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
Mud and Muck WeekWhat I saw that I liked:Mini-puddles in the muck. What I don't like in the picture:This was almost a disaster. I had inched my way down a steep enbankment and was on unstable ground near the edge of this mudflat. Looking down at the LCD screen, I lost my balance and lunged forward toward the mud, just regaining my balance as my right foot hit the edge. Having quickly raised my head, I got dizzy and almost went head first into the yuck. None of this story has anything to do with your viewing experience, but it does explain why I processed the above into the image at left. What I learned:Our first person experiential moments can motivate our artmaking, even if that backstory is never revealed. Nonetheless, our photography is a part of our personal diary of experiences. The fact that I almost went head first into the muck influenced the vertigo I tried to introduce in the image at left. |
