Sometimes you only get one shot

As much as I’m a big advocate of experimenting with your digital camera, there are times where you only get one shot. Today, at the tour de Grandview bike races, which are run within a few blocks of our house, so it’s really easy to walk down and do some shooting, I was setting myself up for the end of the Women’s race. Obviously, the end of a race is a good opportunity to get a shot of the winner crossing the finish line.

Today, I was very prepared for the end of the race. I had the zoom lens on the camera, I had gotten into position to have clear view of the finish line, and it was a bright sunny day, so I should have a pretty easy time of it.

On top of that, I also had a bit of luck, it was a close race, coming down to a final sprint, and there was even a very excited reaction by the winner, just as she came into the frame of my shot. Couldn’t have asked for a better shot, really.

Despite all that, the camera didn’t quite adjust the way I would want to her motion, and despite an incredibly sharp focus on everything else in the frame, her reaction is slightly blurry. (Click for larger image)

It’s not the shot it could have been, and there’s no going back to get it again. But, I can learn from it, and try something slightly different the next time. There are always opportunities to take photos and learn from our mistakes. There’s no use crying over the one that got away.

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