When I first started getting serious about photography, I had a number of pictures that I very much wanted to capture. Think of it as a bucket list of locations, subjects, styles, etc. of images I want in my portfolio of personal favorites. A picture of the Eiffel Tower (hyperlink) is one example. A picture of a bald eagle souring through the air is another. A picture of my wife standing in front of a giant redwood tree is another. I still need to get the bald eagle photograph.
These images are generally taken for the photographer’s personal gratification. They are often, as one judge of a recent camera-club competition pointed out, clichés. I thought that term was a bit negative, but the judge’s point is that they are seldom unique. They often have hundreds or thousands of very similar images on the various image-sharing services. That doesn’t make them bad; it just limits the interest people other than the photographer will have in the photograph.
The above image fulfilled two of my bucket-list items. And there is a chance that it is also a unique photograph. There are countless images of lightning strikes. There are countless images of the Hungarian parliament building on the Danube River in Budapest. What an amazingly beautiful building in an incredible setting.
And, while I believe that there are few truly unique photographs left to be taken, I don’t think there are many of lightning striking the Hungarian Parliament building. The second lightning strike was just good fortune.
So, the moral is – if you like the scene in front of you, take the picture. If it’s on your bucket list, take the picture. Do it for yourself and don’t worry about what grumpy camera-club judges think.