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:Pelicans make me laugh. Mini rant:There are genres of photography that are so damn serious. Wildlife photograph seems to be one of those. There is a sort of National Geographic/Audubon/Nature thing that drives the aesthetic and raises the bar of acceptability to stratosperic heights. These photographers are specialists — very good at what they do — but specialists the way professional basketball players and race car drivers are specialists. I just want to drive over to my neighbor's and toss in a few hoops. I'm not looking for a Nike (or Nikon) endorsement. So when you and I photograph a pelican because it makes us laugh, the last thing in the world I want is for my fun little bird photograph to be judged against the standards of the serious folks. In BIF (birds-in-flight) photographs circles, this image would be an embarrassing and ultra-beginner's "shot." To me, it's just a gigle of a moment with bird-to-human eye contact. It's fun. I hope to God it's not serious. To be honest, I'll take "fun" every time. Besides, when I show this to my non-photographer friends, I think they might giggle, too. So ask me if I care that it's slightly out of focus or that I cut off the tip of the left wing. It makes me laugh. In my world, that's enough to call it a success. |
