Imperfect doves

click photo to enlarge
"Where there is perfection there is no story to tell."
Ben Okri, Nigerian author (b.1951)

Perfection is over-rated, especially in the visual arts. It can be seductive, rather like the "hook" in a pop song, but it is usually something that we tire of after being exposed to it a few times. Too often it is predictable in its completeness and that ultimately makes for an unsatisfying experience. Imperfection, on the other hand, can succeed by hinting at the perfection that might have been. The flaw in something that mars the perfection frequently becomes the focus of the piece, the thing that makes it interesting.

I was thinking about this as I processed this photograph of a line of doves on the pinnacles of an ornate building in Seville. How much more perfect and much less satisfying would it have been if all the doves had the same pose and faced the same way, and all of the pinnacles had a bird perched on it. It would simply be a picture of stacked lines, each repeating the same motif across the frame. Thankfully nature, in the form of the doves, gave the shot the imperfection that made it a more interesting image.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Photo Title: White Doves, Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares, Seville
Camera: Olympus E-M10
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 150mm (300mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f8
Shutter Speed: 1/1600 sec
ISO:200
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Is perfection overrated?

click photo to enlarge
Surfing the net a few days ago I came across a photographer's tips for taking good photographs of flowers. The very first sentence explained that to take a fine flower photograph you first had to find flawless flowers. That pulled me up short (and not only because of the alliteration!). If he'd said that to take photographs of the sort that are wanted by greeting card manufacturers, calendar designers, seed companies, etc, you must select perfect flowers, then I wouldn't have had a problem: these commercial concerns have a need for images of unblemished blooms that show no signs of age, disease or malformation. But, to assert that imperfect flowers cannot be the subject of a good photograph is nonsense.

Even a cursory knowledge of the history of painting reveals the deliberate and widespread use of flawed blooms by painters for the attractive, melancholic and symbolic qualities that they place before the viewer. And where the still life paintings of the seventeenth and subsequent centuries went in this regard, so too, in the past 160 years have many photographers. A while ago I posted such an image, showing a vase of hydrangeas that were well past their "best", but whose faded qualities attracted my meagre skills.

However, I have a feeling that today's photograph may well have been the sort that the photographer had in mind. It is about as close to perfect as I am able to get in terms of the blooms and the composition. These immaculate red tulips were in a churchyard, and I decided to use a long focal length to achieve sharp flowers at the centre of the shot, with those in front and behind out of focus. It's the sort of trick that photographers use to give a shot depth, and to focus the viewer's attention on a particular part of a composition. Oh, and you perhaps won't be surprised to find that we've selected this image for a few of our home-made birthday cards this year!

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 150mm (300mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/250
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

The beauty of imperfection

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Perfection can be seductive. It can also be very boring. I frequently confuse women actresses and pop singers because so many modify their appearance to conform to a "type" that many men seem to find "perfect". You know the sort - slender, blond, full lips, smooth skin, symmetrical "doll-like" features. And, frankly, I find this look uninteresting.

The same applies to male actors and singers. The androgynous look is widely cultivated and equally dull and confusing. Or how about car styling? The recently revealed 4-seater Porsche seems to have elements of virtually every sports cars designed since the 1960s. In their quest for perfection the stylists have removed all traces of individuality from the body-shape. Quirks, flaws, imperfections, individuality, make - for me - more appealing looks and designs. In an earlier blog post I questioned whether the exterior appearance of Norman Foster's Swiss Re tower (the "Gherkin") in London is too perfect, visually facile, lacking an element that breaks into the simple shape and colours, and whether we'll soon tire of its easy appeal. Architects still make the mistake of excessive simplicity in the search for perfection. Many realised, early in the twentieth century, that introducing the random imperfections of trees and bushes in architectural drawings, and in actuality, improved people's appreciation of their buildings' smooth surfaces, repeated right-angles and shimmering curtain walls.

Similar reasoning can be applied to photographs. It's quite easy to take pictures of flawless subjects, particularly when depicting the man-made world, but the result is often unsatisfying. Today's photograph is a case in point. It shows a wall covered in blemish-free, brushed stainless steel tiles. The orientation of each is such that the wall has a lustrous chequerboard pattern. However, when I came to photograph it I looked for a position that allowed me to incorporate elements (particularly the shadows and reflected ceiling lights) that broke up the perfect surface. The paradox is that including the imperfections gives increased emphasis to the perfect finish, as well as adding interest to the overall composition.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 22mm (44mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/30
ISO: 400
Exposure Compensation: -1.0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Imperfect nature

click photo to enlarge

Yesterday The Guardian newspaper carried an article about some Spanish property developments. These gated communities, constructed around Jack Nicklaus designed golf courses, feature identikit white painted, tiled-roofed, balconied "villas" set among impossibly green manicured lawns, lollipop trees and blue lakes. The photographs that accompany the article look like computer-generated images, so "perfect" are these homes for British expats who fancy a life of sun and golf. Apparently there is some concern over whether they will all sell, due to a market slump. However, that aspect of the report didn't interest me. I was just morbidly fascinated by the pictures.

Why would anyone want to live in a such a soulless place, a haven for the rich set in an area of relative poverty, a community with no history that looks like Toy Town? But then I reflected, perfection, an unattainable goal, seems to be the aim of many people today. Advertisers and T.V. programmes urge us to aspire to the perfect house in the perfect location filled with perfect consumer durables, taking "dream" holidays in "idyllic" locations. Maybe these developments in Spain give you all that for one big dollop of cash, and you can rest content that you've attained your perfect dream. Or is it a nightmare?

Today I picked this Cornflower (Centaurea montana) from my garden. It was one of many blooms on the plant, all of them radiating their distinctive petals. There is a pleasing flawed perfection about these flower heads. They could have perfect symmetry, but the tips of the petals refuse to co-operate and twist in all directions. It's a quality I like about the plant. However, picking up my theme for the day I decided to present this flawed flower against a background that strived for perfection! I laboured long and hard with the shadows, the shading and the colours. I'm unsure whether or not I like the finished image - it's a bit Mothers' Day cardish. But, since it's quite different from my usual flower shots I'm posting it anyway!

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 35mm macro (70mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f8
Shutter Speed: 1/80
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: Off
Flash: FL36 bounced