imperfect love

Some are happy accidents, and some the reward of patient study. Others are entirely improper, theoretically speaking. But there's a place in our photographic lives for satisfaction of all stripes.

Internal heckler: The foreground's out of focus.

Creative voice: True, but...

Internal heckler: When am I ever going to learn to tighten up a couple of stops on the wide-open aperture? It's not always appropriate.

Creative voice: Yeah, but...

...

Creative voice: Lemme run this through some processing anyway. See what I can make of it.

(ZING)

Internal heckler: Oh... a different skin. Look! They're a crowd. They've gathered. It's not just a blundered foreground. It's a part of the story. It is their depth.

Creative voice: I could have told you that.

+++

Today, share with us a capture that is, technically, a bit of a photographic fumble -- but that speaks to you, regardless. 

Comments

[Marcie]

Oh...so many of my images are 'technically' incorrect. I just figure it as a part of the 'art:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1077

Love your image....by-the-way!

[Kristen]

This pictures is drastically over exposed, but I found it to be dreamy and soft after discovering the pinks in it after some editing. I never even meant to keep the picture on my camera...

It's also one of my first attempts with a lensbaby

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lateriser/3677203836/

[AmyBean]

I had chosen the wrong white balance setting on this one, so the colors are all crazy, and I almost deleted this in-camera. But when I uploaded the pictures to my computer, this one became my favorite of the day. The warmth really sets the mood, and I think it was really lucky that I had the white balance all "wrong." :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15772313@N07/4233945927/

[Trude]

What a gorgeous shot! Love breaking the rules like that. It's about what speaks to you, right? :)

This one from last year was a happy accident - forgot to change the settings from dark indoors when I went outside to shoot some sweet peas from the garden, but I love how it turned out! http://www.flickr.com/photos/trudem/3532709326/in/set-72157612084564706/

[pam]

Luckily I don't even know the rules, so I can breat them with abandon.

[Ari]

Ha, all my pictures really. But the one that stands out is this one:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiousillusion/4291190617/in/set-72157622981152251/

The colors are a bit screwy in the background but it was my first time EVER shooting in manual mode, plus with a live animal (which everyone knows can be tricky since they're not the most cooperative model).

[sweetsalty kate]

Ha ha. Pam, I love that.

[CherryPie]

That is a gorgeous photo, I think we shouldn't listen to rules :-)

Most of my photos are a bit photographic fumble but I think the top one where I forgot to turn off the flash in fog is maybe is my best (worst) example lately.

http://www.cheriesplace.me.uk/blog/index.php/2009/12/28/the-frozen-lake/

I have been following your site for a few days and find your posts very inspirational. Thank You :-)

[lucy]

a beautiful photograph!

here's mine -- blurry and overblown, but it evokes exactly what i was trying to capture.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucyloomis/4084695718/

[Katrina Kennedy]

So many things wrong with it. But so many reasons to love it :) Reflections, haze, off center, out of balance...but perfect.

http://ianck.blogspot.com/2010/02/happy-valentines-day.html

[Melissa G]

Beautiful. The blunders are often among my favorites - something about capturing an emotion, or the essence of the subject.

This fellow flew through my yard yesterday, pausing for a mere moment on my fence. This was all I got, but I love it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mamagleinser/4360517388/

[jillian]

Technically, the focus should land on the foot and not the pebbles...I can't help but love it anyway.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hudster/3762803996/in/set-72157621737153151/

[Bostongaljm]

I agree with the others that sometimes the best photos come out as an accident to begin with. This one is one of my faves, it has a wistfulness to it because it is so blown out. But, the memory it evokes is so real to me from my trip to Aix en Provence.

http://bostongirlontheverge.blogspot.com/2010/02/i-love-this-look-and-its-sooc.html

[cdscott]

I think many of my images could be considered "technical fumbles". I just get lucky sometimes and recover my own fumble.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cdscottphoto/4360046273/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cdscottphoto/4360046217/

[Jade Sheldon]

Such a glorious capture, accidental or not ;)

Here is one of mine:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmsheldon/4217232964/in/set-72157622753820530/

[summer]

Funny...I wouldn't have even noticed the focus because the picture as a whole works so well...
it's beautiful.

