When I was still kind of getting acquainted with my camera, I tended to shoot at the smallest picture setting, being of the understanding that this was the “web friendly” size. Also, you could get more pictures on the card at a whack, and I had a TINY 16mb card at the time. Anyhow, because I hadn’t realized that sites like Flickr and Gallery would and could automate thumbnails and resizing, I shot all of my pictures at pretty low resolution until maybe two years ago. Maybe only a year-and-a-half ago. Anyway, as the law of averages would suggest, in the gazillions of pictures I take in any given year, there are likely to be a couple of good ones. And I will probably always regret that the following two hadn’t been taken at 3.2 megapixels (my camera’s highest resolution)
At least something impelled me to shoot the following at higher resolution, though I am pretty sure it wasn’t cranked ALL the way up:
I know this picture is a cliche and all, but damn! it’s my favorite picture I’ve ever taken to this day. I don’t necessarily feel compelled to REALLY avoid cliches, break new ground, or be extraordinarily artsy. I think if I can take the technically best picture I could manage with my skill-level and camera, then I am happy with the result. If the picture is what I was hoping to see when I get it up on my computer, then I have succeeded.
Here is another thematically tired and mediocre picture I have recently taken that I like a great deal. The effect is what I wanted: a good close-up of the roses and a softly blurred background. Yeah, it’s unoriginal, but it’s my unoriginal photo and I’m happy with it, thank you!
The reason things become clichés is that they work. Both of the photos you identify as clichés are lovely, though I like the “thematically tired” rose photo better — it’s really elegant.
The return of spring might be said to be “thematically tired,” but it still delights me. Same with a really lovely photo. Some things are just worth experiencing more than once.
Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed them.
I have recently been reading a website which was discussing photographic cliches, and it has been on my mind a bit. I think I will be exploring that train of thought further this coming week.