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
Processing to the Rescue!
The longer I strive to be an artist, the more I realize the essence of artmaking with a camera lies in processing. Capturing is only the first step. It's what happens to that capture in processing that makes it a personally expressive image
What I saw that I liked:
Often when I'm out in the world photographing, I'm just reacting to whatever I find in an intuitive way. I have no idea what the image might be after processing.
What I don't like in the picture:
The above was a shape that caught my eye, but I had no idea why.
What I learned:
It was only after I looked at this image years later that it occurred to me to flip it upside down so that it now reminds me of a bomb blast. All the scratches and debris add to that feeling. This is not an image for display above the fireplace, but it could be an integral image in the right kind of project. |
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