Every once in a while, conditions and circumstances align perfectly and some unexpected, amazing sight happens while I’m taking pictures. It rarely happens more than once a year, but it’s always memorable. Below, I’ll share some of my favorites and invite you to do the same.
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Deer in Yosemite
I just got back from my second ever trip to Yosemite National Park in California, and although I’m still processing my photos, I wanted to write about the amazing moment that I saw during my first morning there.
As I took some pictures of El Capitan at sunrise with a friend of mine, a few deer wandered around the field behind us. I took a couple photos of them in the distance but mostly concentrated on capturing the landscape.
Before long, the deer had approached much closer, with a picturesque view of the valley and mountains behind them. I had never seen wild deer this close and immediately felt like it was one of those “moments” I mentioned where something amazing happens.
Experienced Yosemite photographers are probably laughing that I call something like seeing a deer in Yosemite Valley a serendipitous moment. From what I hear, it’s pretty common for them to get relatively close like this. But something about it felt very special to me. It was as if I were invisible while I watched the deer go about their morning routine with such an amazing backdrop. They didn’t pay any attention to me at all – neither sniffing me out for food, nor wary and running away.
I’ve taken photos that I like more, but rarely do I experience a moment in photography that’s so pleasant and memorable.
Approaching Sandstorm
I’ve written about this one before, but one of my all-time favorite photography moments was watching a sandstorm approach in Death Valley, then finding myself engulfed in it. It was a humbling and frightening experience, though thankfully I was in little danger of getting lost in the storm since I had more than one GPS with me.
Sometimes, I find myself categorizing the world into “nature” versus “civilization” which really isn’t accurate. People have built some pretty good shelters against the elements, but nature still holds all our lives in her hands. This experience in Death Valley crystallized that fact for me. My outlook on the natural world hasn’t been the same since.
On the lefthand side of the image, you can see the front edge of the sandstorm approaching.
Faroe Sunset
After a cold, windy hike through the rain, I remember standing with my back to a small lighthouse in the most sheltered direction on the Faroe Islands (and still not sheltered enough). The day so far had been very dreary – lots of rain and hardly any sun. It looked like it would be a non-sunset.
But right as the day ended, the sun broke through the clouds in just the right spot:
A rainbow soon started to form. I frantically set up my tripod while Nasim started to fly his drone, and both of us managed to take a few pictures in quick succession as the conditions grew to be practically perfect for photography.
The rainbow lasted long enough to allow for a multi-image panorama, while Nasim managed not to lose control of his drone in the tricky conditions.
Something about standing in the dullest of conditions in the cold, then suddenly seeing one of the best sunsets of my life, struck me as very emblematic of my experiences with landscape photography. Never count out a sunset, no matter how bad the conditions may look. It could always surprise you.
Fog in the Desert
Another unexpectedly good moment I experienced as a photographer was on our Middle East workshop in early 2020, the last time before the pandemic that I was able to do any meaningful photography. Our group was in the Liwa Desert in Abu Dhabi during a very foggy sunrise, and we had mostly been taking pictures of camels and camel herders. The golden light from sunrise never reached us, but it was fun to take some foggy desert photos anyway.
As we were about to leave, a bit of sun started peeking through the fog. I decided to fly my drone just in case, although I didn’t expect much because it seemed to be foggy in all directions. The initial video feed from the drone confirmed that impression – just clouds and fog everywhere I looked.
Then the drone climbed above the clouds, and a towering view of sand dunes was visible below.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw it on the monitor. As much as I like the photos and videos I took that morning, there’s something about seeing a live feed and controlling the drone’s flight pattern that can’t be replicated online. It was like looking down from the window of a plane, or even flying a plane. Although I know that not all photographers love the idea of drones, that moment made me understand their potential to see the world in a unique way when used carefully.
Your Favorite Moments?
I’d love to hear your best and most memorable moments in photography, whether landscapes or something else. It’s a good time for our readers to have some inspiration! If you need to link to a personal page to complement the story you tell, feel free, and we won’t delete it if it’s not an advertisement (although the comment may be held for approval first). I hope you enjoyed reading about some of mine.
