Photos I didn't take

[MyopicJoe]

I love seeing everyone's great photos, but what about the ones that got away? Describe the shot that never was, and why you missed it. You're allowed to exaggerate how great it would have been, since there's no evidence to the contrary


I'll start with a few:

I was waiting in the Manoa McD drive-thru. In front of me was a glossy 2004 VW Bettle. Its rear windshield was tinted, curving down smoothly. Reflected in it was the Hawaiian flag flying proudly in the wind. My camera was sitting right next to me (no excuse there), but alas...I had made eye contact with the young lady driving the car, and I felt too self conscious to take the shot. If I had been the cool side of satin I would have used the camera to flirt with her, but I suspect I would have just come off as a creepy stalker.


Another time I was on H-1 Diamond Head bound, after UH, around the 6th Ave. offramp. The weather was sunny and the sky deep blue, but up ahead was a huge cloud front. There was a lot of contrast between its snow white tops and blue gray depths. H-1 was rising up to meet it while pillars supporting an overpass framed the sides. For a split second I considered pulling over, but I drove past my chance. Finishing a quick errand in Kaimuki I was back on H-1 within 5 minutes, but Ewa bound this time. Looking back in the rear view mirror, the cloud bank was still there, but the lighting had changed, rendering the clouds flat and lifeless.

[Kalalau]

Re: Photos I didn't take

On a fishing pier on Shelter Island in San Diego Bay, a whale surfaces maybe 50 ft. away, I yell "Look, a whale!!" and it submerges smoothly without a ripple and everybody misses it then looks at me like I am the kook of all time.

Surfing once on a cold winter morning by Crystal Pier in PB, a momma dolphin and her baby surface about 20 ft. away from me, the breath from their blow holes (if thats what you call them) makes mist in the cold air, it catches the light and throws little rainbows.

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: Photos I didn't take

MJ, a 2004 VW Bettle? Man..., those are rare!

Per the thread, way too many to try and remember!
I'd start crying if I tried.

[TATTRAT]

Re: Photos I didn't take

Per the thread, way too many to try and remember!
I'd start crying if I tried.

+1

and I carry my camera everywhere I go, and I still miss shots...

[DiverDown808]

Re: Photos I didn't take

There was a great photo op today, now that you mention it.

The sky was completely cloudy over Honolulu this morning around 9am, except for one little hole in the clouds. The sun was shining through it, looking like a spotlight from the heavens shooting down to the Earth.

Me and a few co-workers looked at it for a good minute, saying "coooooooool" and asking who had a camera in their car. A very cool sight that maybe a few of you may have seen too.

DD

[MyopicJoe]

Re: Photos I didn't take

I yell "Look, a whale!!" and it submerges smoothly without a ripple and everybody misses it then looks at me like I am the kook of all time.

Heh heh. I bet the whales do it on purpose ("porpoise"? yuck yuck yuck).

"Eh look, I jus made dat guy make-A. Gimme flipper."

Surfing once on a cold winter morning by Crystal Pier in PB, a momma dolphin and her baby surface about 20 ft. away from me, the breath from their blow holes (if thats what you call them) makes mist in the cold air, it catches the light and throws little rainbows.

Well I'm glad you were able to enjoy an experience most of us don't get a chance to have. A good example of living life instead of taking pictures of it. Of course you could learn to surf with a camera strapped to your neck

MJ, a 2004 VW Bettle? Man..., those are rare!

Doh! The rare and elusive "Bettle". I missed TWO perfect shots

Silly typo. That's what I get for ignoring HT's spell checker

I carry my camera everywhere I go, and I still miss shots...

And my planned shots usually don't turn out as good as my accidental ones. The nice thing about digital is I can have a lot more of those accidents!

[helen]

Re: Photos I didn't take

This past Saturday I was launching model rockets, normally I would use my HP digital camera and the Flip video camera to take shots of rocket lifting off but I wasn't using the HP all day.

Was trying out another digital camera mounted inside of a plastic nose cone and for the most part I was getting shots of the parachute as it was coming down instead of shots of the ground below.

And while driving east bound on South King Street on that night, noticed that the moon was looming over the horizon.

[Honoruru]

Re: Photos I didn't take

One day, in the late 70s or early 80s, I finished my run at Ala Moana Park and was walking back to my apartment. While waiting at a stoplight in front of Victoria Station (remember that, corner of Kapiolani and Kaheka?) I saw three or four sailors from Korea or Taiwan at the telephone booth. They were part of the RIMPAC exercises heavily publicized at that time. Victoria Station was a theme restaurant based on Victorian-era train stations. The restaurant itself was in a railroad car, and they built a British-style telephone booth (very red, very heavy, very boothy) at that corner, as part of that theme.

Anyway, these sailors were wearing old-fashioned white uniforms, with white sailor caps and navy blue ribbons. They were crowding the telephone booth. One was on the phone, while all the other sailors were trying desperately to listen to what was being said, their ears plastered to the receiver. It was like an intricate human pyramid. The sun had long gone down, there was a street lamp above the phone booth, the yellow light hovered above the bright red telephone booth and white-clothed sailors. My first thought: God, I wish I had a camera!

[MyopicJoe]

Re: Photos I didn't take

Was trying out another digital camera mounted inside of a plastic nose cone and for the most part I was getting shots of the parachute as it was coming down instead of shots of the ground below.

Clearly, Helen, the only reasonable solution is to build a honkin rocket which can house 7 of the largest rocket motors you can legally buy. Then just mount the camera on the side

Anyway, these sailors were wearing old-fashioned white uniforms, with white sailor caps and navy blue ribbons. They were crowding the telephone booth. One was on the phone, while all the other sailors were trying desperately to listen to what was being said, their ears plastered to the receiver. It was like an intricate human pyramid. The sun had long gone down, there was a street lamp above the phone booth, the yellow light hovered above the bright red telephone booth and white-clothed sailors. My first thought: God, I wish I had a camera!

That would have been a cool shot, Honoruru. Either a historic looking shot with one piece of modern technology, or old fashioned sailors trapped in the modern world. "Halp! We wents through a timewarp. What do we do, Captain'!?"

*****

A few nights back the family and I were washing the car (earlier that
day I had parked it under a tree full of diarrhetic finches). We had
just rinsed the suds off when I noticed a little German cockroach on
the side of the car. I excitedly pointed it out to my wife. She just
made a face at me. The roach's back was stuck against the wet car,
legs clawing the air uselessly.

Naturally, I grabbed the camera.

I switched my camera to macro mode, toned down the flash, and managed
to grab just two shots before my wife begged me to get rid of the
roach. Because it was dark and I was inexperienced, I had left the
aperture wide open so only parts of the roach were in focus. The
shots were kinda cool. Surface tension of the water held the roach's
wings against the car. You could see little air bubbles under its
translucent wings. The shot would have looked a lot better if the
entire roach was in focus. If my wife wasn't grossed out, I might
have had time to review the picture in the camera, notice my mistake,
and recompose the shot.

Ah well.