Sometimes you get amazingly lucky, and then sometimes you don't. Kevin Gilbert and I just finished leading a photo trek of Greece for American Photo. We had a lot of fun with a great group of people, and everyone headed home with some new photos and new ideas for their photography. We started the trip in Athens, with an afternoon tour of the town and the Acropolis, who's most famous feature is the Parthenon, visible from much of Athens.

That night we went out to dinner, and saw a beautiful crescent moon in the sky. A couple in our group who'd come to Athens ahead of us said that the night before the view from the rooftop bar was spectacular, with the moon setting behind the Parthenon. Arriving back at the hotel, a group of us decided to see for ourselves, and headed to the roof. On the way up, I hopped out of the elevator to get my tripod, while Kevin went on up with the others. It only took a couple of minutes, but those are minutes I wish I could get back.

When I arrived on the roof, the moon was already just above the top corner of the building. By the time I got my tripod set up and lens mounted (maybe two minutes), I got one good shot before it was completely obscured (that's the photo above). Kevin got a better one (imagine the moon a bit higher). Arriving before me, he created a platform out of a second camera and a pile of napkins on the bar, and shot enough exposures to be sure that one would be sharp. Those few minutes made all the difference.

We knew we'd be back at the same hotel a week later for our last night in Greece. The moon was fuller, but also would be setting much later, in the early morning hours, when the bar would be closed. That meant we wouldn't get the shot of the moon behind it. We still went back to the roof, as a number of people had passed on the first opportunity the week before, and it was a nice shot of the Acropolis. To have a little fun, I used both the Image Overlay and Multiple Exposure features on the Nikon D200 I was shooting, and created an absurd shot of five moons over the Parthenon.

Having a drink at the rooftop bar and viewing the Acropolis at night was a great way to end the trip. But whenever I think of the Acropolis, I'll think about the difference those few minutes made. Photography's often about timing, and in this case, mine was off by just a bit.