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 photographed in 2005 and one of the earliest images from a digital camera. I enjoyed the ability to shoot to my hearts content hoping to capture one instant with perfect waves. Of course, I was thinking the entire time of Wynn Bullock's famous image Sea Palms, 1968.
The Possible Threads:
Nine years later in 2014, I returned to that same location and was able to gather enough images to complete the project Sea Palms, obviously a subject-based thread.
The Project:
The extra image at left was the first one That I split-toned into the warm brown shadows with highlights that are blue tinted. That became the style for the project including that first image above. You can see this project in this PDF of Kokoro.
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