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:All I saw was the trickle of water coming out of the bamboo pipe. What I don't like in the picture:One of my worst habits in photography is not paying enough attention to what is going on in the background. What I learned:My only excuse is that I suffer from "target fixation." How could I have missed that bright background that ruins the above rendition of the RAW capture. That light dominates everything. Yet I didn't see it at all. I don't know if aggressive processing has allowed me to make an interesting photograph, but if nothing else it is another reminder of how consequential target fixation can be. |
