I Would Rather Be a Superb Meteor
March 2009
The Jack London quote goes: "I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet." I came across it again in March 2009 during a stretch when I was making very careful, very competent, very boring photographs. Technically sound. Properly exposed. Composed by the rules. And completely forgettable.
The problem with safe photography is that it is indistinguishable from everyone else's safe photography. The rules of composition exist because they generally work. But "generally works" is not the same as "worth looking at." The frames that stay with me are the ones where someone chose the harder angle, shot into the light when they weren't supposed to, left more empty space than felt comfortable. The ones that might have failed but didn't.
This frame is from a pre-dawn hike in March. The choice was to shoot into the light or turn around and shoot the safe direction. I turned toward the light. Three of the four frames are blown out. This one isn't. That ratio is fine with me. The Explore series has more from the travel work. The portfolio guide talks more about how I think about risk in curation.