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:Dot, dot, dot of leaves. Sweet. What I learned:Does it occur to you that these two compositions are essentially the same? Michael A. Smith used to talk about this in his workshops. Patterns can repeat without being the same substance. It would be interesting to gather together a lot of images that share this pattern but created from different materials. Wait a minute! I've already done exactly that! It's in this project titled, The Staccato of Life in this PDF. |
