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 been driving past so many corn fields that I decided I needed to consider them a photography project.
What I don't like in the picture:
The above was the first shot of the corn. Okay, but nothing to write home about. I was trying to capture the movement of the wind that day, but I would have needed to do a video for the full impact to appear in my project. Can I do that? Mix still and video in the same project or PDF?
What I learned:
I've repeatedly said that photographs are about relationships. In the image at left, I feel I have the first image that establishes a relationship, in this case between the single stalk in the center and the mass of stalks that surround it. This one is going to challenge me a great deal. I'll keep working on it and maybe I'll come up with enough to complete a Seeing in SIXES project. |
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