Study the photo above well. Please take note of the perfect timing, the sharp focus with just enough blur to convey the sense of movement....
You are looking at a photo of a Northern Harrier (AKA Marsh Hawk), who was startled in flight by a pair of passing Sandhill Cranes that flew passed the hawk.
The Marsh hawk reacted by flaring to the right, outstretching his legs and razor sharp talons, his beak slightly opened as if he was about to say "what the hell?!", Note the reaction of the Sandhill crane closest to the hawk, as it flares to the left, and turns its long neck towards the hawk, its beak wide open calling out a sound that would warn others of the danger he has just encountered. All of this is set against a perfect azure blue autumnal sky, with Fields of golden corn stalks below the birds, stretching back to the horizon to a line of leafless trees rising up on a ridge.
This was the .NEF file on my Nikon, a company I now have major issues with. I first looked at the picture as my family and I pulled into a restaurant to have some lunch after a morning of watching the Sandhills during their annual migration through Ewings Bottoms, Indiana. I was in awe, it could have easily been the very best nature photo I have ever taken with a few minor tweaks to the raw picture file to adjust the exposure a bit to bring out the details in the feathers on the surprised hawk.
Did you see all of that in the photo? Of course you did not! As I stood there in amazement wondering if this actually my camera I had been looking at the pictures on, I showed the photo to my daughter, got a very satisfying grin spreading across my face and decided if this was the only picture I got that day, that week, that month, it was worth the 150 mile round trip we had driven that day looking for the cranes.
So true to form when my stupidity takes over, I silently give myself a mental high five, and the proceed to DELETE THE PHOTO! So why do I have an issue with Nikon now? That's simple, instead of asking only twice if I am sure I want to delete the file, it should have asked 4 or 5 times!!
When we went into the eatery, I started clearing out bad photos, ones that were to blurry, or just drab, when I came across that one nearly perfect photo, I saw it, I shared it with my family and I proceeded to delete it.
Needless to say my wife and daughter got a good laugh out of it, I threw a good fit because of it, and I have no started "locking" any photos that I think have potential every chance I get!