We are just over 6 weeks away from the Artist Round Table: Discovering Visual Voice in Port Townsend from June 16 to 19, 2011. ART is going to be a weekend long conversation discussing aspects of art and photography and putting into place a road map to discover your own visual voice.
Voice is a concept I struggled to understand–and to some degree still do–because it is nuanced. In today’s world, many of us find it easier to take a packaged idea and apply it to our photography especially if it helps to improve our images. My friends will tell you that when I first started out on my photography journey, I was impatient and felt my progress was too slow. It was as if I was seeking a “colour by numbers” kit to create a beautiful picture. I’ll admit I didn’t quite understand the kind of work and the time required to create images that will not only have an impact but which will also be authentic and original. Over the past year, my mentoring with Ray Ketcham helped me realize what I could to do move from imitating the work of photographers I admired to finding my own voice.
Much has been written on vision and none of it better than David duChemin. (I do work for Craft and Vision but I would still hold this opinion even if I did not.) I can recommend The Vision-Driven Photographer as an excellent resource for discovering and refining your vision. But what about voice? How is it different from vision? Yesterday I came upon a video on John Paul Caponigro’s blog that I think will help clarify vision from voice. Please stop and take two minutes to view the video as it will make more sense before continuing to read the rest of this post.
Vision is rooted in how we see things while voice is how we want to say something. I have found it useful to think of them as being sight and speech respectively. When using your voice, are you speaking in a whisper or are you shouting from the hilltops? As Ray explained it to me, voice is the approach you take to sharing what and how you see. I think sometimes when people talk about vision, they include voice in that definition and that’s what makes it difficult to explain. The complexity lies in photography being a visual expression so when we talk about voice, it is natural to combine it with vision.
As a photographer, why should we separate voice from vision? For me, the separation between what and how we see something from what we want to say about this, is fundamental to creating unique images. When I look at images that resonate with me, it is not simply because they have a strong vision but because they also have a feeling of being one of kind. Ray shed some further light on this by explaining to me that when we have a unique vision but do not use our own voice, our images do not reach their full potential of being memorable and having lasting impact.
How we say something should reflect our own way of saying it. In the beginning this might be similar to the voice of another but the real power of voice comes through authenticity.
So how do you develop your own voice? Well that is what ART is all about. Our two and half days together will be spent in the company of photographers and artists who will help you understand what it will take to discover what is uniquely you. If you are interested in joining us, please use the contact form to send me an email. Please include a short paragraph on what you hope to gain from being a part of the ART and what you would bring to the discussion. We have negotiated a reduced room rate at The Swan Hotel in Port Townsend but we will need to release the remaining rooms by May 1st so sign up soon. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
What a powerful video! Thanks for sharing. I wish I could get to PT for the Round Table. When you’re done with Ray, can you ship him to KC? thanks.
I don’t know if I’ll ever be done with Ray
I have a feeling he’ll be done with me long before I’m ready to let him go. There is so much still to learn and a long way to grow and hopefully more round tables. Who knows maybe even in KC?
I watched this video a couple weeks ago – and re-watched it again today – very powerful. The subject of your workshop is very dear to my heart. I have been involved lately with several conversations about intimacy, vulnerability and ties in with using our own voice. Yes we become vulnerable when we show our authentic selves but it is the way to connect to others and allow them to experience our voice.
Maureen, your work has always impressed me long before I really knew why. When I got to know you, I realized why. There is so much of who you are in your images and that vulnerability you are willing to share makes them even more powerful than the subject itself. Thank you :*
thanks, Sabrina, this is so helpful!
I have been reading Stephen Covey’s book “The 8th Habit” which talks about discovering and expressing your voice with the whole self: Vision (mind), Discipline (body), Passion (heart), and Conscience (spirit). I hadn’t made the connection to photography until I read this post.
And, as a mother of teenagers, I have to say that tone of voice can be even more powerful that the words themselves.
Love what Maureen said and Wow, ..that’s a whole other blog post about having the courage to allow authentic connections.
If Ray goes on tour, please consider a Dallas stop, …if Sue doesn’t mind.
Covey’s book sounds like something I should add to my reading list. How you say something in one’s images has become a bit of obsession of mine these last few months. When I started asking Ray questions about this, all these different doors opened up and–I know you will appreciate this point–even more questions formed. The discovery of all these different aspects of art and photography changed this from just being a journey to being a real adventure.
And yes, Ray should go on tour! Maybe he should headline the BBQ Bus and Photography Tour?
Ray could definitely be the poster boy for The Tour
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Sabrina. I very much enjoyed the video and even watched the original rendition of this story which was made in Spanish.
For me an effective voice is the one that is able to communicate the meaning of things while vision is what we want to talk about. To use the video in John Paul Caponigro’s post the subject is blindness (what the blind man’s sign is communicating) but the passerby provides a change in voice that communicates what it MEANS to be blind. The video also aptly depicts the impact of the more effective voice. When we communicate what things mean, we touch people on an emotional level. That is the challenge, and the power, of the arts.
~Brian
Brian, you gave me lots to think about in your comment so I took a day to reflect on it before responding. (You make me think too!)
For me, finding my own voice has been about discovering how to be unique in how I express my vision. I’ve attended a number of workshops and been influenced by great photographers like Bryan Peterson and Freeman Paterson but at some point, I wanted to find a way to bring who I am to my images. It took me a long time to figure out there is a way to do this but it takes work, self-knowing, and an understanding of how vision, voice, and style differ, among other things. I am still trying to work it out. My images won’t always blow you away but I hope you see something unique in them that brings you back.
