I’m feeling inspired to write again. I need to do this more often.

After my going to the Analogue/Digital Conference this year and visiting the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) in Brisbane for the first time today, I have deeply reflected on myself and my art after seeing some amazing people and pieces.

I finally think I have a photographic style. It is not a very distinct style, which is annoying, as that would make it memorable.

I am left feeling inspired and wondering what will come next for me.

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Here’s what I now know about my style.

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I like bright! I call this the “professional shine” you see it all professional images. It involves including tones from 100% black to 100% white in an image. Once I realised this, my photography looked twice as good overnight. I think bright images are much more striking to the eye, they catch your attention. I wish someone showed me this years ago, as it is so easy to learn, just it isn’t conciouslly known by many.

Everything has its place. Nothing is out of position, or if it is, it’s meant to be. I take such care to pose and fill the frame, removing and altering the smallest details.

In line with that last point, I do not have ambiguity. Nothing is left to the imagination, as everything is posed…

…Perfectly; I strive for professionalism perfection. This stems from always having to prove myself to my parents and every client and friend; to prove I am good, no…, that I am great at what I do, and to prove that photography is worth a shit. Everything must look deliberate and flawless. 

Everything is black and white, right or wrong. I avoid cliches. I avoid digital errors, such as chromatic aberration, murky midtones, and anything that is a product of digital cameras that shows amateurism. I am quite critical of others work. If I see any common Photoshop or photography faux pas I often scoff.

I like movement. I just realised I really like movement, I want all my images to feel like something is happening, even my landscapes.

My photos must be able to stand on their own legs. What I mean by this is I’ve shot for the Internet, where people only look at an image for a second and move on. This meant I made sure each image was striking to make that one second feel like it lasts longer. Through my university studies, I had a lecturer who’s style was a polar opposite of this. He taught me how a image can be strong in a series, and help tell a story better. This has partially changed my style. Evidence of this is “Vertigo”. I have also stopped posting to Deviantart and 500px (which were vital at the point of where I was but are no longer necessary) which has assisted in this change.

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I think its taken me so long to realise this as it required me to get to such a skill level to be able to see this. I am now able to shoot and edit so well that these traits are emerging. It’s over 10 years now since I started all this, and I have no shame in thinking that I am very good at what I do (as should anyone who’s done something for a over a decade). I can look at an image and dissect it instantly, technically (photographically and post processing wise) and conceptually. That is not to say I am a master; one is always improving. I am not yet world class, but I am the closest I have ever been.

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Hold on… I think you’re right

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Almost exactly a year ago, I was on some shooting outings with a friend. She was a hobbyist photographer, and I was very business orientated in my thinking at the time. She was embrassed that her images were not “good enough”. She said she was just having fun. I said that is the point and I don’t care how good they are. I then realised my strive for perfection was removing the fun from photography for me. I was not allowing myself to make mistakes. If it wasn’t flawless I wasn’t taking a photo. This style of working was stressing me out; I have since changed.

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After seeing Cindy Sherman’s work at GoMA, which has so many deliberte kitch cliques and bare bones basic default Photoshop effects, it made me take a step back. The effects got her point across very well, be it in a deliberately hideous way. I want to try not being “flawless”.

After listening to so many amazing people at Analouge/Digital Design Confference, I felt so restricted from photography, and that feeling hasn’t left after six months later. They were all doing so much cool shit with design that I could never dream of doing with photography, which has to start with an image. I want to break away from photography a bit and try something else. I’ve always wanted to draw, paint or play an instrument, so maybe that’s it.

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A New Chapter

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Now I really badly want to try something brand new again. Live music was my latest venture, after a year I want something new again. Portraiture and band photoshoots would be fun, and I shoud do more, but that’s enough. 

I want to try something mixed media. This means I can be unrestricted and dip my toes in desgin but not drown. To stick to something I am familiar with but go somewhere new.

I’ve been experimenting with blurred movement. Something will come from this; I’m sure of it.

I am very slowly allowing myself to make mistakes again. The last time I made mistakes was because I was shit. I am finding this very hard to do, to think outside my own box.

I want some arty series, something that is more artsy than it is photographic.

I am still working on my photo business (Kalem Horn Photo). It is on the backburner for now as I have a new job in warehousing (which I despertly needed as I ran out of money). That is still the long term goal; to live off my work.

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When I Grow Up…

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I always wanted to become a foreign photojournalist or travel photograper; travel the world, take photos and get paid, that isn’t a job (at least it feels that way to me). I still want that, but I have strayed far from that path I was once glued to. I then think of Olan Rogers’s video who said to chase your dream(s) but do whatever makes you happy. I try not to think about this as I do not know what to do or which path to take in life now that I have finished schooling; overwhelming oppurtunity (to quote a friend).

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I am very thankfull for my family and friends who have helped me improve.