Sometimes I wake up early and can’t get back to sleep. I’ve started taking advantage of those times by grabbing my camera and going out in search of photo opportunities. Not long ago, I was saying to a fellow photographer that sometimes when I go out shooting, I don’t come back with any remarkable images, but I always learn something. Such was the case on this morning.

My destination was the Klamath River and my goal was to capture the river at sunrise. As I was driving through the Shasta Valley, on my way to the river, I noticed there was mist in the valley around the Shasta River. The Shasta River is much smaller than the Klamath, in fact, it’s barely more than a creek. So I thought to myself, if there is mist at the small river, there will be mist at the big river. And on I drove. First lesson: never pass up a good shot in hopes of a better one. There was no mist at the Klamath River.

When I got there, I couldn’t find a good vista, and the sun was about to break the horizon. So, I switched lenses and decided to look for wildlife instead. There is abundant wildlife in the area, and I knew I would see something.

I wasn’t having much luck at the river, so I headed up and over the dam to Iron Gate Reservoir. I was wandering around down by the boat ramp and empty campground, when two men arrived in a pickup towing a boat. I watched them put the boat in the water, climb on board, untangle their fishing poles, and head out in the lake. It must have been their first fishing trip of the year as they seemed very enthusiastic and happy to be there. Just as they got out of the cove and onto the lake, it started raining lightly. Second lesson: photography is a lot like fishing. Some days are better than others, but they’re all good.

I did manage to come home with one photograph that was a keeper that morning, but the lessons were far more valuable.