Morpeth Camera Club: Arjun discusses what it means to have a ‘style’

The member of Gosforth Camera Club, who is also a photographic judge, stated that at camera club level, the limits of competition photography can make it difficult to express one’s own style.

Club photographers often bemoan the fact that they are unable to find their own ‘style’ and in his talk, he discussed what it means to have a ‘style’, how members could go about developing their own (and why they don’t necessarily have to) and the value of working on projects.

He said that we are used to presenting single images, but one could go beyond this by working on a series of images with a link.

The easiest way to start, he said, is to take one photograph each day for a year, or once a month, to build up a link and memory of that time.

This was illustrated by an audio-visual presentation of St Mary’s Lighthouse captured at different times of the day.

Regarding photographic style, he said that the square format lends itself to a series of images and he went on to illustrate the point by showing works by Michael Kenna with his distinct monochrome, square format, minimalistic style, and consistent elements.

He added that finding elements which come together to create a style, be recognisable and sellable requires constant effort and consideration.

A Q&A session and refreshments concluded another interesting evening at the club.