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:Shape, form, and line are always the basics in a photograph. Add subject and light and what else do we need? What I don't like in the picture:The version above shows the white snow crystals well, but that mysterious shape above is a bit lost. What I learned:It was the shape that caught my eye, but the tones make the image. I started with the above and then reversed all the tones to make a "negative." Now that white shape leaps our in a sort of threatening way. I find myself wanting to hum the opening theme to The Twilight Zone. |
