"IronWorks" (Maris V. Lidaka) wrote:
> D. Glenn Arthur Jr's "My Neighbourhood's a Real Circus"
>
> The picture is interesting but it needs cohesion. It has sparks in the
> literal sense but not in the emotional. The first thing that struck me was
> the lack of focus, and the foggy tonality of the image. The sparking is
> somewhat hidden, and frankly I didn't even notice it the first time I viewed
> it - it does not draw the viewer's attention to it. The other items in the
> picture are somewhat of a jumble - perhaps a larger frame (less cropping)
> would have helped. I have seen much better from Glenn on the gallery.
Ouch.
Okay, in the context of negative comments, this one is an example
of a splash of cold water in the face that serves a purpose. This
image was not my best work, and I probably shouldn't have submitted
it. I got wrapped up in the idea that I wanted to show an image of
that particular event, rather than realistically evaluating whether
the images I had were any good. No, that's not an attempt to make
excuses -- I made a bad decision and am explaining how I did so, both
to provide a "don't do this" example for anyone else who needs to
learn from my mistake, and to make sure _I_ really understand what
went wrong so I'll learn from my own mistake. What we have here
illustrates the danger of an artist being his or her own editor.
It's somewhat annoying to read "Your photo sucked", but it stings
a lot more to read _how/why_ my photo sucked and have to realize
the criticisms were spot-on.
Here's what happened, as I perceive it:
1) I got hung up on the idea that I wanted to show an image from
this particular evening, ignoring the fact that I didn't get any
really great shots of it. It's a cool memory to me, but unless
I manage to convey some of that in my photos, the photos only serve
as a reminder to me, not as communication to anyone else.
2) I got hung up on the idea that I had to show the sparks, so
I passed over some shots that may have worked better because
they didn't have enough orange sparks in them. I could have just
shown the flame of the torch, or even the trailer missing its
front wheels.
3) I stayed perched in my window instead of going back downstairs
and shooting from the sidewalk when they brought out the torch.
4) I botched the exposure. It was night, and there was this great
contrast between the darkness and the sparks, but it's a brightly
lit street, so it wasn't _that_ dark. I didn't get the picture I
saw in my mind. I wanted enough light to see the people, and the
all-important circus logo, but I guessed wrong on how much exposure
compensation to use. The prints don't really look "nighttime"
enough. (Though, come to think of it, I haven't compared the
prints to the negs yet, so I don't know for sure whether that was
my mistake or a "correction" by the printer. More likely my own
error, but I should check just in case.)
5) I rushed the digital editing stage -- I'm not really all that
good at getting good results from my scanner yet, and rushing things
didn't help. I also didn't preview the image on different monitors.
It looks somewhat less foggy on at least one of my machines. Taking
the time to check it on more than one screen would have helped me
see how far off I was.
6) I cropped too aggressively. When I crop for the web, I'm aiming
for a compact image that shows as much of what I think is the
important part of the image, as large as possible, in some small-ish
number of bytes. The point of the PUG is to show off our images,
not to apply them in some more utilitarian role. My usual approach
was completely the wrong mindset for cropping a "show off my composition
and image-making skills" photo.
So basically, I made a few honest mistakes, made a few more mistakes
I really shouldn't have made (due to rushing, laziness, not working
in an appropriate paradigm), and got too wrapped up in the personal
memory the image reminded me of instead of seeing and evaulating the
photo itself, which led to the biggest mistake of all: posting an
image with so many other problems instead of showing off one of my
photos that's actually worth showing.
I've felt inadequate in the past, when I've posted a photo that was
pretty good for my skills at the time but not as good as what
everyone else submitted, but this is the first time I've really
felt that I've _screwed_up_. The final comment, "I have seen much
better from Glenn on the gallery," drove that home. There's the
glass of cold water in my face. I bear no ill will towards Ironworks,
as it seems I needed waking up. The PUG is not a competition, but
I bloody well ought to be able to at least keep up with my own darned
self.
In the next few months, I guess we'll all see just how well I
learn from this uncomfortable lesson, eh?
-- Glenn
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