I recently saw an interview with Joel Meyerowitz during which he referred to one of his previously unpublished photographs as an 'observation'. I thought that was a pretty useful term. Less pejorative than 'snapshot', which might seem to imply that the photographer didn't really give a damn. On the other hand, 'observation' suggests that you at least aimed the camera with intent and pushed the shutter button at approximately the decisive moment, but that for one reason or another, the final result fell a little short. The image is not one you'd select for a gallery show or even choose show to your pixel peeping friend. Maybe the composition is a bit off, that sort of thing. But, still, you don't want to permanently delete it from your archive, either. Some ineffable force prevents you from hitting the delete button. Fact is, you don't mind looking at this image every so often, when you go back through your files. It is actually kind of gratifying to have a record of all of your 'observations' over the years, I think. Perhaps a series of these 'observations' would actually be worth a show? At least, it might tell you something about yourself.
Here is an image that qualifies as an observation. What I was thinking at the time was something like this. Is the tree lopsided because the layout of the parking lot dictated how the landscaper trimmed the tree over the years? Entropy in other words. Or was the tree allowed to grow unconstrained for years, and then, when they paved the parking lot, it was just easier to construct the parking lot around the unusually shaped tree? In either case, I'm glad they didn't just cut down the tree.
Here is a different view of the tree, one I like better as a composition. But I'm still glad I have the original observation to refer back to.
