"The camera’s only job is to get out of the way of making photographs." - 365 Project, Day 196

If the camera does get in the way of the photo, you can always crop it out.  Photography purists will say they never crop or edit the file in any way.  I've talked about editing before, but this would be a nice time  to mention cropping.  I don't really crop my photos - today would be the second picture I've cropped this project (the first one being 'Bland' from a few days ago) - not because I don't want to, but just because I generally get the framing I want with the lens I have.  Any good photographer will somewhat adapt their style to the equipment they have.  I generally don't do tight shots, and as such, my 17-40mm suits me fine without any cropping.

Some of my pictures in the past would definitely benefit from some sort of cropping, such as today's.  The picture shot as is was a bit too far away.  I didn't want to walk closer because I liked the way the man sitting looked.  I also knew I was going to talk about cropping and so ended up being somewhat convenient.

I have no problem cropping.  I've heard before that the initial photograph is akin to the first draft of an essay or book.  It's got the core elements that would make it good, it just has to be refined.  One of those refinements is tweaking the colours, exposure, contrast and such, and another refinement is fixing any small issues with the composition.  Its just another step in making the picture look as best as it's ever going to look.  Sometimes you don't have the exact tool (i.e. lens) you need to get the perfect shot, and so you use another tool (i.e. editing software) to help you out.

Take a look at today's output.

Frank

His note: Inside my car, inside a carwash, almost at the end of the track...kind of surreal.

Mandy

Her note: There is a world within my doorknob and look! someone that looks like me!

Shannon

Her note: Mmmmmmm I love olives.

My photo

Given my topic today, I did crop my picture, though I had another one, uncropped, that I really enjoyed, as well.  I was just leaving my building and saw this gentleman sitting on something.  With the walls on either side, the whole scene seemed claustrophobic and isolated.  Luck had it that the other guy walked by and was fast enough to be blurry with the shutter speed I was using.  It makes him seem somewhat ethereal and not completely part of the scene.

I hope I get another picture of this sort tomorrow.