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:The contrast between the bluish rock and the green/yellow leaves. What I don't like in the picture:All those white dots of lichen on the rock create a confusing image because they compete with the lighter leaves. I didn't see that when I make the exposure — which left me with a post-processing challenge. What I learned:Thankfully, we have the incredible power of the HSL sliders. Here is a screen capture showing how I filtered the colors to create the image at left.
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