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
Drama in the Sky
Landscape photography is often more about the sky than it is about the land. Nothing worse for a landscape photographer than a bald, featureless sky. This week's set of images are all about using drama in the sky to make the picture.
What I saw that I liked:
A huge murder of crows above a wheat field in the Palouse.
What I don't like in the picture:
The version above is fine, but the background is almost cloudless. That smooth sky makes a featureless gray background that almost could pass for a studio portrait backdrop.
What I learned:
Having failed to capture this kind of image so many times in the past, I knew on this day to set the camera to burst mode and fire away. As the birds swung to my right, the flew in front of this bit of cloud cover that made a much better background than the above. I stood in one place and just followed them as they repeatedly swung around me. I ended up with a set of 169 images captured in just over 60 seconds. The one at left is my favorite of those that are without land.
2nd Chances: What I might try next
I wonder if I could use these to make a grid, or perhaps an animated GIF? |
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