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lion
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Last Login: 11/1/2008 8:39:14 PM
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Jorge Gasteazoro (1/11/2008)
My question is: Is developing a style a good thing? The more I think about it I beleive it is not.
I think developing a style is an indication of staganation. Yes, an easily recognizable style might mean acceptance by the public. And after all as an artist no work of art is complete without a viewer. But it forces the artist to get comfortable doing just one thing and not taking risks. Without risk there is no growth IMO.
Hi Jorge,
That is how I got myself in trouble with some juries for some Art Shows that I have juried into. The jurors who viewed my slides felt that I had no style. They felt that I was a learning photographer who submitted work that had been done for a photography class. They did not realize that I was in fact trying to demonstrate the breathe of my knowledge and capabilities in photographing grand and intimate landscape as well as wildlife. When in fact, I was trying to demonstrate that I was a more complete nature photographer.
I believe that we as photographers should work to please ourselves and use what ever is presented to us to share what we see with others. That would be vision. I do not always want my images to look the same, I want to work with the subject and bring out what I want to record and share. If that is style so be it. But, I would look at it as more in terms of vision.
Rich
Richard A. Nelridge
http://www.nelridge.com/
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lion
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Last Login: 6/7/2008 2:49:31 PM
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I am not surprised you are misunderstood by Juried art shows. You have to think that their reason for existence is to sell over the couch art, and whatever is in vogue at the time is what gets the ohhhs and aahhhs.... In the 90s anybody doing Michael Kenna like stuff would get accepted, presently if you make it big and in color or if it is ordinary looking then it gets the nod....
My take is this, I don't want my photographs to look like anybody's, and I don't want to keep doing the same thing over and over...I am bored to death with my current pictures, so I am experimenting in other directions. I have found, one, that I am learning to do things I never tired before and two, that I am less concerned about getting a winner. Photography is starting to be fun again.... 
So in that sense I agree with you that we need to please ourselves first.....but not just for ourselves.
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gopher
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I guess I am a little confused about vision and style. To put this in perspective I am an amateur who is not trying to please the masses, in fact I am ecstatic if my wife likes what I have done. I also have to admit that I am my harshest critic.
I see vision as a way of being able to sort out what is worth photographing, of anything, when confronted with a scene. This could also the ability to find appropriate subject matter for a theme or project I want to work on, or it could be identifying how I would like a final print to appear prior to releasing the shutter. Gary and Thomas have said this much better than I have.
As far as style is concerned I see it as a recognisable attribute within images. This could be subject related, related to the way prints are made, or the way prints are presented. Is it a good thing? I am not sure.
Jorge has said "My take is this, I don't want my photographs to look like anybody's, and I don't want to keep doing the same thing over and over...I am bored to death with my current pictures, so I am experimenting in other directions." If having a style results in this then it is definately not a good thing in my opinion. However I would be interested in hearing if a photographer is limited to a single style at any point in time.
Just the thoughts of an amateur who is bored with his current style of over the couch prints, both colour and black and white ( you know the ones, technically ok, but with no message), and would love to have the vision to find the image in the crap I have been taking lately (lol).
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pachyderm
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| I guess since I started the thread, I should at least put in my thoughts as well. I see Vision and Style as two very different things. Vision is the "why", while Style is the "how". A man without vision is like a ship lost at see, bouncing to and fro with the waves. Without the "why" you can never accomplish the "how". Hopefully, my vision will never change, although my style may. If everyone will indulge me, my Vision is to share the glory that I see in God's creation with others, in a way that pleasing, in a way that brings a sense of relief from our hectic, fast paced world, even if only for a moment. The problem is how to bring the vision to fruition. Rich alluded to this earlier when he wrote "I want to work with the subject and bring out what I want to record and share". There is a definite order in the universe, the way the sun and the sky, the trees and the clouds, the flowers, the rocks and the hills and valleys flow into one another, how they interact. The problem is trying to get past our own mental roadblocks that keeps us from seeing this order. At present, my style seems to be one of looking for that one elusive moment in time, when the order becomes apparent. For example: 
Could this image have succeeded, if it wasn't for the waves crashing at just the right, opportune moment? I think not. They are what connects the sky, with the wet sand in the foreground, but they also connect the viewer to a very specific moment in time. I also have to realize, although I often forget, that not everyone cares to see these things. Like Jorge, I too get bored, not with my vision or style, but with location. I see beauty in the ocean, but I also see it in the mountains or in the desert. Perhaps, my favorite location in the world, at this present time, is the Western MacDonnell range in Australia's great Northern Territory - the Australian Outback is vibrant and alive, for those who seek it.
Robert M. Teague---------------------------------------------
Website: www.visionlandscapes.com
Blog: visionlandscapes.spaces.live.com
"Fujifilm remains true to its heritage and to the acknowledged superior image quality delivered by professional photographic film products." -- Fuji Press Release An old Hasidic story says we should wear a coat with two pockets in order to receive God's message. In one pocket, the message is: "You are nothing but one of billions of grains of sand in the universe." In the other, the message is: "I made the universe just for you."
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lion
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 6/7/2008 2:49:31 PM
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Robert beat me to it. I was going to post that to me "vision" is the reason to take the picture. "Style" is what comes out of the darkroom. You might have envisioned something when you took the shot, but you might take a 180º turn in the darkroom and produce something totally different.
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