When Accidents Happen

I think photographic “accidents” usually end up being quite interesting. Though my initial response when one occurs is frequently a bit of anger, it often turns out that some accidents should be welcomed. The results are never able to be anticipated and often turn out to be a wonderful surprise.

What type of accidents am I referring to? For sure, not the ones where the wind blows your tripod over or your new 25-600 f1.8 VR IS lens goes tumbling down the side of a hill. I am referring to accidents where unanticipated interference occurs. You are all set up to take a shot and a gust of wind blows the trees or flowers and you end up with an unexpected impressionistic shot. Perhaps a person walks into the frame or a boat comes along while you’re shooting a body of water.

Here is an accident that occurred to me. I was on a workshop at the Oregon Coast and was photographing a lighthouse from a parking lot. The shot was nice, but probably never going to be a ‘winner’ because the community had stopped turning on the light in the lighthouse. It turns out (at least this is what I was told, I don't know if it is really true) that there really is no longer a need for lighthouses these days, as boats have GPS guidance systems and the captain knows where they are even in the dark. The lighthouse, I am told, ended up being lit only for tourist purposes and since the town had little in the way of revenue they were no longer turning it on.

But, while I was taking the shot, another car pulled into the parking lot with its headlights on. My initial reaction was mild displeasure at ruining my shot for the moment, but I took it anyway. To be honest, I rather like the resultant warm light on the stones, which is from the cars headlights. In fact, I like it more than the straight shot that I took after the headlights were turned off.

Coquille River Lighthouse
Copyright Howard Grill

Maybe putting ourselves into a position where ‘an accident is bound to happen’ isn’t such a bad idea after all......