Photos that should have been but weren't

Today's post will be slightly different than my others. You see it will not have a photo with it. The reason it won't have a photo is because unfortunately, none were taken. Let me explain.

Some 40 odd years ago while living in Syracuse NY, my wife and I were invited to go cross country skiing with some very good friends. Now Jean and I had never been skiing before, but, we gladly accepted the invitation, knowing it would be a good day, with good friends.

So the morning of the big day came. It had snowed during the night,  and we woke to one of those beautiful,  days you only dream about but rarely see except except in your dreams, movies or on postcards. You know the kind I'm talking about. Heavy, fluffy snow hanging from the trees. A perfect, unblemished landscape stretching in all directions. It was a beautiful sight. So, I decided to take my trusty camera along to record all the events and beauty the day would have to offer.

We arrive at the skiing area, rent our skis, and tried to set out for the trails. I say tried because as I said neither of us had ever been on skis of any kind before. Being to proud to admit it would be wise to take lessons, we set out like the two adventurers we thought we were. Fortunately for us, it was early morning and the trails still had nice soft snow to fall on.

Between trying to figure out how to stop, start, and change direction, I was busy taking pictures of the beautiful winter landscape surrounding us. I was so engrossed in trying to figure out the mechanics of cross country skiing, I didn't notice for some time just how many photos I had taken. After a couple of hours though, it dawned on me that I should have run out of film at some point. So, we stopped and I rewound the film back into its canister as I didn't want to expose it and opened the back of the camera only to find (drum roll here), I had forgot to put film in the camera.

Yep that's right. I forgot to put film in the camera. A mistake that most photographers have made at least once (the honest ones anyway). Today it would be the same as forgetting to put a data card in your digital camera. (Something I have also done.)So we have no photo record of that beautiful day, and we never again went skiing again either.

Now you know why I titled this "Photos that should have been but weren't". The moral of this story is obvious. Before leaving for the day, check your gear and make sure you have everything you need.