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
Olana Failures and Recoveries
In the January 2026 issue of Kokoro, I presented images from the Olana historical site. It was a fascinating and fun place to photograph. Notice I did not say it was easy. This week, I'll show 5 images that were total failures and compare them to ones that made it into the final PDF.
What I saw that I liked:
These kinds of details are always high on my shot list. Rather than architecture, these kinds of object speak to the people rather than the building.
What I don't like in the picture:
Again, every technology has its limits. I continue to be impressed by the dynamic range of my digital camera and how much detail it can pull our of dark shadows. In the image above however, I was asking too much from the sensor. There just isn't anything there. Too bad because I think that round mirror is great.
What I learned:
In the next room, I found a better subject that could fill the gap that I had failed with in the above example. The one at left had better light and even a few specular highlights. Notice that very cool set of dot-dot-dot reflections of blue in the bottom left. |
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