Ever wish you'd taken more pictures?

ancient_mariner

ancient_mariner

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Went for an afternoon coffee break photo-walk, now I'm thinking of the pictures I didn't take that would frame the story. [emoji849][emoji35]
 
Often been out with the family and wish I had spent more time taking photographs, but it is family time and not right for me to spend ages trying to take the photo I want.
 
yep, every day, but it's always photo's of people I've lost, and I regret not forcing myself to take pictures of them when I could...



(I've always pretty much hated taking pictures of people - not LOOKING at the pictures, I love that, just the act of taking them, because i'm not tactful enough to "direct" people's actions, and I'm way too OCD to cope with just pressing the shutter and letting the light rays fall as they may)
 
People are something else, and I wish I had more photos of my father. That's a little different from what I was originally thinking though.
 
Like Mark, huge regrets that I didn't take more photos of much loved relatives now departed.

Got a few snapshots but nothing I'd frame.
 
On a simmilar note to lost relatives.. i see people post really poor..and i mean really poor pics of there pets after they die.. pets they treat as part of the family and not one decent picture....
 
I must admit that even owning cats for most of my life, I only have about half a dozen photos I would put on the wall. Even setting time aside to actually take pics of them, I almost always end up with nothing special.
 
The problem with photographing my cat is that she's very fond of me. As soon as I point a camera at her she jumps up and starts walking towards me. So most of my photographs of her are either of her fast asleep, or else taken sneakily from a distance with a long lens.
 
Ed Sutton said:
I wish I'd taken more thirty or forty years ago when I look back through my old negs and prints.
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Yes, I have massive similar regrets.
Places I have seen, animals and people that were major parts of my life. All taken for granted at the time on the assumption I could see them anytime I wanted. Once they are gone or changed they are lost for eternity.
 
When I travel a distance to do a photo-essay on a particular church I generally find I neglected to take the one critical photo that would tie the whole thing together. Going back to take that one photo might take a couple of years - but I eventually do.
 
Not more pictures, but just, sometimes, better pictures ...
 
KIPAX said:
On a simmilar note to lost relatives.. i see people post really poor..and i mean really poor pics of there pets after they die.. pets they treat as part of the family and not one decent picture....
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I just posted a pic of our recently deceased Cat, it wasn't the most amazing image but it showed her placid nature - pics of pets do not have to be technically sound either - either way I have hundreds of her, just happened to choose that one. An image of a deceased pet doesn't have to be a work of art to you, it's about what it means to the owners
 
Cagey75 said:
I just posted a pic of our recently deceased Cat, it wasn't the most amazing image but it showed her placid nature - pics of pets do not have to be technically sound either - either way I have hundreds of her, just happened to choose that one. An image of a deceased pet doesn't have to be a work of art to you, it's about what it means to the owners
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Yes, any old picture brings back memories.
 
arclight said:
Yes, any old picture brings back memories.
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Precisely, I don't know where people get off thinking such images warrant their 'expert' critique. Sometimes photographers are way too up themselves. I don't see why an image of a deceased pet should be any more special because it has shallow DOF, is noise free and art gallery worthy
 
NO.


I sometimes wish I had taken more, meaningful, pictures though.
 
I wish I had understood the workings of my camera when I was younger to take more thoughtful pictures, it’s only now I’m older have I spent the time to learn how to use my camera do I enjoy taking pics.
 
Gsrai said:
I wish I had understood the workings of my camera when I was younger to take more thoughtful pictures, it’s only now I’m older have I spent the time to learn how to use my camera do I enjoy taking pics.
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It's never to late to start learning, and great that you've done so now.
 
ancient_mariner said:
It's never to late to start learning, and great that you've done so now.
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thanks, I guess my regret is all those places I've been and I didn't capture a "moment".

My aim these days is to always comeback with 1 image from the day that is a "moment" or a "memory" so when I look back on my small group of Flickr pictures every image invokes an emotion.
 
