After an interesting and eye opening chat I had with Reuben Redding a few weeks ago, I have been shooting various subjects with different cameras in an effort to try and find my way. One thing that came up in that discussion was that I seem to want to label myself a “street photographer” or a “landscape photographer” instead of just a “photographer.”

For whatever reason, I always want to find a label for myself, which doesn’t make much sense because I have trouble sticking with one genre or medium anyway. So what am I trying to achieve by putting myself in one of these photography silos? Is it self-imposed or due to the influence of social media, where to get more “Likes” it’s best to be “known” as one type of photographer?

During my workshop with Alan Schaller years back, he stressed the importance of focusing one’s photography. He had come from a music background where he played all styles of music and the result was that he didn’t make much money or become known outside of being a studio musician. So when he took up photography, he vowed to focus on one type and stick with it, and sure enough, he’s now one of the world’s best known high contrast black and white photographers.

What does all this have to do with Mardi Gras in the Sierra foothills town of Nevada City? Well, it may not look it, but this was me trying to shoot something in a different way and not worry about “my style.” I mostly shoot street with my Leica M10 Monochrom, but for this occasion, I brought up my Leica SL2-s. I shot with my 35mm f/2 Summicron mounted on the M-lens adapter for the SL system. I had a lot of fun shooting in color. It’s a completely different mindset.

So that’s what I’m going to be doing for a good part of this year: going out shooting whatever strikes my fancy with whatever camera I feel like shooting that day. I may not be known as one particular type of photographer, but at least I’ll be doing what makes me feel good about myself.