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:I like the pano of the light hill and the dark hill across the dividing road. What I don't like in the picture:This pano stitch was done in Lightroom and the vignetted corners, because of the wide lens I was using, don't blend seamlessly. I anticipated hours of corrective work to smooth out the tones in the sky. Maybe even the "sky replacement" tool in Photoshop. What I learned:Fortunately, my friend Joe Lipka turned me on to the alternative of doing the pano stitch in Photoshop and checking the "Vignette Removal" option. Yay! I love learning the little things that make possible the solutions that avoid tedious workarounds. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextIt still needs some tonal tweaking to see if it's a keeper or not, but at least I won't be wasting my time trying to get rid of bad vignette blends. |
