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
Observation about abstracts:I find abstracts to be a mysterious sub-genre of photography. Which of these two images strikes you as the more interesting one — the actual waterfall photo above? Or, the accidental brush stroke that look so much like a waterfal (left)? The one at left is a random brush stroke on the wall at Fort Worden where the park rangers paint over the crude graphitti to cover it up. To my eye, there is no doubt it's a waterfall. And that's where things get interesting. The actual waterfall above is okay — nothing to write home about, but it's real. The one at left is (well, it looks like) an imaginative interpretation of a waterfall, even though it isn't. But as a two-dimensional graphic, I find it much more engaging. If I were to put one of these on my wall as artwork, I'd pick the abstract, no question. And that's the thing about abstracts: they either grip you for unknown reasons, or they don't. This one does. Isn't that odd? And I wouldn't be surprised at all if it didn't have the same effect on you. Because our reactions to abstracts are so personal, so unpredictable, so surprising, I find them fascinating and perhaps my favorite type of photograph to make. I treasure the surprise of finding abstracts when I least expect them. |
