Well, yesterday I went to the Vision 09 event in London and saw 2 photographers talks.
The first was Martin Parr. I loved his work and collections that he has made over the years. The Saddam Hussein watches were great and his books were inspiring. His style is very distinctive with saturated colour palettes and similar ideas behind his photography.
The second was Eugene Richards which was a stark contrast to Martin Parrs work. His lifes work has covered some of the most harrowing subject matter. His photos were amazing but I found the presentation very harrowing. I don't think that I could take what this man has done in his life without going mad!
The main thing I found interesting was that both photographers established a visual style early in their careers that has not changed too much. Each photographer had a distinct vision of the world, coming from a specific direction. Their visual styles are linked directly to their content of choice.
I think that to make good artwork, both the content and the visual style needs to be closely linked. Also, from a photography point of view, photo essays are the way to go.