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
7mm - Ultra-wide Angle Week
This week is all about ultra-wide angle lens use. I have the Panasonic 7-14mm lens for my m4/3 cameras. (Think 14-28mm for you full framers out there.) These ultra-wides are tricky. Every image this week was shot at 7mm focal length. Here are a few things I've learned about using this exotic lens.
What I saw that I liked:
Essentially, I've come to love the ultra-wides ability to expand the story of an image.
What I don't like in the picture:
I first photographed this sword craftsman in China with a normal lens, ending up with a fairly close view of him and his grinding machine. Then I swapped to the ultra-wide so I could include the holes in the ceiling above. What does the ceiling add to the shot? Nothing, in fact, it distracts our attention from his activity. Compare that the image a left.
What I learned:
A normal lens shot of the tree at the left would have still been an impressive tree, but the ultra-wide adds so much height and massiveness to the tree that it makes the photograph more interesting. Unlike adding the ceiling in the above that didn't add to the story of the subject, the extra branches above this tree make if feel so much more massive and right above us.
The extra angle available in an ultra-wide can either strengthen the story in the image or dilute it. I think that's why ultra-wides can be both brilliant and very, very wrong. |
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