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:Worn and weathered wood is always a favorite with me. What I don't like in the picture:It's a beautiful trunk in the above, but the picture of it is too busy, too cluttered. I've tried to eliminate the background and also tried to cut and paste the trunk onto a different background. So far, nothing works. What I learned:Get it right in the first place. The one at left has similar worn and weathered wood, but from a root that has become exposes in the cinder of Sunset Crater in Arizona. I particularly love the way this root leads our eye into the back of the scene. I guess the real lesson in these two images is that it is a far different thing to compose a photograph than it is to take a picture of some subject. |
