reviewing my selection process for the images to be included into the book, i made an interesting observation, for which today’s lead shot can serve as an example. during the first review of the pictures within days after their creation, i had a very different attitude towards their qualities. the image above came out only 2nd, the lower image, already posted on 2009/05/20, won.
now creating a set for the sofobomo book, the criteria changed. the silhouette of the man in the lead image won over the more interesting structure of the water. and suddenly i realized that for too long a time i had tried to carefully avoid people in my images of situations and sceneries. for a reason unknown to myself even now i did not want humans in the photographs. only now i felt the added value that men/women and their interaction bring even into such scenes.
and here lies for me the added benefit of sofobomo: i had to re-evaluate my images, thoroughly weighing there merits plus their function in a sequence, something i wouldn’t have done without this project. and i think this improved my vision.
It is interesting how our opinions of a photo we take can change. I've faced that dilemma several times over the years.
Both are great images. I think the human element does add to this scene.
For me a truly difficult decision, both are great.
Markus, this is why I think it is important to keep a full archive of our work and not trust a first edit.
A quick initial edit favors the pictures with the most graphic impact, which may *not* be the pictures with the greatest staying power.
I think the best pictures are the ones we can go back to again and again with fresh insights, and these are not the ones that leap out at us on our first look at the browser window.
Really nice. I can see how this one follows the others for your book. Love the deep blue.
It is very difficult to choose between the good and the good one, yes, ;-). And depends on mood, day, age, weather or whatever which one wins. The next day it might be the other one? Okay, perhaps that's just for me.
Thanks for commenting on my blog, funny, I just browsed through some of your postings and am seeing you are doing PoD books – that's what I just started to think about doing – getting rid of the boundaries of my blog, ;-).
Looking forward to see more of your photos – now I have a archive to browse, :-).