Failing Means You’re Playing
One Year on the West Coast, Part Three
I got out of bed this morning while it was still dark and drove to the Marin Headlands. I found the trailhead and climbed half a mile uphill by the light of my phone. As the sun rose over San Francisco, I set up my tripod and started photographing the scene. I spent an hour experimenting with filters and compositions as the light changed, and everything seemed right with the world.
Just as I was about to head home, I noticed the fog inching in from the ocean. I knew if it crept all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge, I would have a chance to take an iconic Californian shot, so I decided to wait. It took well over an hour to reach the bridge, but I was ready as the fog tickled the towers and slid over the hillside. My composition was framed, and my setup balanced the light. I was in the right place at the right time and taking my best photographs so far. And then my memory card became corrupted.
I swapped in a spare card and grabbed a couple more shots. They looked good, but the light had changed, and the moment was essentially gone. I tried everything to recover the images when I got home, but they were beyond repair. On the bright side, I had those final images; even if I didn’t capture that moment, I got to experience it. A small consolation, but it was something.
This situation typifies the last three months of the project. I’d been at Baker Beach a few weeks ago, hoping to capture the sunset. I sidestepped the sunbathing nudists and climbed over multiple rocks to find the right angle and a bit of peace. Everything was going well until my tripod toppled in a moment of carelessness. Two filters shattered on the rocks, and the shoot ran aground. Again, I tried to be positive; my camera and lens survived the fall, a minor miracle in itself, and the shot I captured before the accident seemed reasonably good.
Between those two incidents, I’d dedicated myself to learning new skills. I undertook numerous SkillShare classes on landscape photography and processing skills. I read books about filter techniques and studied other photographers’ portfolios. The more I learned, however, the more I fell short of my own rising standards, but there is hope.
The disastrous shoots I described produced two of my most popular photos online. One was featured in Flickr Explore, and both reached ‘Popular’ on 500px. These are small victories in defeat, but I’ve learned a painful lesson. You can have all the equipment, skill, and education, but timing and luck are beyond your control. The best I can do is take some risks and try. As they say in Scotland, failing means you’re playing.
