Anytime we run into issues or deal with an adversity, it is very common to receive this typical advice: look at the big picture. I often find it to offer some succor but at times I feel it is ill advised. I have been mulling over the question when is looking over big picture is an appropriate advice and when it is just a bromide.
This was not yet another existential angst questions but triggered by a recent edit I was making to a photo taken in Rome on August 6, 2019 (Happy Birthday Jagadish). This is the original photo. Big picture and all.
The picture above was taken at night, using HDR to improve the image without going too slow on shutter speed (to minimize blur due to camera shake) and as I was tinkering with the image, I cropped the bottom half of the image, thus eliminating the “clutter” and the resultant image is far more dramatic, IMHO, as you can see below.
The above image is far more dramatic and pleasing than the original. This led me to the question that was vexing me for a while. Isn’t it better to NOT look at the big picture so as to reduce the “clutter” that comes with a big picture point of view and may actually become non sequitur to provide succor from the situation under consideration.
I have been conditioned to execute task at hand with laser focus and without distractions and take a big picture view for long term plans. I am wondering if I got it wrong. Since I am in the execution mode, I already know what needs to be done, so where is the need to reinforce “keep the eye on the prize”? Will having a big picture to calibrate my tactical plans so that I don’t miss out other potential options yield better results? On the other hand, is it better to traverse the hierarchy back and forth, top down and bottom up? Will that help me get to a better long-term plan? Is cropping like a moving window overlaid on a big picture and you keep moving it around? Will that make you thrash around not knowing what is the right answer and when to stop moving?
Who would have thought a simple cropping exercise can trigger some soul searching? That’s photography for you, in case you are wondering.
