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
The Miracles of Technology Week
Stitching/Joiners
I've said for years that this is the best time in the history of photography to be a photographer. This week, I'll share an additional five "failures" that were rescued/improved by the miracles of software.
What I saw that I liked:
The visual layering of the boats in this harbor was very cool.
What I don't like in the picture:
Trying to show that in just a single picture turned out to be frustrating.
What I learned:
I love stitching images together to make a panorama, but this "jigsaw" technique is another alternative to a straight stitched image. I've heard this type of constructed image referred to as "joiners." I prefer to think of them as "jigsaw images" because that's was they remind me of. Before software stitching, the only way to get this patchwork of images would have been to glue them onto a large piece of board, carefully lining up the edges into a montage. I like the digital version much more. It reminds me of the way our human vision works as we scan a scene.
2nd Chances: What I might try next
I wonder if I could use Generative Fill to get the missing image in that middle-left triangle? |
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