bucket-list.jpgLike most of you, I got interested in photography after viewing so many other photos that I thought were beautiful, and I thought “I want to be able to do that!” So I started reading, and practicing, and getting a better camera, and upgrading my lenses… and I still haven’t been able to take any of those photos that I drooled over all those years ago.

But I do have a list – what I call my Photo Bucket List – of all the photos I hope to one day capture – no matter how cliche and overdone some of them are, I don’t care, I want them.

Sunrise over water – I tried this once (to say I’m not a morning person would be a vast understatement). You can see my results up there, which isn’t much of a sunrise. The fog was so dense that morning that my view went from completely dark to a blueish-gray fog to white fog. It had to play with the white balance to get those warm colors. Yes. I CHEATED on the only sunrise photo I have. Needless to say, I can’t cross this off the list yet.

Sunset at a beach – When I say beach, I mean a real honest-to-goodness beach – one on the ocean. I think I need a trip to California for this one.

Under the Pier Shot – Hopefully I can get this one at the same trip as the above one.

Foggy tree-lined street – Last year I decided I wasn’t going to buy anymore photographs to put in my house, instead I was going to strive to take good enough photos myself that I’d want to hang in my house. I made that decision, thankfully, after purchasing one of my favorite photos that hangs over my fireplace. It’s of a foggy tree-lined street. I really want to duplicate this shot. Now I need to do is find a tree-lined street and make sure there’s fog there the day that I find it.

Long-exposure waterfall – The main thing that was holding me back from getting this photo was that I didn’t have a tripod. Now that I have one, the main thing that’s holding me back is being willing to set up the tripod when there’s always a large group of people trying to see the falls at the same time I am. I want a good view for my photo, but I always feel like setting up my tripod and getting a good shot is like telling everyone else that ventures down there “hey, my photograph is more important than you enjoying your visit.” Perhaps I need to figure out a time when my favorite falls near me aren’t very crowded!

Panning – I’ve attempted some panning shots before. Let’s just say you won’t see me posting any of those photos.

A lone tree in a field – I’ve seen so many different versions of this photo that I like – ones with brilliant green fields surrounding the trees, ones with fields of wheat, ones that are black and white, and ones that are snow-covered. Now, if I could just find a field with one lone tree in it….

One great wedding photo – I don’t want to be a wedding photographer. I’ve actually had nightmares before that friends get married and their photographer drops out at the last minute and they ask me to take over. Nightmares! That being said, I bring my camera to every wedding I’ve been to, and I’d like to get one good shot of the bride and groom.

A group jumping shot – I’ve taken a few photos of myself jumping, but nothing that compares to a group shot. I’m picturing either one on a beach, or one in the middle of a street with no cars on it.

A baseball bat hitting the ball – I don’t go to many baseball games, but whenever I do, I try to get a shot of the instant the bat connects with the ball. Maybe I’d have a better shot of getting this photo if I was a fan of a winning baseball team.

A silhouette of a couple kissing – especially if I combined this with the sunset on the beach. Even better if I could get myself in there as one half of the couple.

Baby detail photos – You know, of tiny feet and minuscule hands, and itty bitty ears. I don’t plan to have any children of my own, so I don’t have much control over when I’ll ever have an opportunity to take photos like this.

The good news is, while I haven’t been able to cross any photos off of this list yet, I know that the photos that have taken are all getting me one step closer to being able to get these “dream shots” of mine.

So, what’s on your photo bucket list?

About the Author: Jennifer Jacobs is an amateur photographer who runs iffles.com – a site for photography beginners. She’s also addicted to flickr and you can follow her stream here.

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