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:As a "picture idea," I'm fond of photographing the chaos of nature. What I don't like in the picture:The problem I have with the one above is that there is hardly any relief from the chaos. All chaos makes Jack a dull boy. What I learned:Thomas Joshua Cooper is the master of chaos images in nature. It took me a long while to put a specific to why his images are so mesmerizing for me. His chaos is always in balance with an element that emerges from the chaos. The image at left does that much more successfully than the one above. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextI definitely need to try the one at left as a b/w image. |
