Do you do this, trash your film shots or Polaroids, hit delete on your DSLR, banishing the image before you because you believe it to be a 'dud'?
Yeah, me too.
Cleaning off my desk, I spied a stack of so-called duds and immediately culled a small pile, grateful that the destiny of these photos had been re-routed into the disarray.
Ever the critic and perfectionist, I am quick to judge my work and have had to learn to quell my impulse to throw photos into the nearest trash bin or hit delete on my DSLR.
Those moments when my Polaroids aren't what I was hoping for, when the images on my Nikon seem out of focus or composition, I step away from my inner critic and take a breath and a beat. I rarely view my digital photos because experience says that at least one shot in my camera will be the one. And I've stopped looking at my Polaroids until I get home; otherwise I will end up re-shooting and ultimately wasting film because the first shot is always the best, even if it isn't a great shot, or one that I end up using.
The image above, shot in the early morning at Coachella, was one of those duds and yet, it caught my eye this morning. It immediately transported me back to walking around the polo fields on the second day. All the party kids were sleeping and the sun was glistening off the tents and ferris wheel in the distance. This little coffee stand in the field, served up the most delicious, hot java when I needed it most, was my festival savior.
Even though it's not a great composition, this photo is one that I love because of the evocative memories it preserved.
I often reject or reshoot instant film shots, but because I am something of a pack rat, I never throw them away. I put them all in a plastic bin. Even the ones that are blank. And then once in awhile I go through the bin and find that some aren't the rejects that I thought!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about the first shot always being the best. I need to get better about remember that because I often end up using too much film to capture the "best shot" when it's already in my pile!
totally. always the first one is the best one. always. and i am shocked at it most of the time. and i guess in my heart it was where i met that moment first and "firsts" can never be recreated.
ReplyDelete