 52 posts.

But this shot didn't quite have the same zip.

However, I always think that if I know what went wrong, the experience wasn't totally wasted.

[davidedric]

Mike, I have to differ. Yes, there may be quality problems with the image, but the atmosphere just comes across. I still think it is an excellent capture.

[lyrical5]

Yes, the shaking feels with that little blurriness. But still, a great shot with the fact that it was taken in the middle of the crowd. The children are so cute btw!

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[Loose Canon]

Um…, jeez Mike…

All of my shots come under this category!

Thanks for reminding me!

[JPS]

Hi Mike,
I so wanted this shot to be good.
A memory of my boys, who have changed so much over the last few years, but I got it all wrong. Never mind.

[Brownbear]

I have a ton of those, usually involving birds in flight

Black bellied whistling ducks


used too, low an iso and beyond my cameras capabilities

Sometimes goats and snakes


I was nervous and as a result I did not think of the positioning myself to the best advantage and the shadows in the scene.

but mostly they involve pelicans in funny positions (needed to use a higher aperture, iso and possibly shutter speed and still working on achieving clear focus)









Still trying...

[rpcrowe]

I visted a butterfly preserve at the local zoo and expected to shoot the butterflies from several feet away. Thus I carried my 300mm f/4L IS lens which provides pretty nice subject/image ratio without needing to get close enough to scare the butterflies.

Unfortunately the preserve had what semed like millions of these colorful creatures flying all around. They were not a bit spooked by people and even landed on our lenses.

The preserve was also full of people who were shooting the butterflies from six inches away and less with their P&S cameras. I could hardly get a shot without a point and shooter coming into my frame.

Poor selecton of equipment because I didn't know the conditions resulted in few decent shots.

[Clactonian]

Um…, jeez Mike…

All of my shots come under this category!

Thanks for reminding me!

I suspect you're being a bit hard on yourself Terry, but it's nice to know I'm not the only one that keeps uttering ...'if only'.

Thanks for contributing folks.

[djg05478]

I remember seeing this thread a while back and this morning I felt the need to revive it with this one.

I'm trying to get action shots of this guy. So close. I was late. He leapt out of the focus plane (not sure if thats the right vocabulary)...but his back feet are in focus and his eye are not. There's very minimal PP on this, just enough to post. I'm not going to spend a lot of time trying to 'save' this photo when I have all the resources to just go out and try again.

Any hints? I'm at f/8 1/1250 ISO 400 right now; clearly I'm going to keep experimenting. This is the only time that blazing sunshine is a good thing.

[Geoff F]

A little bit of selective sharpening on just the dog's head may help, Debbie.

Possibly a case where shooting in Servo mode may have helped; although I find this often needs a little bit of time to achieve the initial focus.

[Franci]

Finally I find a place for my wild boar. They run fast, snow dampens their noise and I really did not expect one Almost missed, I must admit