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:Normal human vision sees in colors. To my eye, the above versions more "accurate." Is that the objective? What I don't like in the picture:I tend to think about color differently than I think about b/w. Color is "real." B/W is interpreted. What I learned:Of course both of these ideas are limiting. I try as best I can to think of color as an emphasis on the subject and a b/w as an emphasis on the structure and details. Even this is a limited way of thinking about the media, but it helps. Do I want the viewer to experience standing where I stood? If so, then color. Do I want the viewer to experience my photographic statement? Then b/w, at least more often than not. Color and detail/pattern are two different way's of seeing the world. With each image, with each project, our challenge is to determine which aspects of the scene we want to emphasize. |