I'd say pretty much all of my shots fall outside of technically considered correct. I purposely shoot manually and always have to be able to over and underexpose based on my mood or the mood I'm trying to capture. I know there are many rules and I've learned them...i just don't really want to communicate through the rules but rather around them and I don't have an editing program to speak of so I have to get it the way I want it out of the camera which means breaking the rules, often.

Here's an example:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sufferingsummer/4336061727/

[Corri]

I have one of those. The exposure was way too slow as I was taking New Year pictures for these friends. But when I got it home, I was struck by her joy and excitement caught in his movement.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/somedaysoling/4360230851/

It's not the best picture in the world, but I love it.

[Darlene]

That's a fabulous image! Who cares about the rules. The more I'm out with my camera the more I "focus" on the art of what I see rather than the "photography" (if that makes any sense!) There is far too much to think about technically so when I'm in the moment, I go with it.

The first image on this post is completely out of focus, but it's my favorite one from that morning. When I clicked the shutter I knew it would be out of focus, too.
http://www.whimsicalyearsphotography.com/blog/

[Madame Meow]

I feel I have so much to learn, that I don't even know yet why some pictures are "wrong" and some are "right". I took this mediocre picture of something very meaningful to me, and yet I find it's beautiful-- mostly because it makes me happy.

Also, I guess a "soft" focus (ahem) seems to work with the roses.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/madamemeow/4355058868/

[erika]

I've been shooting into the light. I loved the sibling action, but I knew the light was a problem. Adobe RAW helped.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/onemoreplease/4357712693/

The conversion on this one helped because that light created a nice little halo effect.
Makes him a smidge cuter, dare I say.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/onemoreplease/4359229103/

[sprittibee]

Here are a couple...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sprittibee/4339458084/in/set-72157623250156631/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sprittibee/3109837472/in/set-72157623090143090/

[georgia]

oh, this is the best post!

as a very-aware-that-i-am-amateur photographer, i feel this way about most my photos. but right now, i focus less on taking good pictures {until i get more training or practice} and more on picking out the photos that speak to me or move me of the ones i do take. i know most of my shots are far from perfect -- technically or otherwise. but i do try to be artistic in the ones i choose to post. or what i do with them.

here is one i'm sure could have been more effective if i knew what i was doing. but i still liked it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28567264@N05/4314852013/

and yours is a lovely photo, by the way.

[Kimberly Hosey (Arizona Writer)]

Ha; excellent dialogue of the voices. I can way identify. And this picture is gorgeous.

[Stacey]

I took this pic with my Lensbaby - no clue how to use my manual controls. The sky is blown out and there isn't a good sweet spot. I somehow like the effect anyway.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uWYKgbDRbrg/S3oQUzRHxOI/AAAAAAAAAI4/zc8gBDQbGxg/s1600-h/fairview.jpg

[Stacey]

I'm sorry I haven't figured out how to correctly copy my url's for the photos. Here's the direct link to the blog where its posted

http://staceybrucephotography.blogspot.com

[Jessica]

The one I posted on my blog today, I didn't love until I had fiddled with it a bit in post. I'm still not totally sure about it, but there's something there that grabs me, some emotion there.

http://quotidian-photography.blogspot.com/2010/02/valentines-day.html

[spread your wings]

here's mine. it's a nothing photo really but i like it none-the-less because it captures the variations of colors i saw in this drive-by scene.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnsun/4309836024/in/set-72157623297114772/

[Deirdre]

Here's one. I shot into the sun over a full and messy looking parking lot. I nearly tossed it (tossed the rest of them, unfortunately, but I decided to give it a whirl in photoshop,and I love my results: http://www.flickr.com/photos/superdewa/4312063876/

[Sara]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/happyjanssens/4358882888/in/set-72157623010423788/

This one just makes me happy.

[Heather M]

The irony of this one was that I meant to be figuring out a little more about how my new mini-Diana was going to work, so I meant to be taking photos by the book with it that day, but then something else happened. Technically, I don't think there's a thing right with this photo, but it might be my favorite that I've ever taken.

http://thistornado.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-was-supposed-to-be-taking-normal.html

[DuffyMarcella]

One understands that humen's life seems to be very expensive, nevertheless people need money for different issues and not every one gets enough money. Thus to receive quick <a href="http://lowest-rate-loans.com/topics/home-loans">home loans</a> and auto loan will be a right way out.