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
Images that led to projects
In my Here's a Thought … commentary #2530 Searching For the Thread That Binds, I proposed that a project can grow out of a single image. In fact, sometimes multiple project can grow from the same image. This week will be examples from my Kokoro publication of projects and the thread that binds them into a unified artistic expression.
What I saw that I liked:
The image above was discussed in my Here's a Thought commentary linked above. Notice the chair, the snow, the entrance to the workshop. In this version, the corn stalks have been cropped out of the left side of the picture.
The Possible Threads:
Safe to say this image could be the progenitor of several projects about the chair, the snow, the rustic scene, or even the tree.
The Project:
The project that came from the above is titled, A Place to Rest These Weary Bones. This PDF publication includes 12 images, all from rural China.
That tree shadow and the image at left, however, also led me to a second project titled, The Winter Light of Lvzu Temple that you can see here. The chair image above nor the interior at left are not in this second project, but definitely inspired it. |
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