Great Images are not made in "the middle"

Great images are not made by playing safe, by following “the rules of photography.”

Great images are made at the edges, not in the middle. They are made by pushing the envelope - by pushing exposure, shutter speed and ISO to their limits - by pushing them right to the edge of when they blow up in your face.

Great images are made by knowing “the rules of photography” and knowing when to cast them aside. Great images are made by knowing the rule of thirds and having the insight to know when to push it to the side, to regard it as the guideline of thirds. Great images are made by knowing how to work the edges of exposure and composition.

I do not claim to make “great images,” whatever that may be. I claim to do okay with my cameras every now and then, and once in a great while to be blessed and fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time with the right lens attached and to select the right ISO, aperture, shutter speed, subject, framing and the right millisecond in which to press the shutter release button.

Those moments are the moments that we image makers live for.