Best photograph you ever missed

[Harvestman]

The other day I was parked up in a rural car park taking photographs of swallows that were zipping about around me. One or two of the shots came out rather well. After a bit I decided to put the camera down and just watch and enjoy the aerial display. Sometimes you get so caught up in looking for 'the shot' that you don't really see what is in front of you.

Anyway, that was all fine, until a swallow flew down and landed about 8 feet from my car, pecked at a cigarette butt that was lying in the dirt, and then picked it up in its beak. For a moment there was a swallow with a fag in its mouth! Naturally, I didn't get to the camera in time.

What a shot it would have made.

So, come on then, what's the best photographic opportunity that you've ever missed?

 

[dave53]

my missed opportunity came when i was going down a place called forge lane one morning when i saw sparrow hawk perched on top of a 30mph road sign and i couldn't get my camera out as there were cars behind me regards dave

 

[greensurfingbear]

Saw a mink using an otter bridge with a dead weasel in its jaws.




Orric

 

[Robbi]

Kelly Brookes on the beach

 

[ex Member swampy99]

A unicorn in the back garden. had the lens cap on for that one. It had skipped away by the time I got it off.

 

[Harvestman]

A unicorn in the back garden. had the lens cap on for that one. It had skipped away by the time I got it off.

Don't you hate it when that happens? I haven't seen a unicorn in ages, either.

 

[Shewie]

A robin landed on my drivers side wing mirror when I was parked in a layby recently, it just stood there staring at me for a few seconds and then flew off. Didn't even have a camera close and my phone is too much of a faff.

Grooveski and I were out paddling on Loch Long a few years back when a pod of porpoises approached the canoe, something happened with Josh's camera and we missed some belters, we still giggle about it

 

[Skaukraft]

My grandfathers cat was sitting on the proch watching the swallows flying around. He was just sitting there staring, and you could se his eyes and head moving as he followed the birds with his sight.
Suddenly he rocketed up in the air, and about 2 meters above the ground he catches the swallow in its flight.
We could not belive what we saw, and I would really love to have a series of pictures from the whole hunt. Specially the meet between the bird and the cat in mid air. A cat in a dogfight.....

 

[Grooveski]

...something happened with Josh's camera...

What happened is that it was in the hands of an idiot.

...though to be fair I'd not that long had the camera and was still getting used to where everything was.

Pod swung round and when I realised they were going to come right under us I went to change to continuous shooting. Bought up the menu, saw a big C icon, changed to it then leaned on the shutter button. Tracked the porpoises as they came in from the side and ducked under the canoe and just as I was taking the camera away from my face I felt the shutter go off. Turned out the camera doesn't do continuous while in auto mode and what I'd set it to was custom timer(which was set to 10 seconds or so) and had missed the whole show.