Photographic Vision

The photographic vision and process are dynamic.  It's not like painting where the medium dries, photographs, or more importantly the negative, essentially never dries.  That's what makes it such a dynamic art form, or sometimes such a complete headache.  If ever there were a medium for an indecisive person to not approach, it would be photography.  The negative can be re-printed over and over again, and if it happens to be in the form of a digital file it can printed indefinitely.  I'll often work an image for hours before attaining the look, feel and emotion I'm searching for.  Regardless of the amount of time I initially spend with an image after I've created it, I will go back to it to double check my work, perhaps tweaking this or that, perhaps not.  Sometimes mocking my past work as unfinished, muddy and lacking direction.  This may happen a few days after the first initial workings, or a few years.  And although some disagree with this approach for integrity reasons, which I think is silly, it is the beauty of photography that this is the case.  Visions change, techniques change and new ideas emerge.  I posted the image below a little over a week ago, it was an image I shot a few miles from my house in San Francisco.  Even as I was posting it I wasn't fully content, but forgot about it over the past week.  I came back to it this morning and really pumped up the local contrast, brightened the center and toned down the corners.  I also let parts of the seastacks go past zone IX, which I'm beginning to be okay with.  For years I was fanatical about having detail throughout every tone.

Before:

Re-Adjusted:

 I'm quite pleased with this result and perhaps I shouldn't be too hasty to get an image out to the public, but give it a chance to stew in the creative juices for awhile.  Give me a chance to feel out where it should go and what it should be.

Cheers All!