Vision is something very personal and it will depend on a person’s perspective. This video can be seen in many different ways depending your vision and overall view of the world. It could be seen as a training tool to show the effectiveness of advertising language or as a story about society that reduces a blind man to begging. Is it about a young lady who will help a stranger in need or about a young lady who will lend language to help but not money? Could it be about a man who has given up and can’t overcome his disability? There are many, many points of vision possible on this story.
The way the sign was changed showed something in the woman’s voice and her outlook on the world, not in the blind man’s voice at all. The effectiveness of her voice is not what matters to me as an artist or photographer. What matters to me is the sign began in his voice and ended in hers and the voice used in each of the signs was authentic to each person. If your work is to achieve a goal or to communicate something then your voice needs to be authentic and reflect who you are.
If you want to photograph with an authentic voice, find your voice and use it. If you just want to be effective, then use advertising methods.
Vision is what and how we see something. Voice is how we share and say something. And just to make things more confusing, style is the accent and volume we season our voice with to make it effective.
Ray, thanks so much for what you added to what Brian and Sabrina have written here. Your comment that vision is personal and depends on a person’s perspective and overall view of the world really helped me make some connections.
I’ve discovered that there are two predominant, underlying questions that I repeatedly ask as I view and interpret the world. They run unscripted and I couldn’t stop them if I tried.
Ogalthorpe described it like this:
“I carried that desire to know and comprehend the hidden bridge between intent and how it was manifested as I grew from a child through adolescence into adulthood. ..It’s the singular forceful desire to understand the why to everything I observe and experience, that gravity of a deep inner sun so massive that no matter how I try to sway from it’s pull I am cannot escape this continual wondering.”
As a personal example, I have been evaluating marketing messages for 18 years. Not because it’s my job, or even a hobby, but because one of the questions that I continually ask is: “What message does that send?” I unconsciously apply that question to parenting, politics, education, training, government, my neighbor’s car, etc., etc., etc.
After reading what you wrote, it dawned on me – what if I took the questions that I naturally ask and intentionally applied them to photography?
Holy cow! Exploring mixed messages with a camera could be a lifetime project. lol!
Anyway, I hope this isn’t TMI. Just wanted to say thanks for everyone’s input and the way it’s helping me to make connections.
By Jove, Anita, I think you might have understood my ramblings in this post. Many times I started out with a statement when making my images. “I want to say X” or “I want people to know Y”. Now I start with questions. I believe it is transforming my photography in ways I never expected.
Hell of a video. You gave me a good long think with this one. I don’t think we can really ever separate vision from voice. It comes down to what we are trying to communicate when we are shooting something, and why we are attempting to communicate it at all.
I’m having these conversations with myself that go something like this:
“damn look at that scene, I want to shoot it”
“Why?”
“Because it’s beautiful, goddammit”
“Bullshit reason. Dig deeper”
“Because it’s a great story [insert fictitious interpretation of events here]”
“Yeah so?”
“It would make a great long term project because [insert fictitious interpretation of long term events here]”
“Yeah so?”
“It will be a great story to tell”
“So what? Plenty of great stories. What’s the point?”
“….”
“No seriously, if there’s no point, why shoot. What are you trying to say?”
“…..”
“And… so?”
And so on
(I am a pain in the ass, i hope I never have to really meet myself)
The conversation will end with me giving up the reasoning side for lost and going “I want to shoot it because I feel utterly compelled to do so, so leave me alone and let me get on with it.” And happily keep shooting.
The why bit is bothering me a bit these days though. I don’t beat myself up over it, but it’s important for reasons I can’t name right now. And I think it plays a part in vision, voice, intent, purpose, perspective, and all the terminology we throw around to try and explain why we are so driven to do this thing, and along the way, why we choose to the angles, methods and perspectives that we end up using.
Damn I would love to be at ART. I want to hear people’s whys.
Charlene, Sometimes when I get to “what’s the point?” I stop. I love that you are allowing yourself to shoot anyway, …even as you continue to search for the why.
Apologies for the late reply too, Charlene…just getting ready for Larry
I was really stuck on the “why” for a very long time and still do almost every time I go out with my camera. Most times now though it’s a mix of having some idea of what I am trying to say and trying to figure out why I’m drawn to something in particular. Labels aren’t important in the moment. What I think is important is just the self-awareness we can bring to that moment. It makes for a much more enjoyable experience and better images–at least it does for me.
I do agree that you cannot separate vision from voice but I do think they are distinctly different from each other while at the same time being intertwined. My vision for something is based on my experiences and so too is how I express that vision with my visual voice. Where I stumble is when I borrow someone else’s voice to express my vision or when I want to express myself when I have nothing to say. The former is a pale imitation and the latter a really boring image
Hope this makes sense.
Sabrina, I want so badly to attend ART but I can’t this time. Please, please do it again. This is a subject that I really need to talk through and I know I would learn so much from you, Ray, and the other participants. You’ve got me thinking though and that’s good.
Sorry I’m late getting back with my reply, Dorothy. We will see how this ART turns out and if people enjoy it and learn something useful in the 2.5 days there, then we will definitely consider doing it again. You know though that you can talk about this stuff any time with this community, right?