Love all the photos you took! But my favorites is the Faroe Sunset. That perfect rainbow got me.
Very glad you liked that one, thank you!
While traveling in Patagonia, I stopped TO SEE. That’s my operative concept when I am traveling…get out of the car and look around. Noticing the cliffs in the distance, and a light change happening, and while I watched, a rainbow formed in front of the cliffs. A special moment, completely unplanned for and one of those moments of serendipity, once in a lifetime events and no one else is around. SEE IT! SHOOT IT! SHARE IT!
Favorite photo of all time was in 1994 when I got a wonderful natural light shot of my then 2 year old daughter looking out our picture window on a rainy day. Taken with my trusty FM-2 and 50 1.8, it was in profile and she had a longing look wanting to be outside. A lot of great photos since then but none so beautiful.
Stu, that’s awesome! And goes to show how silly it is to obsess over gear. The most meaningful photos have everything to do with the moment you captured, not whether you captured 60 megapixels of your subject’s pores.
Late afternoon, golden hour. My 10 year old son taking off with a good friend in an in-line 2 seat Piper PA-12(? I think), small unrestricted airport. Pine trees south of runway created a dark background. I had a D70 and tele-zoom with me. Low golden sun angle highlighted the leading edges of the plane and faces of my son and friend against the dark background.
I could come close, but probably could never replicate the perfect lighting for the two faces in the plane, and setup of the photo. Did not plan the photo, but I had the camera with me and always kept it set for anticipated opportunities (many years of using manual cameras)
Wow, what a great moment that must have been. It’s always hard to know when something like that will strike in photography. Good on you for keeping a camera around for those opportunities.
Hi there,
I took one of my absolute all-time favorite pictures, when my wife and I hiked to the Cinder Cone in Califonia, back in November 2004, I believe. It had snowed the night before. When we hiked up, it was totally foggy you hardly see the trees 10 meters away from you. But once we reached the Cinder Cone everything cleared up and you could see that cone all in white – in contrast to the pictures you find in travel guides, where the Cone is all black. Due to the bad weather may wife and I were far and wide the only human beings. So our tracks in the snow were the only ones that day.
It´s picture no. 8 in that collection:
www.behance.net/galle…ape-Nature
Cheers,
Ulf
That’s a great story and a very nice photo to accompany it. I like all the photos in your gallery. Thanks for sharing!
Very interesting article, thanks for sharing your experience!
To me one of the most valuable moments in photography are those when I look at the pictures and realize they are exactly what I’ve seen with my own eyes. It probably sounds boring but I’m really happy when the photos do have the same atmosphere as the landscape I was shooting and no great amount of Photoworks magic except for the light color correction is needed.
That doesn’t sound boring, it sounds brilliant! It’s not easy to take a photo that so perfectly matches what you saw or remember. Doubly true if it doesn’t require much post-processing to get there.
I love telling this story. I still scarcely believe my luck.
I was travelling with my family. I hated history in school, but grew up to appreciate how it comes alive if you actually go to the place “where it happened”. We’re in Rouen, France. I’ve always been a sucker for churches, so when we arrived the night before, I promised myself I wouldn’t leave before checking out the church with that giant spire.
The next morning, I’m up early and I decide to go shoot, alone, while my family sleep. It turns out the church is the Cathedrale Notre Dame de Rouen. Inside, it’s a photographer’s dream: light-coloured limestone, flooded with natural light. The cathedral is nearly empty, so I’m under no pressure at all to find good positions and frame my photos. As a complete surprise to me, I stumble across the spot where is buried the heart, of King Richard I, Coeur de Lion, d’Angleterre. It seems unreal to me. I blink. And then I block again….and again, I’m sure. Really? This is really the burial place of the heart – only the heart – of Richard the Lion Heart? Yes, it is. Norman (Plantagenet) kings were, after all, Dukes of Normandie. In his mind, he was still very much a Frenchman. He wished his heart to remain in that Province, of which Rouen is the capital. So, here it is. I have to sit, to take it in.
