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
Things vs Moments
Photographs can be of things or of moments. Over my five decades as a photographer, I've capture tens of thousands of things, but all of my better images have been of moments. This week I'll try to illustrate this with a few examples.
What I saw that I liked:
It is so tempting in photography to search for interesting things. This is some kind of collar, I believe, for oxen or horses.
What I don't like in the picture:
The object is kind of interesting — unlike my photograph of it which is static, lifeless, and far too factual.
What I learned:
This week we're looking at images that capture a moment, but it would be a mistake to assume that this implies some special moment in time or light . The image at left is probably not a moment in time, but it is a moment in its emotional content. There's a sense of anticipation or perhaps even concern. I can't help but wonder if we've witnessed saddlecide. This image implies questions which is another form of creating a moment in a photograph. We pause, we think, we wonder, we question. These are all variations on the idea of moment. |
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