Life Lesson from a Photographic Failure
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Welcome back to Wild Notes! In this series, take a walk on the wild side with Kevin to see the natural world from the perspective of a seasoned naturalist.
On June 17, 2023, Julie and I were out for a walk when we passed a spot where we knew a coyote den was tucked away. As I glanced over, one of the pups peeked out, perfectly framed by the surrounding vegetation. I raised my camera and fired off a few quick shots—just before he vanished back into his den.
It was only when I checked my camera that I realized my mistake. I hadn’t bothered to check my settings beforehand, and—well, let’s just say they were a little off. OK, very off. The preview images were nearly pitch black. I figured I’d missed my chance. But apparently, when I uploaded my photos from that day to my computer, those underexposed coyote shots came along for the ride.
The image as it appeared before any edits were applied. Just looked like a missed shot to me at the time.
Fast forward to today. While digging through my archives, I found those seemingly blank shots and had no idea what they were. Out of curiosity, I nudged the exposure slider up in the digital darkroom—and suddenly, there he was. The little coyote I had locked eyes with that day. The image was a mess: grainy, soft, and with awful color. But that curious expression? It was still there.
The detail that was hiding just below the surface of the underexposed shot.
Determined to salvage the moment, I got to work. Using multiple editing programs, I cleaned up the graininess, adjusted the tones, and finally converted the image to black and white—because the color was beyond saving. It’s not perfect, but it still takes me right back to that fleeting encounter.
I’ve included the final image, the untouched original, and a middle stage—the moment when I first increased the exposure—just to show how much can be recovered with a little patience (and a lot of editing).
The final, edited photo. It's not what I had originally envisioned, but I still like it.
Sometimes in life, you take a shot at something and feel like you’ve completely missed the mark. But if you work with what you have—putting in the effort, making adjustments—you might realize that what you were looking for was there all along, just waiting to be uncovered.
