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:I like both of these, but for different reasons. Version above:The above image shows a community, a series of relationships, a three-dimensional depth. It is clearly a landscape image of an intimate location. Version at left:The version at left, at least to my eye, is more psychological. That lone tree, all by itself in a foreign land. Emotionally, the version at left is almost the polar opposite of the emotional content of the above. Same place, same time of day, in fact, about 2 minutes apart from the same road. It's not what you take, but what you feel that determines the photograph. |
