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
Rock Wall Week
I have lots of captures of rock walls. Why? Don't know, but I do know I want to put together a small project with them. How does one make a rock wall visually interesting? An even greater challenge is how to make a group of them interesting without becoming repetitious. This week will feature five attempts to do just that.
What I saw that I liked:
That solitary orange leaf . . . wow.
What I don't like in the picture:
Actually, I like both versions of this image — which presents me with a dilemma.
What I learned:
This week, I'm trying to work these rock walls into a small project a half a dozen or so images. Originally, I was thinking this was a b/w project all the way. This image has me asking if that's the best direction or not. Maybe I need two projects, one in b/w and the other in color? This is a common question I face when starting to flesh out the selection of images for a project. Often, there is a great image that is color but the rest of the project is b/w — or vice versa. I'm not fond of mixing b/w and color in the same project, so I find myself having to either make a choice, or do two projects. I guess that's not too bad a dilemma after all. |
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