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:
If you look at the right edge of Joe's image above, you will just see the items on the left of my image. We could have been standing right next to each other while making these images from the main dining room. Also note that Joe tends to prefer natural light. I tend to favor a more dramatic light. In fact, both of these images were made with the same lighting conditions. How we choose to interpret what we see can substantially change the mood of an image.
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