Do you have aspirational shots, i.e. images that you really want to be able to take? This past weekend I took this shot of two ducks, a male and a female, coming in for a landing in the water, with reflections of the fall foliage in the water in the distance. This is the kind of shot I aspire to shoot, for both technical and artistic reasons. I didn’t manage to produce a great image during this first attempt this past weekend at a local suburban pond, but I gave myself something to shoot for, a future goal. With practice and good fortune, I hope to be able to produce a better image. In the mean time, I’m happy with my initial effort at shooting synchronized duck dancing.
Duck pas de deux in the fall
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I like to give myself challenges like that all the time. The temptation is to keep moving the bar higher so I never get a chance to enjoy it.
For me, the first time that I capture an image of something, it is really special, even if the photo is not that great. After that, I agree with you that the is a temptation to follow the words of the Rolling Stones song, “I can’t get no satisfaction, but I try…”
I think it’s an excellent shot. I have a long list of things I’d like to photograph, but the real challenge is in finding them first.
Sometimes the search is the fun part. For reasons that are not entirely clear to me, I want to photograph a frog sitting on a lily pad. I’ve looked at lots of lily pads but have yet to see (much less photograph) a frog on one.
It’s always good to have an excuse to go out. I got to be a master at it. Domesticity isn’t at the top of my priorities.