To add more fuel to the "Do you delete/trash your bad shots?" debate I offer the following quote:
"As his skills improved he destroyed whole batches of earlier [works] in annual bonfires, partly because he found them wanting, partly to force himself to further improvement." from "John James Audubon: The Making of an American" by Richard Rhodes. My $1: I delete (or trash negatives/transperencies) for both reasons cited above. I also find something romantic about the "annual bonfire." Like a ritual cleansing by fire and the phoenix (better images; self improvement) rising from the ashes. However, the next passage is just as striking: "Long afterwards he was grateful that in 1808 he had sent some 30 drawings to [his wife's] cousin... From that...he was able to salvage an early portrait of a least flycatcher...for which he had no later drawing." For this reason, if I have only one image of a particularly interesting subject, I keep it regardless of how crappy (out of focus, poor composition, poorly exposed, etc) I think it is. BTW, I'm only a few chapters into the book, but I'd recommend it to anyone interested in American History or Audubon in particular. -- Christian [EMAIL PROTECTED]
