There are certain pictures you take that you know will be readily accepted, even applauded. They fall into existing genres or implement tropes that are recognized and appreciated by a large group of people. They vary in sophistication from the banal to the esoteric; from the blandest sunset to a deft channeling of Gary Winogrand. I see these all the time and shoot them and show them with concurrent feelings of guilt and frustration. Guilt, because this was low-hanging fruit that I recognized and knew would appeal to someone who would give me an attaboy. And frustration because I would rather hear good stuff about interesting failures. The best that you can say about the easy shots is that you executed well. As in the above, which I knew would be liked because it's a pretty good silhouetted guy with an umbrella walking picture. I don't know how many of these there are out there, but I feel as if I've seen this image a whole lot of times. I do think I did it well, but it's still only another dog on the pile. I'm not good enough to wander off the trail and come back with fresh meat that often, so when I try it would be nice to find out if it's tasty. This one:
is much more of a mess. I know there's something wrong with it, but even as a failure, it seems far more interesting to me than umbrella man. But posted on Flickr, where some of my contacts are really sharp, it still didn't get a second look. Is it me or is it Clairol?
