Brooks Jensen Arts - Every Picture Is a Compromise

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Every Picture is a Compromise
A Series About Keepers, Also-rans, and Learning from Mistakes

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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

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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:

This is one of the images from Fort Worden where I've done so many abstracts.

What I don't like in the picture:

The above is dingy, has an awkward green tint, and is far to symmetrical to be interesting.

What I learned:

Color have emotions in them. Converting to b/w brings our attention to the tones rather than the colors. The increase in contrast helps this image. Not sure I can explain why it does, but to my eye its intriguing. Note that I also whitened the corner painted boards in the upper left to balance the white tones in the lower right.