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 location/view in eastern Oregon has teased me for decades.
What I don't like in the picture:
The image above is a section of the stitched panorama at left. Look for the pointed hill in the distance that is left of center in the pano.
What I learned:
It's not often that an image can rejoice in a 5:1 aspect ratio, but this is pretty easy to accomplish with digital processing. Stitched and aggressively processed to emphasize the light areas, this image makes a gorgeous pano print. With that comes, however, the expense of framing, the impossibility of book publication, and the challenge of shipping such a behemoth. That said, it sure looks good on my computer screen. |
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