Lessons Learned: Shoot it anyway

In my pre-digital days, I rationalized this philosophy by telling myself that film is cheap compared with a missed opportunity at creating a good photograph. Phrases like "When in doubt, push the button" or "Shoot first and ask questions later" summed up my feelings.

In this instance, the low light level, fog and a steady drizzle all threatened to make this picture a nice composition with poor image quality. And in fact, it's not top rate. The elements did take their toll on sharpness by placing moisture in the atmosphere between me and the subject and forcing a wide aperture opening due to the low light level. I may have been shivering, too.

But I like it. I'm glad I shot it, and obviously I included it in my first cut of pictures for a Maine Fall Foliage gallery. Those decisions came after I'd returned home and reviewed the work. When I shot this picture, it was just one among the 1,100-plus images I'd captured during my one-week stay, and it wasn't significant among the ones I took there at Echo Lake near Southwest Harbor on Mount Desert Island.

The obvious Lesson Learned here today was that even when all odds are against getting a winning picture, shoot it anyway. If film was cheap, digital media is even cheaper. Shoot first and ask questions later.