Brooks Jensen Arts - Every Picture Is a Compromise

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Every Picture is a Compromise
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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

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The Miracles of Technology Week
Dehaze

I've said for years that this is the best time in the history of photography to be a photographer. This week, I'll share five disastrous "failures" that were rescued by the miracles of software.

What I saw that I liked:

The smoky remnants of a controlled burn in the Columbia Gorge in Oregon.

What I don't like in the picture:

There is so much haze that it washes out the color and contrast.

What I learned:

Now with the Dehaze tool, a capture like this one can be cleaned up in the trees but still show the smoke in the ground. Here again, without this bit of technology, this image could not be made.

2nd Chances: What I might try next

Can't decide if I want to punch up the orange leaves at the bottom. Could provide a deeper emotional contrast with the burnt forest.