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:Beautiful creamy tones that will convert to b/w exquisitely. What I don't like in the picture:Except that by removing the dustiy pink from the image I extracted all the life right out of it. What I learned:Perhaps because I am an old b/w darkroom guy, my default is to always assume I am making a monochromatic image. When I first started shooting digitally, I would occasionally have to admit that the converted image wasn't nearly as interesting as the camera's full color capture. Slowly, I started accepting the fact that I could be both a b/w and a color photographer. Seems quaint to admit this now in 2021, but at the time it was a revelation. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextThe pink one is the winner, so my next step is to delete the b/w version. |
