Thankfully we all manage a bit of photographic success out on the streets now and then , we all suffer photo failures on a wholesale basis too !
The ones that frustrate me most are the “Nearly Pictures” , the ones that are close to meeting my ambitions but fail to win the coconut ! How high do you set your “Successful Picture” bar and how do you sort the wheat from the chaff ?
Failing big is easy to see and edit out , its the near misses that can be hard to let go !
One photographers “Success” can certainly be another’s failure , it all depends on your expectations and what defines progress for you personally, pictures that are sharp and well exposed with good light might be success for some, it all depends how far down the Street Photography road you have travelled and what you want from your photography ?
This capture did not surrender easily !
The nearly Pictures live longest in my memory because they possess a degree of regret , a sense of what could have been , might have been, should have been but were not due to a myriad of reasons, mistakes or excuses !
The most frequent reason for my Street Photography failures is that I stopped pursuing the image in my minds eye and settled for second best , I tell myself its a alternative view but the truth is I gave up too easily and its second best ?
When I found the location above I visualised the “Legs moment” , I knew that with a bit of patience , graft and luck a decent pic might reveal itself , so I staked the location out and shot twenty plus failures before this scenario turned up , its not until you get into it that you realise how many variables can sabotage your potential “Masterpiece” !
I was so invested in this location that I took a twenty minute break between two sessions , I was eventually rewarded with the pic above which went beyond my expectations . Sorry if this shatters any illusions of this being a one frame spontaneous, casual capture, it was anything but … .
Some of the failures (Nearly Pictures) that preceded the capture above , a ethos of continuous improvement and learning from failures can eventually lead to success !
Speaking of one frame wonders I was surprised to discover that I managed another decent shot on this day , when I went into the files to investigate this shoot for this blog , I discovered that I had managed to bag the shot below , I had forgotten that these two shots arrived within 20 mins of each other on the same day , the “One Frame Wonder” below found me as I was taking a break from shooting the “Big Balls” pic ?
Nothing wrong with taking breaks and re-assessing your pursuit of a picture , adapting your approach as you go , its important to maintain a level of belief, will life align briefly just for you ?
Its better to be lucky than good looking !
This is a genuine “one frame wonder” no second chance with this one !
I have a black and white view of photographic success and failure , a picture is either right or wrong , I can’t live with pictures that are nearly right , I prefer to take failure on the chin , learn and move on …
The takeaway point from this blog is to keep pushing your photography until it delivers what you want , when your instincts tell you that a decent pic is possible keep on shooting the variations until you find it , or it finds you !
Don’t settle for the “Nearly shots” they will haunt you forever , the little things that bother you now will grow over time and become huge in your mind , make sure you make the most of your picture opportunities and do everything you can to get “The Shot” before you walk away , no regrets !
Don’t be lazy and don’t settle for “nearly” , the harder you work the luckier you will become…