The image above was not the image I hoped to come away with. Sometimes you just have happy accidents. Moments that can turn in an instant from frustration and annoyance to…delight and excitement. This was one of those moments.
For some time I’ve been trying to capture sunset shots at Reculver. Always the results have been disappointing. Sometimes that sky over my house south of Canterbury doesn’t necessarily translate into a great sunset sky 30mins drive away on the coast. In fact, it seems to rarely lead to that. But, will, it gets me out of the house and taking in some fresh sea air, which I shouldn’t complain about (especially after all this time stuck indoors due to That Thing).
Not only had I been aiming to get a decent sunset, I’d also been thinking about getting a good angle on the Wantsum outlet there. It’s a cliche shot, but I’d not really caught a low tide at Reculver in order to catch it and sometimes you just need to get that cliche shot. Just once. Just so you can say you’ve done it.
On this occasion, things didn’t go to plan. I arrived, excited at the possibilities only to find…someone had the spot. Dammit. That composition I had in my mind, just wasn’t there anymore. So I looked around. Tried to see something I could still do. After all, I wasn’t driving here for nothing, fresh air or not.
And then I spotted a strip of beach going into the sea. A little sandy peninsula with a good angle. Maybe this would be a consolation. Maybe this would make the loss of the original plan…not quite so bad.
I set up. The water was still. The air was calm. This could be it. I just needed to wait for the light…I dialled in the settings and waited…
The moment came. I checked my settings. Clicked the shutter and waited. I hit it again. And waited. Checked the screen. I moved a little. Checked the settings. Hit the shutter. Checked the screen.
Suddenly that crushing disappointment at not getting the composition I was after, turned to delight that I’d found a better composition than I had previously thought possible. I looked at the guy who had the shot I aimed for, and I was grateful. Without him, I’d not have found this shot. I would have gone home with another cliche shot of the water tumbing out onto the beach. I still want that shot. But on this evening, I was glad I missed out.
Sometimes a scuppered plan gives you a better opportunity.