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
What I saw that I liked:Compositional simplicity. What I don't like in the picture:I thought the circle of rocks were the composition in the above, but the top edge is not helpful. What I learned:The more I looked at this scene, the more I realized that it was the small round rock on the larger one that caught my eye. Look for the unusual as well as the geometric. I quickly zoomed in an got the image at left. I say QUICKLY because you might see the many mosquitoes if you look carefully. Sometimes we really must suffer for our art. |
