The last post....

For my course submission I sent prints along with hard copies of the five assignment submissions. Below are the thoughts I included in a covering letter to the assessors which explain some of the feelings I have in completing the course. I felt a great sense of relief taking my box of prints to the post office, I have thought more than once that I would not complete DPP and in the end I am glad that I did. Some of the lessons I have learned are detailed below, only time will tell if I am able to use the self awareness I have gained going forward or slip back into old bad habits. All I can say is that today I feel positive and motivated to face future challenges head on, I will try to remember this when old doubts slip into my mind. 

A note on completing the course:

I have found studying this course to be extremely challenging as it has coincided with me hitting a crossroad in my photographic development. As you will see from my assignment submissions, I have frequently been racked with self doubt and a feeling of being 'blocked' during the course. This affected me to such an extent that I strongly considered cutting my losses with the course and trying something different. I am pleased I managed to persevere and complete DPP and grateful that OCA extended my deadline so I was able to do this. Ironically, a tightly managed 6 week extension for the submission of each assignment really helped to focus my mind on producing work rather than worrying that I may fail. I found myself taking a great deal more risks than I would have normally, culminating in assignment 5 which was a huge leap of faith for me. I am grateful to my tutor Keith Roberts who encouraged me to take risks and push myself out of my comfort zone.

Unlike my previous course, The Art of Photography, I decided to keep an online blog for DPP. This was partly because I wanted to practice my writing skills - the act of publishing online for the world to see forced me to consider carefully what I was writing. Unfortunately, I found myself being extremely self critical and have only ended up publishing a selection of the notes I have made about further study. I have decided to keep these notes that I have not completed on my computer rather than spend an inordinate amount of time trying to formulate them into something I would be happy with. Unfortunately this means that my blog only contains a section of my further research. Hopefully the posts that are online will give you an idea of the type of reading and research I am doing.

My photographic motivations and influences have changed significantly during my time studying DPP; I am much less interested in technical perfection and have become more concerned with the multitude of ways photography can be used as visual communication and art. My focus now  is in exploring as much visual art as I can through books, magazines and gallery visits - and not just confining myself to photography. I am keen to develop my critical thinking and study skills and the next course I have enrolled on is Understanding Visual Culture. The challenge for me with this course however is to keep taking photographs driven by personal projects rather than the course material. This ties in well with the main learning I have gained from DPP: I need to be self motivated and self sustaining in my photographic practice.

In summary, I have probably learned more about myself studying DPP than I have about photography and this has been a difficult yet ultimately rewarding. I understand better now what motivates me and I feel I am starting to head in the right direction: I have not yet found my voice but I have a clearer understanding of the direction I need to go to.

Assignment 5: Response to Tutor Comments

I was extremely relieved that this assignment was favourably received, as I mentioned in my commentary I felt very much out on a limb here and I am reassured that Keith thinks I am on the right path. On his suggestion I have altered the positioning of some of the images, changed the font and centred the text more (revised images are shown below) . How the images would be presented was a consideration for me throughout the assignment. In my minds eye I imagined both pictures printed at 4x6 on opposite pages of a photo album. For assessment I have had the images printed side by side on A4 size paper, with hindsight I maybe should have followed through with my initial concept as presenting in a photo album would change the reading of the images considerably as it would express my intentions more fully and gain strength by becoming an artefact rather than a series of images.

Looking back on the course this last assignment feels light years away from the work I put together for the first assignment and I think demonstrates how I am now more able to take risks with my work. I am starting to think less like a student and more like an artist, I am less worried about failing and more driven to create and express myself. The assignment has given me the confidence to continue  experimenting and to try and push myself out of my comfort zone  whenever possible. I feel positive about my future studies and can see now the aim is to create an independent and sustainable practice.

Assignment 4: Response to Tutor Comments

The first section of Keith's feedback which draws attention to the work of Nick Ut, Dorothea Lange and Robert Capa threw me straight away and I quickly realised I had missed an opportunity with this assignment. These are all documentary photographers and Keith makes valid points about how cropping, perhaps the simplest form of photographic manipulation, can greatly alter how we read a photograph and our perception of the truth it contains.

