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
Probably Not, but Maybe Week
This week I've been photographing in eastern Oregon on vacation. This week's theme will be some images that might be useful after b/w processing. All still tentative, all still needing more time to marinate. A look, however, at the immediate response process when we are still filled with initial enthusiasm. We'll see if that positivity survives the passage of time.
What I saw that I liked:
Dappled sunlight on the landscape. Does it get any better than that?
What I don't like in the picture:
This is the shot that first started me thinking about b/w process for this week's images. That blue sky is just wrong. Converted to b/w, however, and yay!
What I learned:
This whole week has been a bit of an experiment, I should confess. Because we flew out to Portland, Oregon, I needed to travel light. I didn't bring my best camera, but instead brought a new (to me) rangefinderg, ag Panasonic GX9 and the tiny 35-100mm f/4-5.6 collapsible lens. I can only say WOW! Not the best lens I've ever owned, but gso damn sharp it's made me gasp at how good it is. I guess the lesson here is that money and size don't buy quality, but quality begets quality regardless of price and prestige.
2nd Chances: What I might try next
I'm done pixel peeping here on the road. I can't wait to get home as see how these images print up to 16x20s. |
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