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 is a giant tarp intended to minimize the sand particles coming off the hull of this ship as it is being sandblasted prior to painting.
What I don't like in the picture:
Now that I've told you what was photographed, does that make the image better? Or does my explanation simply dis-empower the image and get in the way of your imagination?
What I learned:
Photography has a fascinating ability to be both a conveyor of facts and vision that is quite fanciful. The image at left belies the sterile description of what it is and, hopefully, engages your imagination in ways a more factual treatment could not. |
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