I was pleased Keith appreciated me citing Morrissey as an influence as one of my reasons for including him is that he had, and continues to have a keen interest in how is worked is packaged and the images that are used to present his work. I think Keith recognises that I did not have the courage of my convictions here to discuss the work further. This explains my very technical approach to the assignment, I think I focussed too much on design rather than exploring the notion of photography and truth. Keith makes pleasing comments about my ascetic choices for the cover design but I feel somewhat disappointed with myself here as I have played safe and not stretched myself to move forward; I have stayed too much in my comfort zone. If I was to complete this assignment again I think I would pursue I more purely photographic approach and try to produce a cover in the style of an artist with a strong visual identity like Morrissey. 

Assignment 5 - Tutor Comments

Overall Comments

Many thanks for submitting this last assignment Michael, which I thought was a very touching and worthwhile project.

Key issues mentioned in my last report are as follows:

• Look at the work of Nick Ut / Dorothea Lange / Robert Capa

Feedback on assignment

I really liked the Barthes quote that you opened with here and a book by Keith Jenkins immediately sprung to mind.  I have listed it below and although it isn’t strictly photographic  … I think you might get something from this.  Jenkins goes on to highlight the fact that ‘History’ and ‘The Past’ are two entirely different things, and can be interpreted differently depending upon who is reading them.  The past has already happened and can never happen again … whereas History, through writings etc, is an attempt to bring it back by the historians / theorists / academics etc.  Jenkins carefully differentiates between the two.

I really liked this project from start to finish and thought there was a real purpose to it.  It can often be very difficult for undergraduates to grasp the fact that this medium is about so much more than just one off slick images.  I liked the fact you have used ‘found’ images, sourced from your family archive – this is a creative milestone in my opinion.  I also thought the presentation worked well in terms of the duplicated reflection, with the opacity reduced.  The text could have been ‘designed’ a little more perhaps … in terms of font  / size / page justification / positioning etc … but the content was very reflective and moving at times.  The fact you have chosen to tackle this project in such a way leads me to believe you are definitely heading in the right direction in terms of your development critically. Take a look at Tacita Dean’s project called ‘Floh’.

I’d also like you to look at the work listed below by a British photographer called Julian Germain.  He was in residence at the National Media Museum a few years back and for the ‘Every Minute ….’ project, he spent a number of years photographing a man called Charles Snelling.  The images have been shot with a large format camera and really enter into the personal life of this fascinating subject.  It shows that a chance encounter with somebody can lead to the development of both a relationship and output of a body of work over an extended period.

Lastly, I would also recommend reading the Photography, History & Memory publication listed below … here is a short quote which might attract your curiosity !

Once a photograph comes out of storage, it is as if ‘energy’ is released. (Hayes, Silvester, Hartmann, 1999)

Learning Logs/Critical essays

Again, this is working well … the only thing I would suggest here is the possibility of making navigation a little more straight forward.  It does seem a little chronological at the moment.

Assignment 4 - Tutor Comments

Overall Comments

Many thanks for submitting this assignment Michael, the imagery and contextualization for which worked well in my opinion.

Key issues mentioned in my last report are as follows:

• Look at the work of Evans / Joshua Cooper / Davis
• Further research the term ‘Genus Loci’ and in particular its application within photographic practice.
• Continue to read around the subject matter and cite academic reference.

Within the broader photographic consideration of the terms ‘real’ and ‘fake’, I normally suggest to my students to take a look at this image taken by Nick Ut in Trang Bang village just outside Saigon, Vietnam in 1972 [see below].  It is a very famous image that has been seen all around the world and has been used on various front covers of magazines etc [Time 1972].  It depicts the young nine year old girl Kim Phuc, running towards the camera after a Napalm attack on her village by the US forces … another example of friendly fire as the villagers were allied Southern Vietnamese and not part of the North Viet Cong fighters.  The image is full of all the harrowing impact expected to be found in war imagery and has lost none of its initial impact over the past 40 years since it was taken.  There was also some moving image footage taken of exactly the same event at the same time, but this fails to have the impact of the stills shot which has literally caught the moment in time.  The reason I bring this image to your attention is that the original image was cropped slighted on the right hand side.  We now know that this was shot on 35mm monochrome film and therefore the format of the shot is slightly more square than it should be for a full frame 35mm image.  What was excluded from the shot was a soldier at the side of the road loading a film into a camera – which when included completely reduces the overall impact of the image as the question is asked why he was not in assistance etc.  He was removed to add impact.

