Essence.
This may be my favorite image I have created so far this year. And I did not think much of it when I crafted this image. I loved the subject, the dead branches emerging from the rocks, the two pebbles stuck at the base of the plant, and the texture of it all. I loved all of those elements. There was potential for an image, or I would not have tried to make one. But after I got it home and started going through all of the photos from that day, it felt flat. Looking at the image on the screen did not excite me. And as I write this, I realize that that is often the case. Once I am home and sitting at the computer looking at my images, all of the senses of the moment are no longer around me. The sound of the wind, waves, the smell of the trees, the chill of the air, all of the sensations of being in a place, are gone; it’s just me and pixels and memories. And there is where the edit comes into play. The processing is where the story is written in a photograph. The photographer's choices in the editing help convey the story and emotion felt in that place and that moment in time.
The story led to my decision to edit this image. I chose to convert to black and white to depict the harsh environment. The contrast showed the plant's struggle to grow among the rocks on the shore of a prominent and cold Lake Michigan. Through dodging and burning, I emphasized the branches trying to escape the cracks and rocks that closed in around them. I also chose a tighter crop to show further the struggle this plant must have felt trying to grow in such a rugged location.
All that is left now is for the viewer to bring their own story to the image. This is one of the best aspects of photography; every picture has two versions—that of the photographer and that of the viewer.
