Common Grackle : The Perfect Photograph

This is a Common Grackle. This photograph is (very nearly) perfect. I make that statement not to be boastful but rather to draw explicit attention to what constitutes “Perfection.” Focus, exposure, and composition have to be right. Does it depict the subtleties of color in this “black” bird? You want to see the delicacy of the feathers. The eye is critical - without clarity and reflected(?) light, the image is subtly but inescapably dissonant. Is there an emotional connection? Why am I interested in contemplating this photo? What draws me in? Perfect. But what you don’t see are the thousands of other images on my cutting room floor.

Our tradition openly depicts imperfection. Adam and Eve transgress with the forbidden fruit. Sarah is reprimanded for doubting Isaac’s impending birth; Abraham is arguably overly-faithful in his willingness to sacrifice Isaac. Moses is denied entry to the Promised Land. King David isn’t allowed to build the Temple. Jonah flees. And on and on. Talmud teaches of two types of people: the full-fledged righteous; and the Ba’al Teshuva, the “Master of Return” who returns to living a proper life after transgressing. Fascinatingly, Rabbi Abbahu concludes that more merit is given to the penitent than to the always righteous.

Seeing only the “perfect” photo can be deceptive. That endpoint in time may be compelling, but it misses the evolving story of the dozens or hundreds of images that led to the pinnacle. Where is the artist’s awareness? The judgement? The discernment that evaluates thousands of possibilities and ultimately chooses the best to offer? Our own lives are equally evolving works of art. Our tradition elevates the value of growth and development, not merely the static place that one happens to be. This perfect photograph is here only because thousands of others shaped its development. So too, the best of us are those who have gone through the challenge of refinement.