Brooks Jensen Arts - Every Picture Is a Compromise

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Every Picture is a Compromise
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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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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:

Nature is pattern. In this case, the pictures are not about the what that is photographed but rather about the patterns I can capture.

What I don't like in the picture:

The example above I include here because it is one of the first pattern images I made with my new 100-400mm lens.

What I learned:

Patterns are essentially abstracts — and as I've mentioned so many times before, no one likes photographic abstracts except the photographer. I love both of these, but will likely never publish or exhibit them ever. That's okay. I like them.