The "Kicked my Butt" Photo Collection

What's worse than the "Coulda-Shoulda" collection?  How about the "that location Kicked my Butt" collection?  It's the collection that's full of images you've attempted, but you just can't seem to get "the shot" even though you know it's there.

Everyone has off days.  You've planned a shoot at a beautiful location, your gear is in fine working order and while the camera is "clicking", the photos fall short for whatever reason.  It's when you visit that location multiple times and STILL can't walk away with a "wall worthy" shot that you begin to file into the "Kicked my Butt" collection.  Cave Point County Park in Door County is one of those locations for me.

I've blogged before that my wife and I like to spend time in the Door County Peninsula during the Wisconsin summer and fall months.  We've been to this location MANY times and I've seen some spectacular shots from other photographers of this location.  It's one of the reasons I keep going back... I KNOW there are keepers to be had.  They just continue to elude me.

I'm not overly upset by Cave Point because I know someday I'll get that "wall worthy" shot.  What worries me more is not being able to pinpoint the "why" behind my walking away without shots which impress me.  There will come a day where I find myself looking through the viewfinder at a scene that is not someplace that I can frequent over and over, perhaps the Grand Canyon or the Southwest deserts around Sedona.  Then what?

Do you have a "location that Kicked my Butt" collection?  Did you eventually find your way past "sleepers" and into the "keepers"?  If so, do you have any advice for the rest of us?