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:Same steps, photographed in successive years. What I don't like in the picture:It's not that I don't like the one above, but that composition was my response to those steps last year — darker, a vertical orientation, and cropped rather close. The one at left was photographed this year, and is more about the leaves than the one above. Also, the one at left is lighter and more inviting. What I learned:Yes, you can go back, but you won't be the same person, the weather will be different, the season might be different, most importantly your response to the scene will be different. Still photographs don't capture a place as much as they do a moment. Time flows and so do we. I like both of these shots, different though they are. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextI'd be that if I returned next year, my photograph of this same location would be different than either of these. Of course it would. |
