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:Funny story. I finished photographing and jumped back into the truck. This backlit leaf had fallen on the windshield right in front of me. Why not photograph it? What I don't like in the picture:In the above, the edge of the dashboard is visible as an out-of-focus blob on the bottom. What I learned:I wonder how may other possibilities I've passed by in my life because I wasn't paying attention? Just because this isn't a "photogenic location," doesn't mean it can't be the source of an interesting photograph. Look at that lovely black duplicate of the leaf shape in the black background. That's a reflection of the leaf on the windshield where it casts a shadow on the dashboard. Very cool. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextDo you see that pattern of dots on the very bottom edge of the leaf? That's a pattern in the glass of the windshield. Kinda looks like an old Polaroid pos/neg edge. |
