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
Subtle Color Week
The current passion of so many photographers these days is to hyper-saturate the colors in their images to unrealistic intensity. Viewing these images always feel like I'm being shouted at. Is there not an aesthetic that celebrates subtle colors? Of course there is.
What I saw that I liked:
Snow is white. Rock are not gray.
What I don't like in the picture:
In my early years of photography I would have been thrilled with the image above. Now, at sometimes, such a treatment feels a bit dated to me. Like something from the 1970s.
What I learned:
I've always thought that color image feel more "real" that b/w ones. That's not good. Color images tend to feel like I've been transported through space and time and am seeing the world just as the camera sees it. I've often referred to this as "camera as Xerox copy machine." Using a more subtle color doesn't seem to "copyish" to me. Maybe half way between photographic and a copy of the world. These desaturated images hint at reality, but don't force me to see the artwork that way. The more I play with it, the more I find use for it. |
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