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
Something from NothingI used to search for the perfect image in nature. I'd walk by subjects that seemed blasé — foolishly and naively ignoring the possibilites in post-processing that might make something from nothing. This week, I'll show examples that demonstrate why we should always shoot compositionally interesting images even if the tones in the image would seem to offer nothing of interest. What I saw that I liked:This is one of the many "rooms" in the Fort Worden WWI military bunkers that has now been converted to a state park. What I don't like in the picture:This just about defines the idea of trying to "make order out of chaos." The first thing that caught my eye was that circle on the far wall. I hoped that enough processing might turn it into an image of interest, so I got closer and made a few alternative captures. What I learned:Abstracts offer all kinds of processing adventures. The image at left (notice it's been transposed along the horizontal axis) is the result of quite a bit of Photoshop work. The room itself doesn't appear to be very photogenic, but that doesn't mean it can't be the starting point for a heavily processed piece of photographic artwork. This image is one of the anchor images in my project titled Wakarimasen. |
