With a husband, two kids and a day job, it takes a well-orchestrated day to drive to San Francisco for an afternoon of shooting. I picked a day when we had record high temperatures and lots of sun. I packed up my gear and headed out hoping that the perfect day for capturing the Golden Gate Bridge was right in front of me.
I started at Fort Point, which is a popular place for surfers, joggers and photographers alike. I tried to time the shoot so that I’d have some nice late afternoon light to work with, but when I got there, the sky was hazy and the light flat and diffuse. I was frustrated that I wasn’t going to get the spectacular ‘golden’ shot of the bridge that I have seen other photographers easily capture. But the weather was warm and I was thankful that the wind wasn’t blowing too hard. I waited a bit. I got some shots of the surfers and of the cargo ships underneath the bridge. They are nice, but I wanted my golden orange bridge.
I drove across the bridge to the Marin Headlands. I figured I could at least get the easy, picturesque shot that everyone gets of the bridge with just a click of the shutter. No such luck — the lingering haze created a flat, boring frame. However, there are many places to pull over and shoot the city skyline and the bridge from the road up the headlands. I stopped at all of them but still couldn’t seem to get an interesting shot. A bird hung out and let me photograph him a few times, but I was discouraged at the thought that I was going to come home without the shot I was after.
I reluctantly packed up my gear and got back in the car. Then, in a last ditch effort, I told my friend who was driving to put the top down on her car. I figured that as we drove across the bridge, I could get my camera up over the windshield, get my wide lens ready and just start shooting. As we approached the bridge I had my camera positioned and ready. I set it on continuous shooting and held down the shutter. It worked. At the end of the day, I came away with a set of images that I never would have taken had I not been frustrated with my previous efforts. If I had captured that pretty shot of the bridge with a sunset or a spectacular skyline in the background, I would have never been pushed to try something new.
So, is it luck or skill or creativity? I think it a combination of all three. You have to have a little skill to get the right exposure, but you also have to take some chances. Some luck with the weather or a surprise in your image can get you a standout shot. You have to have creativity in order to take what presents itself and do something great with it. Had the weather been picture-perfect, I would have been content with my first Golden Gate angle and come home with an image that has been taken hundreds of times by just as many tourists. Instead, I wound up with some satisfying shots and some unexpected memories of my day in the city.
So try to look for the image from a perspective that no one’s thought of yet. Move around, drive around. When the unexpected happens, don’t be discouraged. That’s just the time to put your original plans aside and see where your skills will take you.
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Managing a family, a day job and working on a growing photography business takes more than a good juggling act. Succeeding at all three takes commitment, a time management plan, and setting goals. It’s easy for kids and family schedules to derail even the most well-organized plans. Knowing what to do when these things happen will help keep you on track. 
When it starts to rain, do you head inside with your camera and wait for the sun to come out? If so, you’re missing out on many opportunities to capture some 
