Failed photos: the ones I saved
Remember the days when we had to wait several days in great anticipation for our holiday photos to be developed, only to discover that more than half of them could be thrown out? Failed photos caused by too much light, too little light, shaky hands or unforeseen circumstances like someone running into the shot just as the camera goes click! Then came the digital age. I remember my very first failed photo on my brand new digital camera. It was an amazing experience to be able to recall the image, confirm that it was indeed a rubbish shot, then hit ‘DELETE’! Wow!
Since that very first time, I’ve taken thousands of failed pictures and deleted almost all of them. I did save some of them though for a variety of reasons. Some turned out rather artistic-looking or downright quirky while some were saved for sentimental reasons or simply because of the hilarity of the situation. Most of the failed shots were taken during a mobile situation, i.e. taken from a vehicle, or at night (I’m still learning how to work the settings for night photography!). Here are some of my favourite failed photos. Enjoy! 
Loved these fish in an aquarium in a restaurant in Bruges. I tried different angles & settings to get rid of the reflections but nothing worked. This shot turned out pretty cool though.
I was in a taxi and wanted to take a shot of the Balinese rice fields. I clicked just as these two guys on a motorbike decided to overtake the taxi! LOL!
I had a great view from my seat in the bus of the walled-town of Morella, but this tree got in the way.
Another shot from a car. We were at the base of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur. I whipped out my camera but the traffic light turned green the moment I clicked.
I wanted to capture the stunning view from my plane seat of the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean when the pilot changed course. Instead of the sunset, I got a picture of the plane's wing like it was on fire!
It was a clear night and Kuala Lumpur looked like a shimmering fairyland from my plane window. The Petronas Twin Towers were unmistakable. Too bad I didn't have my tripod with me - my hands were too shaky to get a decent shot.
Um…you may have just exposed the secret behind my “logo” on my science writing website!
Hi Meena,
Hope to see you in a few weeks.
Same here. I have more failed photos in the digital age than before.
Cheers,
Keith
Hehe, I have my fair share of failed photographs pre-digital. Ironically, I have more failed photographs now compared to then simply because in the pre-digital days I put in a lot more care before I pressed the button! I like your pic of the fish in the aquarium. Very surreal.
Meena.
Hi Peter & Mark,
Thanks for your comments! Make sure you save those ‘failed’ photos.
Cheers,
Keith
PS Actually the Petronas Towers Struck By Lightning make a strong contender as well…:-)
A couple are quite artistic
And yes, that wing shot is the winner!
Great “saves” Keith! I especially love the one of the Petronas Towers….what a COOL effect!!
Thanks for dropping by Bo. Glad you like my blog!
Cheers,
Keith
Love to travel, and this blog has the same type of posts as I could see having on my own some day.
Stumbled across it by an tweet about @flipboard.
Now it’s locked and loaded in my RSS.
Thanks.
Thanks for your comment Melvin.
Cheers,
Keith
Great post!
I keep some of my failure shots as they turn out to be quite “unique”. I really like your fist one with the fishes!
That’s a nice idea, Keith! I love the photo of the Petronas tower at night. Not that sure that I would call it a failed shot…
what fun! i like the failed photos – they make me happy for being even more real.
That’s so funny — I was just thinking the other day how the phenomenon of coming home from a trip and running to get your film developed is gone… I’d be so excited and then of course a little disappointed at how few “perfect” shots there were.
I really like the goldfish picture, though!
There’s always a story behind a quirky or “failed” shot — that’s what’s so great about it! Human and real, and it completely reminds you that it was you taking the shot at a particular place and time, with a particular mood and mindset. Love it.
Hi M,
So true! I like to think of some of my failed photos as accidental masterpieces too.
Cheers,
Keith
Sometimes, the failed photo becomes an accidental “masterpiece”
I have a friend who almost deleted a shot of an oft photographed Paris view. As a whim, he submitted it to a photo competition, and what do you know? It won. Okay, just an honourable mention. Still….
Thanks Nico! The plane wing and the Balinese rice field are two of my faves from this series. I couldn’t stop laughing when I checked my camera screen and saw the two helmets zooming through my picture. LOL!
Cheers,
Keith
P.S. That wing shot rules!
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have thousands of shots like this that I can’t bear to delete, but most will probably never see the light of day. Thanks for sharing these, Keith. And yes, the delete button is one of the great crimes of the digital age.