Lichen Rocks & Oaks
…Colin and I have been discussing off-line a photographer (artist) “style”. Colin had remarked that this was good subject for a post the following day, and since he has some other issues to write, or is still pondering this, I feel the need to discuss this.
The need for a style is one of those things that commerical photographers seem to talk about a lot and strive for. A style is probably the same as “branding”, a particluar look that has becomes like a trademark. I think that both Colin and I agree that an artist who strives to develop a style may not be persuing a good thing.
He had commented on the fact that I have a particular style that he has recognized, which surprised me as I did not think of my photography as having any style or look. And in fact, I am not trying to create a “style” but trying to authenticly photograph what interests me and then to create an image from that exposure that also interests me. Colin writes “yes, a style is one of those things one has, not a thing one creates“.
I make specific choices in my composition, exposure and why I face this way versus that way. My photographs should reflect my decisions, and eventually when you see many of my choices in a larger contex, a consistent style may emerge. So on further reflection, my style is probably changing to reflect my interests and things that I photograph. In fact, if I fear that if I were to try to establish a “style” or persue a certain look, it would not be true to ME.
While working on my series Bad Trip – Sad Trip, I found that I was taking mostly if not all urban photographs. I even thought about my interest in landscape photogrphs as not as interesting. But then during a project a couple of weeks ago out in Riverside, CA, I found myself in the Santa Rosa Plateau. First chasing some foggy day potential images, then finding a road side memorial to work on, and finally seeing the landscape that was also present there. But I also can see while looking at the images that I made, that what I photograph is changing. Other parts of the landscape seem to interest me now, which I guess are reflected in what I print.
Best regards, Doug
Singular Images 
Doug, I wrote about something similar about a month ago: http://www.paullesterphoto.com/wordpress/?p=526 Style, I think, is something that you develop without knowing it. It is just part of how you perceive things and then portray them. I would agree that pursuing a certain style is probably not something that will yield honest results. When I say honest, I mean true to yourself. Sure, you could force yourself to photograph a certain way all of the time, thus developing a style, albeit, perhaps an artificial style.
Over time, as you change and grow in life, your style will more than likely change, also. It begins to get easier to see when looking over a significant body of work. I only recently discovered my style, but I don’t give it a second thought. If I start ‘thinking’ about it while I’m shooting, my images just seem to fall flat. I have to go with the flow and be in the moment to produce anything worthwhile.