“Art is never finished, only abandoned.” – Leonardo da Vinci (or Paul Valéry ?)
Perhaps you have read this quote before, I certainly have. It is one of those quotes that state so much more than the simple words that it is composed of. I don’t think about the literal aspects of this much, but in practice, it is something we all do with every image, every time in the field and afterward. I was recently reminded of it in reading Guy Tal’s new ebook on Creative Processing Techniques.
With photography, the process of abandonment can be brought about by a number of influences and has a number of different stages. When you think about it, it can happen during capture, during editing, during post-processing, or even in the act of storage. Each one of those stages brings about different reasons why abandonment might happen at that particular point. A photograph is faced with a lot of different obstacles to overcome before reaching its way out to the world, or not at all.
This process of nurturing a photograph along came to mind for me upon thinking about this quote again. It can be like what I described in my last post where you are trying to find suitable subjects to fit into a puzzle. The process of searching in the field is much like nurturing it to become something more tangible. We make conscious decisions to work a subject further, or to move on to something new. Abandonment in the field may be a creative choice, or one plagued by outside circumstances like time, opportunity, or state of mind.
I have written “affectionately” about a term I call Picture Purgatory in the past. That is another case where an image is unintentionally left to simmer in some folder in your digital archives. During processing, you make a decision on when enough is enough. In editing, you may decide to go no further except for the trash can. Or it can simply be an image that is forgotten. All of these things lend themselves towards abandonment at some point.
I take away from da Vinci’s (or PV’s) quote that abandonment does not need to be a negative term or a final destination. It is simply a stopping point on an endless path. I have many older images that someone orders as a print from my website where I look at it and think “I could make this look so much better now.” At one point in time, I chose to abandon that image and move on to something else. So whether I do that as part of processing new images, when it is called upon because of an order, or when I simply stumble upon an image in the archive, it is interesting to think about where this stopping point comes up in our photography. We all reserve the right to revoke abandonment and nurture the image to the next step, should there be one.
I tend to develop images soon after making them in the field so that I have a fresh recollection of what I was feeling at the time. In that way my end point is reached when the image matches my remembered emotion. With time however, the image becomes more like raw material for me to experience anew and without a tie to a particular experience. At that point a finished image will reflect my feelings at that time. I don’t think I would have considered that abandonment….Thanks for the thoughtful image and post!
No doubt that is a good practice to follow Paul. I tend to get to my favorites first, and sometimes the second/third favorites end up sitting for awhile. No doubt I have had some instances where the feeling was lost and I was left scratching my head why I made a particular image.
Get quote. I often return to shots I have forgotten about or abandon. Looking through older folders can bring new light to an image that was once forgotten!
I like how in the your picture there is blue skies at the end of the hallway, nice photo!
That is an interesting term Monte. Besides, I thought when software was “functioning” it was released for the users to debug it. 🙂
A phrase used in writing software is “creeping elegance.” I was told this by one of managers during an evaluation. It was suggested that when I had a program functioning to let go of it an move on. This was in a working environment where time and money were of importance.
I find my gut feeling is what I need to listen to when it’s time to abandon this image, for the moment. And, I do like how you worded it, “It is simply a stopping point on an endless path.” In a creative and artistic field that endless path is a joyful journey. What I learn from tomorrows photography will add to the development of images in my archives.
And, Suzy, brings up an interesting aspect many of us do. The experience of being there, looking through the view finder, pressing the shutter button, hearing the sounds and smells of that moment are so enticing to me that the post processing is a drudgery. My mind is not even there but still at the lake or the meadow or wherever I was.
Oh, and loved Dan’s story!!! LOL
For most photos I’m aware of the reasons I’m taking the photo and what I’m trying to capture or accomplish with it. After processing it may turn out differently then originally envisioned but I go into it with a artistic preconception knowing there will be a point I can let go…abandon it.
Then there are images I feel drawn to but can’t easily identify the compelling reasons. Those are the ones I struggle with in hopes, as Dan commented above, of learning “how to see” them. These are the hardest to “abandon,” even shot term, because they seem to contain secrets I cannot unlock.
Wonderful photo, Mark, and another fine post!
My thoughts are much the same Earl. Thanks!
Two things about abandonment, one practical and the other a story.
First the practical. I do not usually delete raw files. But the following year I make a point of going back through all of the “initially abandoned” images and reviewing them. Every time I do so I discover “how to see” some of them that I did not fully understand back at a time when the making of the image was too fresh in my mind. So, while some images are indeed permanently abandoned – either because we know we won’t be able to use them or because there is nothing more left to do to them – sometimes the abandonment may not be as permanent as we imagine.
Second a story. I studied music composition – that is the subject of my college degrees. After grad school I went back some time later to visit my mentor and professor, now as something more closely approximating a colleague. I asked him how his compositional work was going. He replied, more or less,”I finished my new piece last Wednesday night! And I finished it again on Thursday… I think I may try to finish it this week, too!”
