I have taken that advice to heart and will go to great lengths to try to "make" a good photo. I have 4 cameras, not counting iPhone and iPad cameras, loads of lenses, filters, lights, radio-controlled remotes, etc.I have a really nice tripod along with a mono-pod, a monster clamp etc. to put myself in the position to "make" an image.
I spend hours in blinds waiting for birds to put themselves just right for me to take their picture. I travel long distances to be in the right place at the right time to "make" the right image.
Then I put the image on my computer and manipulate it with Lightroom and Photoshop in search of my own Adams-like image.
But...and you knew there would be one, right? Some of the best images I have "made, " came at a point when no preparation was possible other than having a camera handy.
this image is a perfect example. Mary and I were on a train in the North Carolina mountains, mostly riding through woods with an occasional glimpse at a mountain vista or a farm house or creek. So it was in this state, combined with a rocking train, fighting sleep, that I looked to my right and saw the barn that became the image below. I had time to raise my camera to my eye, try for the best composition and press the shutter button, all in a matter of 5 seconds before my view was again of woods. A slight crop in Lightroom, some minor PS adjustments, and this is what I "made."
Image taken with Canon 7D, EF 28-135mm, at 127mm, at f/7.1, 1/250 sec ISO 200
This image is maybe an even better example of serendipity at work. It was taken from a moving car with an iPhone! Again, in the North Carolina mountains, this time in late December 2010, following an impressive snow-fall, my son and I were driving down the highway when the barn appeared. I had my phone in my hand so I handed it to Jonathan and directed "shoot it!" We weren't able to slow or stop so the image "made" is what you see (later cropped in Lightroom.) I returned the next day with my cameras but the sky was different and, although I made some good images, none quite compared to this one.
Taken with Apple iPhone 4, Exposure 1/2000 at f/2.8, ISO 80
The morale of my story is that one should make every effort to "make" a photograph but should never forego shooting when the opportunity presents, even if preparation is not possible. Great images can be "made" that way too!
Really like this post because as you point out some of the best images are "stumbled upon". Those can be great because the shooter may not overthink the process because that image may pass them by.
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