You are expressing personal vision, not launching a space shuttle. You are creating art and expressing personal vision and the film is only a way to do it. A matter of how you choose to work with light, not an argument with the film. Small things, like planning to get to your location when the light has a good chance of being where you want it makes a major difference in your results. A look at a map could have prevented the disappointment.
Planning helps prevent disappointment.
Get there when it happens or miss it. It is simple. A cable release is a big help. Then there is the willingness to change the tripod height, to get lower or higher after the first look. The effort needed to improve an already good composition helps many images beyond the first view.