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
Potential Project Ideas Week
I'm on a two-month long trip to the West coast to do some photography and a couple of presentations. This week, I'll explore some potential projects from my first couple of weeks on the road.
What I saw that I liked:
I've photographed "bad lands" in several state over 5 decades of photography. Never get tired of doing so.
What I don't like in the picture:
I've always converted these landscapes to b/w, but the colors in the rocks of the above are intriguing. I might have to try this on a full color.
Is this a potential project?
The real challenge with this project is one of familiarity. I've already completed projects with these types of images. Do I have anything new to say? Or, am I just repeating myself? This is not a question about photography, but rather a question about learning to see again with fresh eyes. My first project of bad lands was from Hell's Half Acre in Wyoming that appeared in Kokoro, Vol. 1, No. 1 January 2015 in a project titled Wyoming Dust. Certainly I must have developed a new point of view in the last 10 years. |
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