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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Personally Expressive Week
This week we'll look at pairs of images from the same locations — one made by my friend Joe Lipka and the other by me. We each have our own vision and aesthetic. Said another way, in art there are no right or wrong answers. There are, however, personal expressions that can be true to your own vision and your honest response to the world. Brooks' image
Joe's image
Things to notice:
A commonality we've noticed over the years is that Joe's images done with a wider angle lens tend to show more three-dimmensionality than mine. He is the king of near/far where I am the king of all things flat. His image above emphasizes the entryway whereas mine draws attention to the details in the metal door. These two actually would make a pretty nice diptych showing two aspects that compliment each other.
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