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
Aggressive Processing Week
Pictures are rarely fully resolved at the click of the shutter. Processing is the step that turns a raw capture into something that might be art. Sometimes that processing needs to be aggressive — as we'll explore this week.
What I saw that I liked:
This bowl of apples on our dining room table just called to me.
What I don't like in the picture:
The image you see above is the final capture in a 7-image series of focus stacked exposures. This one was completely out of focus, so it wasn't used.
What I learned:
The previous 6 images were combined in Photoshop to make the image you see at left. I was then able to use the Color Mixer to create various shades of gray in the red/green apples. Paul Caponigro's cosmic apple has always been one of my favorites of his and this one from me is definitely a nod to his masterpiece. There is a difference, in my opinion, between inspiration and plagiarism. |
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