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
It's What You Make Week
The theme this week revolves around the idea that it's not what you take, but what you make that counts. All the images this week are ones that required radical processing to pull something interesting out of a blah RAW capture.
What I saw that I liked:
From my visit to the temple at Hiraizumi, Japan. Just a quick snap without much thought or intention.
What I don't like in the RAW capture:
Sometimes we just snap off a picture for no particular reason. That's the case here. I had no intention of ever doing anything with this, but it would come in handy as you'll see.
What I made:
I had read Some Chinese Ghosts by Lafcadio Hearn and decided to have some fun with this idea in a small photography project. It ended up being Kokoro #049 - Japanese Ghosts. This is the final image in that project. Obviously, some detailed Photoshop work to remove her legs so she floats like a ghost. Normally speaking, I'd think this is silly, but in the context of the project, it works as intended. |
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