Dan
I love this story—a true treasure.
Thanks a lot for this contribution Dan. I am much the same way, only deleting if there is something overly wrong with them. I have also realized there can be a disconnect between the inspiration at moment of capture and when I review them later on.
The story about your professor is a great example here. It is a strange term …. ‘finish’ when it comes to any creative pursuit, which is why “abandonment” seems to better describe the process. I think it helps us as photographers to think about this term and how we have used it in our work as a decision point to move on to something else. We shouldn’t see it as a finishing line.
I enjoy very much going back through old files and rediscovering pictures that I couldn’t see during the first edit. Your first post on Picture Purgatory made an impression on me and continues to be an influence. Because physical ailments have recently limited my abilities to get out and make new photos, I have spent more time looking at old files. The entire experience has pushed me to learn more about processing which has benefits. While I have chafed at the limitations and wanted to be out more, I think it has all worked out for the best. I also like the thought that abandonment also can mean learning when “enough is enough”. That is one I sometimes struggle with. As always, a thoughtful post with plenty to “chew on”.
I think there will always be room to create in the field, and room in the post processing of images Anita. The situation you describe highlights the floating balance between the two. Sometimes we are able to do more on one side versus the other, but each one can be just as rewarding. I am glad Picture Purgatory had some influence! I certainly seem to come across it quite a bit now that I have consciously recognized what is happening in that process.
Interesting. My images sometimes get abandoned on the CF card 🙁 Then often on my pc. I load them into LR then dont get around to processing them further. I still have many not even looked at from my feb trip. I seem to have a home pc aversion recently. It just seems like a lot of effort when the fun of taking them is over and I’ve seen how they came out on the LCD on the back of the camera 😉
Very true Suzy – and certainly working in an office behind a computer may not be as liberating as being immersed in an environment for many. But often I find the image on the LCD to be lacking when it comes to how I really want the final photograph to look like. So from that aspect, I enjoy the post processing that really brings an image to life.
Unless I’m underwater I prefer to use my iphone. What it lacks in precision & image quailty it gains (for me) in creative freedom and the burden of any PP becomes enjoyment because I can do it all in-phone. Its a funk I really should get out of, I probably just need to clear my desk at home 😉
Interesting thoughts, Mark. The last paragraph formulated a question in my head which I must ask – if you go through your portfolio and see some photo where you realize that you could make it much better nowadays, do you additionally work on it? If the “make it better” is meant by beter/different processing?
Tomas, essentially yes, I have learned quite a bit since my early days. I may have a composition that is sound, but could use technical enhancements on tone or sharpness. Like I mentioned in the post, I come across this now and then when I am printing older images.
Interesting and timely post. Another thought…. As long as the public is appreciating the work it is art, but once they abandon it…..what is it?
Trite? 🙂
Interesting that you talk about the abandonment of a work of art both as putting it in the reject pile to never be shown and as letting go of working on it any more and putting it in front of the public. I always thought that da Vinci was referring to the latter, but I wonder if anyone knows for sure. I suppose the reason I have the context I do for the quote is that I heard it a few times while attending motion picture classes in college. It seems in the film business usually editors and directors keep editing and tweaking a film forever unless they just let go of it at some point and call it good enough to release.
PS – Great photo, by the way.
Hey Mark
A favorite quote of mine, I had been thinking of writing similar idea on this line – it says so much about art.
I think you make a great point that we “abandon” our photography both in the processing AND in the field .. moving on to other subjects, etc. A lot of times we forget that it happens in the field as well.
That said, the quote applies more now than ever, perhaps, with the digital realm; we have, effectively, a completely infinite number of options and choices we can go on making with our processing, and sometimes we just decide something is done because it;s time for us, not the work itself, to move on.
Cheers
Carl
I agree Carl, digital has certainly made it, for better or worse, to tweak at whatever time we wish.
I’ve read a lot about abandonment, referring to those photos that are taken, make the first cut and then languish in a forgotten folder. But this goes back way before digital photography. I know photographers that have never printed all the negatives they shot or mounted all the slides they took (guilty). Sometimes we forget the reason why we took the shot in the first place. What were we thinking? I think the truth is that a lot of “abandoned” shots just might not be very good.
The question of a stopping point obviously must be made when processing any image. If lucky things fall into place and a final result is fairly quick and assured but many times I come to that “when is enough enough” spot. As of late I feel that if an acceptable result is not achieved in a reasonable time frame (which varies depending on my infatuation of the image) I simply move on and and the image sits and many times is forgotten, I don’t like that either. I know I have many images that need nurturing, the constant desire to move forward seems to play a part in my reluctance to return to those that shouldn’t be forgotten. I do find myself revisiting images but I believe I need to nurture more instead of just drop by.