The photo itself is nothing special: just a nicely exposed “snapshot” of a typical tomb and effigy for an important person in a medieval cathedral. Look it up online, and you’ll find hundreds of versions just as good as mine.
As for the feeling, it’s nearly 14 years ago. I haven’t been able to top it.
I love that story. It sounds like everything came together perfectly, including the unexpected history of the cathedral. Even if other people have taken similar photos, I think it’s untrue to say that yours is nothing special. I’m sure it reminds you of the moment better than any photo on Google could.
It was in October of 2010. I had just gotten my brand new D300s a month before. I was still pretty much a novice photographer. There is a beautiful community on the south shore of Long Island that I go to photograph every autumn. That day I took along my D70, which I still couldn’t part with, and my new D300s, and proceeded to hava a miraculous photography moment. I stopped at one of the lakes in this ultra beautiful neighborhood and stood next to the edge of the water setting up my cameras to shoot, when all of a sudden I noticed that a couple of dozen Canada geese were walking towards me from my right. From across the lake large white ducks, mallards and swans, both adult and juvenile, came swimming right up to me. They surrounded me, some of them climbing out of the water to do so, and let me take their pictures. All told I took over 150 photos with my two cameras, and they stayed until I thanked them and said goodbye. With that they all turned and started walking or swimming away. I watched them leave me not really believing what had just happened. In a few moments I was standing there all by myself, completely awed. I’ve had a few similar experiences since, but nothing ever quite like this. You can see some of those pictures here:
www.elainesphotography.com/galle…-20101119/
Thanks for adding this, Elaine. What a great story and lovely photos. It sounds like the birds wanted their portrait taken that day! I can imagine that moment played a big role in making you so interested in photography.
In 2015 after buying the Sony A7s in 2014 I saw a photo of the Milky Way and tried to find some info, learned the A7s was the best camera for it. It was June, mid season, living in north Florida the only dark sky was over the ocean but facing SE there was a very bright beach city. With my eyes I could see stars but not a visible MW due to city glow. I found a lifeguard stand to make as a foreground subject and pointed to the SE with the FE 1635mm f/4 G lens, I then I saw it on the display perfect with all the colors I saw in Magazines. Software was not really good then but was able to work some and then went and got a print made. I showed it to many family members, they did not believe it. But I was hooked like a scientist with his first microscope. My camera captured something I could not see or anyone else either and still six years later no one believes any image is real just Photoshop stuff. I never worry about light because of that first time, I have captured the MW from lit parking lots and over small towns. Everyone thinks they have to head out west but the east and gulf coasts have great dark skies with lighthouses and piers and no rattlesnakes or just plain rocks or old trees. That A7s still does a great job. A note: while not knowing about the MW when using my T2i, one night I pointed to the SE just for a shot, many years later going over some old captures I spotted the MW in an image and processed it, again could not see with my eyes but it was there the whole time.
www.edgenauxsphotography.org/Portf…-FrKjkn9/A
www.edgenauxsphotography.org/Portf…-jtX6hqf/A
www.edgenauxsphotography.org/Photo…-gjpbVXB/A
Those are all great photos, and the last one in particular is something special. I admit to being one of those photographers who hasn’t considered photographing the Milky Way in such bright areas, but you’re proving to me that it’s possible. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Spencer! Great article, very encouraging, amazing moments. One of the most memorable moments I have recently had was on the island of Menorca (Balearic islands, Spain) at the end of May this year. My dream came true during this trip as I managed to capture an Eurasian hoopoe for the very first time in my life! I was thinking it was impossible to come that close to this beautiful bird but this experience confirms that was not the case. This particular moment inspired and encouraged me to share this photo on Flickr with you: www.flickr.com/photo…ed-public/
Wow, that’s such an amazing bird! I’m thrilled that you were able to photograph it so close.