Nick Ut - 1972

There is also a similar debate raised with an image taken by a photographer called Dorothea Lange, who took photographs for the American Farm Security Administration [FSA] in the 1930’s.  This image has been called ‘Migrant Mother’ and is also pictured below – the debate was about a ‘thumb’ that had been printed out of the bottom right hand corner, suggesting somebody was ‘revealing’ the family from behind the side of the tent and therefore staging the shot. 

Dorothea Lange - 1936

It might also be worth reading about Robert Capa’s ‘Death of a Spanish Militiaman’ taken in 1936.  These are all healthy arguments still raging within photographic debate in relation to image manipulation and could be elaborated upon within your blog.

Feedback on assignment

From the outset I was impressed with the fact you had mentioned Morrissey in your initial research, as his attention to detail in terms of packaging his creative output was inspirational to an entire generation.  It may also have been an idea to have shown some visuals here of specifics in relation to these covers … including any critical opinions sourced and your own thoughts etc.

Both Cover A and Cover B are fair attempts and your intention to keep the cover as simple as possible was evident in both.  I think in this respect Cover B worked better and was actually quite convincing. I was also very happy to observe the attention you had given to the use of text on the image, which again worked better in Cover B in my opinion.  This is something that is often overlooked with this exercise or certainly placed at the bottom of the list.  The 30% / 60% is a good rule of thumb and the title sat well on the box at the bottom of the image – even the colour of the type face looked correct as if it had been directly sourced from the original matchbox.  As a technical exercise I think you have learnt from this assignment, which will become helpful in the future.  There is an assignment at level HE5 which requires students to actually produce an illustration of one of a series of titles including Perfume / The Diceman / The Outsiders / 1984 etc … which students find very challenging – you could almost view this attempt as a precursor to that assignment.

Learning Logs/Critical essays

This is proving to be a good vehicle for evidencing the development of ideas and generation of research and testing.  There is plenty of practitioner research being conducted and reviews of exhibitions etc.  Also … you may want to remove any evidence of the use of Wikipedia as source of reference, if this applies.

As mentioned above, you’ll also need to include books / literature / journals / magazines as source of research prior to submission for assessment.

Understanding Visual Culture

I sent my last assignment to my tutor today which marks the (almost) end of my journey with DPP. In celebration (!) I have enrolled on my next and last level 1 course, Understanding Visual Culture. This marks a major departure for me as the course is purely academic and theory based. At this point in my development however I feel I need to kick start my theoretical knowledge. Also, because the course requires a great deal of research and writing I hope to become more comfortable and disciplined about putting my thoughts down in writing. I feel excited and motivated by the final flurry of activity I have experienced completing DPP....hopefully I will be able to sustain this through the course.

UVC Blog

Assignment 5: Personal Project

“What the Photograph reproduces to infinity has occurred only once: the Photograph mechanically repeats what could never be repeated existentially.” 

Roland Barthes, 'Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography'

Unlike other assignments, notably assignment 2, I have known for a long time what subject I would tackle for the final assignment of the course. I was inspired by an article in the March 2013 edition of 'The British Journal of Photography' about photography in children's books particularly reading about Alec Soth and his collaborations with his own children. I thought this would be a fun way to end the course to do this myself and for months have talked to my three children about producing a story book together. We discussed the story, the look and I encouraged them to write scripts and story board. Then at the time we started shooting the images and experimenting with Photoshop things changed because my Grandmother passed away suddenly.

