Seeing Opportunity and Learning From Mistakes
Recently I was walking to the Ledges Overlook in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I was excited to see the sunset from the ledges. There’s a clearing where people like to gather and watch the sunset over the valley. I’d seen photos from this location several times and was excited to grab some of my own. What I captured was a lesson on how to see opportunity, and how my mistakes made a lasting impression.
I was on this trip with my friend and our sons, which always makes for an interesting experience! We were making a B-Line to the ledges overlook as the sun was beginning to set. I was focused on getting there before a lot of people showed up so I could get a good angle with my camera. The boys were pretending that the rocky cliffs held some mud monster that could awaken at any time and attack and were bouncing from rock to rock. My friend, who in general is way more reflective than I am, was moving along the path with us but he was taking it all in and enjoying the surroundings. Laughing at the boys and stopping from time to time to take a snapshot, we continued to charge on.
After a few minutes I realized my friend had stopped and was looking at something. I figured he caught a glimpse of the sun setting and wanted to take it in for a moment. I stopped to wait, slightly frustrated that we weren’t making progress. After-all, distraction is the enemy of focus, and I alway feel like I need to slay the distraction dragon if I want to make good use of my time. As I looked, my friend eagerly motioned me to come back to where he was. I wasn’t mad, but definitely hopeful that it was worth my time to come back and lose the little progress I had made. (Yes, I need to work on my patience!)
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
As I arrived at the place where my friend was standing, my jaw dropped slightly and I said whoa out loud.
The culmination of bizarre weather and the recent snow storm, which had almost completely melted, left a slight covering on the tops of the branches, but no snow on the ground. And as you looked through the branches at the setting sun, the branches looked like spider webs!
I stood there for a moment, before taking this picture, wondering how I missed it. I am always glancing left and right as I walk to make sure I don’t miss something. But it occurred to me, in that moment, that I had been looking for an amazing picture with grand landscapes or animals. Not a subtle, but beautiful, angle that revealed something that you might not normally see.
What’s more interesting, a few minutes later the angle of the sun changed and the spider web effect was gone. It was only there for that moment. If not for my friend I would have missed it. It made me think of the famous quote by Walter Hagen,
“Don’t hurry. Don’t worry. You’re only here for a short visit, so don’t forget to stop and smell the roses.”
I was in such a hurry I would have completely missed it.
CAPTURING THE SHOT
After stopping to take in the moment, we continued on down the trail and arrived at the ledges. There weren’t many people there yet, and there was plenty of time to set up and get a shot. I took a few with my phone to get the right angle and composition, set up my Nikon and got down to the business at hand. All the while contemplating what else I have missed over the years because of my eager pursuit of my primary goal. I say primary goal, because like most people, I have a lot of goals. Goals as a worker, as a husband, as a father, as a photographer, and as someone living life on this planet. Below is the final image I ended up with at the Ledges that evening.
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
There are a lot of situations where seeing the opportunity isn't enough though. Yesterday and today were great examples of the quote by John Maxwell,
“When opportunity knocks, it’s too late to prepare.”
Last night, as the sun was setting the colors were begging to explode! It was amazing. I looked at my wife and said hurry let’s get in the car and try to see the sunset! (Long story short, we didn’t get in the car on the spur of the moment because my kids had other plans..of staying exactly where they were and not moving! 😜) But, I have a drone, so to me this wasn’t a problem. I grabbed the drone, set it up, turned it on… and camera failure, gimbal failure, battery in the camera died, and needless to say, the drone would not fly. The sun set, not only on the day, but on my opportunity to capture it on a camera.
Fast forward to this morning. I had checked the weather yesterday, and it said it would be cloudy. I didn’t plan on going shooting this morning as a result. Coincidentally, I woke up early and as the sun was beginning to rise I saw another opportunity! It was beautiful. The colors were again filling the sky, the sun was coming up and I grabbed my camera and ran out the door. I jumped in my car and drove, not knowing where exactly to go. Hoping to find something, I drove. Within a few minutes, I found a spot, set up my camera, and started shooting! What I ended up with is the image at the top of the post. Not quite the full sky of color like it was 15 minutes earlier, but I made the best of the situation I was in.
SO WHAT DID I DO WRONG?
A photography instructor I heard recently said that you need to be the best photographer within 5 miles of your house. And what he meant was, you need to know the places where the best pictures can be taken if the environment is right. He also said you need to know your camera inside and out so you don’t miss the shot because you’re messing with settings. And lastly, preparation is key. I have apps that help me know when the sunrise and sunset will be colorful but I didn’t use them. And in all the examples here, I made the best with what I had and sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't.
So whether it's life, business, or just another day. There are always opportunities around us. Especially in our current environment. Things have never been this way before, which means there is opportunity to do things that have never been done before!
TAKEAWAYS
First, don’t forget to stop and smell the roses. We only have one life. Don’t miss once in a lifetime opportunities because you're too focused on one thing. (Spider web trees.)
Second, be prepared for the opportunities you might encounter. Remember, if you wait for an opportunity to prepare it will be too late. (Drone Failure.)
Third, practice regularly so when the opportunity presents itself you can capitalize on it. (Sunrise this morning.)
Last, enjoy the rewards when you do focus and work hard to achieve something. You made it happen. (Sunset from the ledges.)
I hope you enjoyed the photography in this post and the lessons I learned. If you enjoyed them, check out my prints for sale and my instagram!
Keep on!
