Every journalist will eventually have that moment where the perfect photo that tells the story doesn’t get captured for whatever reason.

Batteries ran out at the wrong time. Memory card gets full at the wrong time. Something else got in the way.

I’ve had all of those happen. But what happened to me on Wednesday at Hampton Roads Executive Airport was because of just plain old being unprepared for the moment.

I was covering 16-year-old Mitchell Hynes’ first solo flight in a helicopter. Wednesday was his birthday, and it was the first day he could legally solo on his own.

He has been around aircraft all of his life. His grandfather and father were both in the U.S. Air Force. His father owns Hampton Roads Helicopters, and one of his uncles works there, too. All of his uncles on his dad’s side are involved in aviation.

So it was a natural progression that Mitchell, too, would take to flight. He has been hopping in the helicopter or the airplane with his father for about six years now, and his dad had been training him in anticipation of Wednesday finally arriving.

Mitchell and his dad, Dave Hynes, took flight together first on Wednesday to make sure Mitchell was feeling comfortable with the helicopter. They then returned and set the chopper down and sat there for a few minutes.

I saw Dave begin to get out of the chopper and gather his stuff. Mitchell was still sitting in the helicopter. At this point, I knew Mitchell had made the decision to take off on his own.

But it wasn’t until Dave bowed his head under the force of the rotors and started to walk away from the chopper that I saw the photo. And I missed it, because my camera was off and swinging at my side.

It marked the moment that every parent experiences many times — that moment when they know they have to walk away, and they bow their head and pray that they have done the best they can training their child in the way he should go.

The full emotional force of the moment hit me, and I scrambled to get my camera on and into position. I got a shot, but it didn’t run in the newspaper. Dave is at the far right of the frame, but he’s no longer bowing his head — he’s struggling to get his jacket on. Mitchell can be seen in the helicopter at the far left of the frame, appearing to bow his head as well. It’s technically imperfect. There might as well be a mile of dead space between son and father.

But when Mitchell lifted off, I’m sure his dad was right there with him — guiding him through every adjustment of the lever and flick of the switch and radio transmission, which his parents listened to on a radio, beaming with pride.

I may not have gotten the perfect photo, but it was a perfect day for the entire Hynes family. Congratulations to Mitchell and all of his relatives who have helped train and launch him.