– Part 1 –
Previous post:
Outdoor Photographers: You Can’t Always Get What You Want
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– Part 2 –
What I wanted: To find and photograph a remote waterfall
I did not know the exact location of the falls but knew the trailhead should be along the rugged dirt/gravel road. Driving carefully down that remote road, I saw a sign for a campsite but found no signage for any trail. Eventually, the road became too rough, so parked and continued on foot. As the road crested the height of land and began to descend, I admitted defeat and returned toward my car.
Knowing the road was parallel to the stream, I attempted a possible bushwack downhill through the woods. As I had very little water with me, I was gambling on reaching the stream. However, the forest proved to be too dense and too difficult … and my water bottle soon ran dry. I again admitted defeat and retreated back up the hill.
Upon driving away and heading back to paved roads, I absent-mindedly left the tailgate open on my car. I only the problem only after attaining the paved road and the noise from behind my head was abnormal. I pulled to the side of the road. My backpack with all my camera gear was missing … it had fallen out the back. Returning to the dirt road and retracing my route, I found my bag in the middle of the road. All was intact – no harm done.
I did not get what I wanted … but I didn’t get lost, didn’t incur injury, and didn’t lose all my gear. Let’s just call that a win.
– Part 3 –
What I wanted: A photo that is both snowy and Christmas-themed. On a snowy mid-December day, I had vaguely planned to travel 1/2 hour and be in the city shortly before dusk.
My plan included camera remote control using an app on a smartphone, but I had recently switched to a new phone. Early afternoon, I tried the remote control without success and this continued least 90 minutes. After numerous online searches and much cursing and screaming, I did achieve success by 3 o’clock. Did I have enough time to get into the city, park, and get in position before dusk? Yes.
At the last possible moment, I decided to abondon my task entirely. First, I was angry and that was not a good frame of being in which to travel. Second, the trip would cost me 90 minutes and I knew that dusk would only last 20 minutes, meaning I would not have sufficient time to relocate and photograph elsewhere. In my mind, a quick cost-benefit analysis ended a depressing result. Although I wanted to make this photograph, it was unlikely to yield financial profit and the trip just wasn’t worth the trouble.
In my life, photography has brought me great joy and satisfaction, but today’s project wasn’t going to do that. I needed peace of mind. As the snow was still falling, I opted for a quiet walk in the woods and did successfully wash away my anger.