Brooks Jensen Arts - Every Picture Is a Compromise

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Every Picture is a Compromise
A Series About Keepers, Also-rans, and Learning from Mistakes

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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

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Potential Project Ideas Week

I'm on a two-month long trip to the West coast to do some photography and a couple of presentations. This week, I'll explore some potential projects from my first couple of weeks on the road.

What I saw that I liked:

With all the haze and smoke in Montana from nearby fires, I saw lots of potential images like the one above.

What I don't like in the picture:

The foreground in this one is a harvested field of hay, I believe. It's okay, but I'm not sure what else to do with it.

Is this a potential project?

The one at left has a foreground of water. That's an island in a lake. I like this image, but I have no idea how to turn this single image into a Seeing in SIXES type of project. I'll just keep photographing and see what develops. (No pun intended.)