Hi, when looking at old travel pics from 20 or even 30 years ago, I find that pics that were looked upon as mere everyday snapshots at the time,
become more interesting over the years. Many reasons for this, I suppose. Our environment changes, and so do our personalities ...

But in the film days of the 70s, 80s or 90s, if you used 1 roll/day you were a "power-user" already ... ---
 
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I still have an un-processed roll of colour film sat on my desk - probably 15 or more years old now. :oops: :$

Having shot film for the first time in many years just a few weeks back, I kind of enjoyed the experience but made sure all the images were scanned to CD. :cool:
 
Hi, from 1973 to 2003 I made 10000 slides, I scanned in 2005 (with the negatives, and those of my wife). After scanning I sold the Coolscan to a colleague,
and never went back to film again.

The film rolls and cartridges in the fridge I threw away, but I kept all my film cameras ... ---
 
munch said:
Often been out with the family and wish I had spent more time taking photographs, but it is family time and not right for me to spend ages trying to take the photo I want.
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Have to say, i'm a bit like this. For instance, I spent half a day on Saturday out with the camera, then the wife wanted to go somewhere for a drive and wander on Sunday. She asked if I was going to take my camera and I said no, as I spent that time the day before and wanted to give her my attention. Maybe another time, I would take my camera, but thought it would be nice without it

It's funny coming across this thread this morning, as I needed to sort a cupboard out last night, and came across a box of stuff that had been tucked away 12 years ago when my wife's mum died. In it, were 100s of photos taem going back to the 20s. Army shots from places like India, old family shots of great, great relatives - all sorts, and it was amazing seeing them all, and hearing my wife talk about these family members.

So, yes, I personally wish i'd taken more family images at the very least
 
I don't consider myself to be a 'photographer' in the sense that I rarely, if ever, go somewhere with the sole purpose of taking photos.

I go places. I take my camera. And I take some shots while I'm there.

So most of the time, my wife and daughter will get bored of waiting for me to catch them up as I've stopped to take a picture of something. So sometimes I don't take as long as I'd like to. Waiting 15 minutes for the clouds to move might be fine when you're out by yourself, but when with family and friends, it's sometimes hard to justify.

So there are times when I've thought I'd like to have had longer, taken the time to get the details etc.

And like everyone else, I wish I'd had even had a camera when I was younger as every now and again, an old school friend will post something to Facebook and it brings back memories.
 
I always wish I'd taken more pictures because I would have been enjoying my hobby more.
As for archiving, I rarely keep more than a handful per outing.
 
justpix said:
Hi, when looking at old travel pics from 20 or even 30 years ago, I find that pics that were looked upon as mere everyday snapshots at the time, become more interesting over the years. Many reasons for this, I suppose. Our environment changes, and so do our personalities ...
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Indeed.

I'm in the middle of scanning my negatives from the late 1970s and early 1980s. My intention was to scan the 'best pictures', but there are so many more which show places and people no longer around or drastically changed which are far more interesting for what they depict rather than how they depict it.

That's one reason I think it's important to photograph the mundane all the time. And to make the pictures in a form which will survive rather than die with the smartphone.
 
Ed Sutton said:
Indeed.

I'm in the middle of scanning my negatives from the late 1970s and early 1980s. My intention was to scan the 'best pictures', but there are so many more which show places and people no longer around or drastically changed which are far more interesting for what they depict rather than how they depict it.

That's one reason I think it's important to photograph the mundane all the time. And to make the pictures in a form which will survive rather than die with the smartphone.
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I've always found it fascinating to see a scene you know well in a completely different light. High streets pre-pedestrianisation for example, or before a massive super-market on the edge of town killed the individual shops. But as you say, hardly anyone takes pictures of the mundane.
 
I should probably acquire a scanner some time. :p

A lot of my travel photos are the way they are because I shoot on the fly. Also having to run to catch someone up while carrying a bag full of gear does boost fitness. I do intentionally go out alone sometimes, but not usuall while visiting interesting places abroad.

Hudson Henry has a vlog about photography and the family.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48QPF7PR1yU&t=10s
 
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