Every Picture Is a Compromise
Lessons from the Also-rans
Most photography websites show the photographer's very best work. Wonderful. But that's not the full story of a creative life. If we want to learn, we'd better pay attention to the images that aren't "greatest hits" and see what lessons they have to offer. Every picture is a compromise — the sum of its parts, optical, technical, visual, emotional, and even cosmic – well, maybe not cosmic, but sometimes spiritual. Success on all fronts is rare. It's ok to learn from those that are not our best.
This is a series about my also-rans, some of which I've been able to improve at bit (i.e., "best effort"), none of which I would consider my best. With each there are lessons worth sharing, so I will.
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Original digital capture
What I saw that I liked:This shape on the cement wall reminded me so much of Mt. Fuji and those old, faded Japanese woodblock prints. What I don't like in the picture:To the rest of the world, this looks like a cement wall. What I learned:Yes, we can use our eidetic vision to project something personally important from our predispositions onto the world. This does not make it "art." With an audience of only one, talk about the ultimate inside joke! On the other hand, although no one likes this image but me, I've decided that's okay. We are the first audience for our work and sometimes that's as far as it goes. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextWould it be brillant, awful, or just terribly kitch to use Photoshop and add a small gazebo with an ancient poet down in the corner? If you ask me, I will deny that this thought occurred to me. |
