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
How did I miss this one? Week
Sometimes while working my Lightroom catalog, I'll completely miss an image that shouldn't be ignored. This week will be examples of images I unburied from the depths of my archives to discover a gem I'd been overlooking for years.
What I saw that I liked:
I love the rope with the thunderbolts and first thought it needed to be seen with the temple building as context.
What I don't like in the picture:
That sky in the upper left is blah, the light that morning was very flat, and now that I look at it, I'm not sure what the building is adding to the image.
What I learned:
Look for pano images! This is a pretty extreme crop, but the pano version at left is pretty good. I wish I had seen this as a close pano when I was photographing it. By this pano crop, I'm left with an image that is only 3916x1444 pixels. Good enough for a small print (10" or so), so it's not a disaster.
2nd Chances: What I might try next
I vaguely remember shooting more examples of these Shinto rope things. I'll have to look to see if I have a better one from subsequent trips. |
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