The practicalities of dealing with a family members death took up the majority of my spare time and I was not in the right frame of mind to work on the storybook. On an evening I found myself thinking through memories of my Grandmother and considering the relationship we had. I had been asked to speak at the funeral and was finding coming up with something extremely difficult, I found myself facing complex emotions when thinking about my grandmother, not all of them positive and this played heavily on me. I started looking through old photographs on my computer which dated back as far as 2002 when I got my first digital camera. I started looking for prints from earlier than this but could not put my hand on any although I knew they packed away in the house somewhere. I asked my mother to do the same and she had a similar problem, however, she did manage to find around 50 prints and I found myself viewing these in a much different way now that my grandmother had passed. The photographs carried an emotional charge for me and I found myself drawn to images that I probably would have discounted earlier. The majority of pictures were 'badly' composed or had exposure problems, I found myself looking closer at a number of pictures on my computer that had not made it into my selects when I first edited them. Why was this? Was it because I was looking at the photographs through the prism of grief or had my way of seeing altered in recent months? I was certainly aware that I was becoming more interested in less conventional approaches to image making but how much of an effect had this had on me? Typical with family snapshots a lot of the images were posed and taken on special occasions - birthdays, Christmas, weddings. I realised that I was attracted to the more natural looking pictures, they seemed to show more truth (as I understood it) because often the people in them were unaware of being photographed or had not been given time to put up there defences, pose and smile.

In a strange coincidence I had also recently finished reading Roland Barthes 'Camera Lucida' after being encouraged to do so by my tutor. The book had sat on my shelf for some time and I had mentioned to my tutor that I was trying to build up the courage to tackle it, his comment was that although Barthes could be "prickly" in places it was worth persevering with. My first impression was that the book was much different than I expected - I did not think the tone would be so personal and I found myself engaged. The writing felt accessible but poetic and dense at the same time. Sometimes I found myself understanding exactly what Barthes was asserting and at others I was perplexed. I realised quickly that the book was something I would need to come back to many times again to gain a complete understanding and allowed the words to seep over me. The sections that deal with the death of Barthes mother and his search for her essence in old photographs struck a chord with me but I did not expect to be doing the same thing myself - not that I did this with images of my Grandma in a conscious way, it just seemed to happen. Without really realising what I was doing I had collected a number of images together, I found the process comforting. I then began to wonder if I would do anything with the pictures, I would probably have some new prints made I thought. I cannot exactly remember when I decided I would use some of these images for this assignment rather than make the photobook with my children that I had long planned to do. It just suddenly seemed like the right thing to do - I felt compelled to produce something, maybe it was the feeling that the act of doing this would be some sort of catharsis. As I have discussed throughout the course, particularly in relation to assignments, I am often full of self doubt and have to really push myself at times to produce the work for the course. I would say I am a private person and certainly not someone that would turn the camera on themselves in the way Nan Goldin does, certainly none of the work I have produced for any of my OCA courses has been about me, and here I was about to produce something completely personal without a shred of self doubt - quite the opposite, I would say I was compelled to do it.

I remembered about 'The Dad Project'  by Briony Campbell which was a work that had a tremendous effect on me when I came across it some time ago. I identified with it because I went through a similar situation watching my Grandfather slowly die six years ago. The thing that impressed me most was how personal the piece was and how Campbell used the project to deal with the grief of her father dying from cancer. The project is harrowing and does not shy from the grim reality of the situation and yet is also uplifting. The final image is of Campbell as a child wearing her Dad's coat, shoes and hat and is a poignant and fitting conclusion. The captions work in harmony with the images and read more like diary entries rather than explanations of what is happening in the photographs which is fitting since the piece is in itself a diary of her Dad dying. My opinion of captioning images has been changing of late, previously I believed captions should be brief and not influence the viewer into how they should read and image. Now I am beginning to understand how words can and images can work together to enrich the viewing experience rather than detract. I recently visited an exhibition by Lorna Simpson and who uses writing extensively in her work to great effect, the words do not lead the viewer about what to think but rather enable you to question what it is you are viewing. For example, one work 'The Car' (1995) the reading of the piece is transformed by the words which accompany it, the scene changes from a seemingly innocent even boring view to take on a charged, illicit and seedy feel.

