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:Giant brass propellers waiting to be installed. What I don't like in the picture:I shot this in 2010, pretty early in my transition to digital cameras. At this point, I'd not heard of focus stacking, but boy could I have used it here. Even though the above was shot at f/9 on a m4/3 camera (eq of f/18), there just isn't enough depth of field to make it all sharp. This would be so easily corrected today, but c'est la vie. What I learned:Fortunately, I knew the above was a gamble, so I shot a realtively flat composition (left) that I had more confidence would be in focus. Always think about a few insurance shots, just in case. |
