Thursday, November 22, 2007

Do You Know What Kind Of Photographer You Are?

Were I asked this kind of question, I'd say something like:

I like to find beauty and interest in the very mundane, things that are overlooked by others.

This definition applies to much of my landscape work and all of my industrial projects. Oh, sure, I'll photograph a great scene when the opportunity rises.

So, do you know what makes you light up? Don't just say landscape, what is it about the landscape that interests you - is it the light or the majesty, the small details, the off the beaten track, the downright inaccessable. When photographing people, is it their expressions or interesting faces?

Which is more important to you, composition or light?

Being able to describe what moves you in detail will help you in your search for future images.

4 comments:

Debra Trean said...

I think this is a fun question. I think for me I am learning that I am somewhat of a "soulful" photographer shooting what touches my heart and eye. Light is not always where one needs it to be and it plays a huge part in photography but we can add and subtract it. I also find that I have a hard time moving away from the original colors and am learning how to spike it up a bit.

I enjoy the pondering questions you raise and will be most interested in seeing how others see them selves or if others see each other as we see our selves.

Awesome topic!

Anonymous said...

George,

The definition of your photographic style closely (exactly?) mimics mine and, from what I have read over the years, the self-described style of many, many other photographers. I'm wondering, then, if we're being too simplistic about our work. Is it enough to just find beauty from the mundane? I dunno, just something I've been thinking of lately.

As for light vs. composition, I can work with either as there are times that one, or the other, is so strong that it compensates for the deficiency of the other. Of course, the trick to find the holy grail of BOTH. But it's that search that makes it fun, right?

George Barr said...

Interesting point Chuck makes, if many of us see ourselves as doing the same thing, then how do we differentiate ourselves, or more importantly is there anything to be learned by this kind of introspection if we all think the same thing?

Anonymous said...

I am still in the early years of learning the answer to this question for myself but I think I am getting a glimpse of my style.

My greatest pleasure and my most satisfying images come from capturing what I call challenging beauty. I like to capture the magnificence and drama that is around us in our every day life, the scenery that does not conform to today’s very narrow view of prettiness but has splendor non the less for those that look.

Death Valley is one of my favorite places to shoot, it challenges you to find the splendor in its harshness. On the flip side of that I went to Yosemite on a photo tour and hardly took a shoot, the obvious prettiness of its waterfalls and valleys bored me, there was no challenge.