I am a perfectionist.
Being a perfectionist is both a blessing and a bane. Seeking perfection motivates me to improve myself and my efforts. My perfectionism, however, too easily morphs from the role of creative consultant to tyrant.
As I wrote in a previous post, most of my photographs are worthy of only the delete button. But, here and there is a photograph that makes me sit up and think "Hey, this is good!" The feeling of "I did it" is exhilarating. I stand up and do a little happy dance in front of my computer.
Then I sit down and Perfectionist Susan takes over. She carefully unfolds The List, a checklist of the qualities good photographs should have. Composition: check. Exposure: check. Sharpness: check... I begin to analyze the photograph, pull it apart. Is this photograph good enough? What would other people think about it? Would they like it? Before too long, the excitement I felt is gone and what I thought was a good photograph is now only mediocre.
In his article, Jason Little wrote...
"The ability to create compelling photos relies most heavily on vision and instinct;
it’s about capturing a moment.
Moments — if we were to somehow think of them as being sentient things —
don’t care about your f-stop or ISO level.
And neither does the person who views your photo and is moved by it."
Perfectionist Susan shouts "But what if a professional photographer looks at this picture...?" as I stuff her into a mental closet. I can still hear her muffled admonitions, but for now, I want Jason Little's wisdom to reign supreme.
Years ago, I visited a couple of Amish communities in Pennsylvania. To supplement their families' incomes, Amish women sew quilts which they sell to tourists. Dozens of these quilts were displayed on lines strung outside large tidy farmhouses. I learned something about Amish quilts when talking with one of their creators. Each quilt contains a mistake, put there on purpose as a reminder that only God creates perfection. More wisdom.
So, in keeping with the theme of this post, perfection, or the lack of it, I present two photographs...
The first 'Wind Turbines and Sailboat' was taken with my iPhone. It was all I had with me, my big camera being elsewhere. The moment, however, was too good to let pass. I had to capture it. The photograph, from a purely technical POV, shows that I pushed my iPhone camera beyond its abilities. That said, I like the grainy, out of focus result, so much so that I upped the grain further. (I also cropped the image slightly, converted it to B&W and added a slight vignette.) Score one for creativity over perfection!
I am a slow photographer. It takes me time to think through a shot, the composition, what settings I should use. To my way of thinking, greater care = greater chance of perfection, right? In short, I probably won't be standing, anytime soon, at a barricade snapping away as the Tour de France competitors whizz past. Still life photography suits me much more.
Which brings me to my second photograph, 'Under A Summer Sky'. Again, another 'I have to capture this moment' effort. I was on a ferry when a sailboat suddenly appeared, moving quickly in the strong wind blowing that day. I grabbed my camera and began shooting. I was over the moon later when I reviewed the photos on my laptop. The picture was actually in focus. The horizon in the original photograph was skewed, but correctable. I did adjust the exposure, shadows and whites slightly.
Two different photographs of sailboats. One it technically superior to the other. Does that make it the better picture? I find them both compelling. What do you think?