So now I had an idea of what I wanted to do, I photographed the prints I had been given by my mother and began the selection process. Unlike other times when I have selected images I was unconcerned about composition and exposure, in fact, in hindsight I probably selected some images because they were issues with them. My only guide to selection was that something should be in the pictures to prick my attention. I then wrote a short a few sentences to go with each image. I did not really know what I would write but I found the process to happen quickly and organically, some words were from the eulogy others were thoughts I had in my mind but had not been able to articulate aloud. I wanted the words to sit alongside the images but when I did this the text seemed at odds with the photographs. Intuitively I copied and flipped the photographs before lowering the opacity by 50% and overlaying the text. For me this adds an element of distance between the viewer and the pictures, you are made aware that what you are  looking at has been selected for a particular effect. Flipping the images is also slightly off putting, I find myself looking between the images and being made explicitly aware that this is a picture I am viewing; a representation rather than a truth.

Finishing writing about this assignment I feel a sense of conflict that on the one hand I am glad this is what I chose to do and on the other I have gone too far out on a limb. It is completely outside of my comfort zone to produce work like this and I doubt I would have been able to do this at any other time because of how close it was to my Grandmas passing. I am shocked at how compelled I was do this and the sense of drive I had - this is not a typical feeling, usually I find bringing everything together a long, drawn out process. And yet, with this project which is deeply personal to me I found the images and words coming together quickly and organically. Truthfully, I am far too close to the subject matter to be objective and I am unsure of how the images will be read. I hope it will be seen as being genuine and heartfelt but worry it is maybe too indulgent and sentimental, Barthes never shows the reader the 'Winter Garden Photograph' the photograph of his mother in which he found her "essence" and discusses at length in 'Camera Lucida' he says, "it exists only for me. For you it would be nothing but an indifferent picture." A sobering thought as I send this assignment in, I guess only time will enable me to look back and decide whether the images here have any meaning for anyone but myself.

Assignment 4 - Real or Fake?

The brief for this assignment is to create an illustration for a book cover using digital techniques and use this as a means to explore the ethics of image manipulation. Book covers (along with record sleeves and film posters) are something I find of great interest - I love the way a single image can be used to define another art form. Sometimes the approach can explicitly define the contents while at other times the content can be abstract. The well worn cliché 'never judge a book by its cover' can at best be seen as cautionary advice since I doubt such energy would be given to designing book covers if they did not influence sales a great deal; I know I am guilty of buying more than one book because it looks good on the shelf! More importantly for many authors, musicians and film makers however is that the images they choose to represent themselves with can go a long way to define them as artists.

This assignment differs significantly from others because it requires only one image to be produced rather than a set, although this could consist of a composite. My initial research into potential approaches for the assignment led me to a number of interesting articles. In late 2013 the singer Morrissey released his long awaited autobiography after a period of typical controversy when he appeared to have fallen out with publishers Penguin. The exact nature of the dispute was not completely clear but one of the key stumbling points appeared to be Morrissey's insistence that his work be published under the Penguin Classics imprint (Penguin eventually agreed and the book was published.) This stance was ridiculed by many as further proof of Morrissey's tenuous grasp of reality, but others saw this as brave evidence that he was unwilling to accept any compromise on the way his work is presented. Since the early days of The Smiths and continuing through his solo career Morrissey has been obsessive about the way his work is presented. Following the books eventual publication, The Guardian invited readers to produce alternative covers for the book, most of which are humorous and flippant. This led me to my first idea to design an alternative cover in a humorous style.

Another article I came across discussed the effect that the 'Fifty Shades of Grey' trilogy had on publishing. The set of books was a phenomenon that seemed to come from nowhere in 2012. One of the effects of this is that many publishers attempted to cash in on the success by reissuing books with covers that echo the cover of 'Fifty Shades.' Perhaps I could do this too, and maybe create a cover whose style was completely at odds with the content of the book?

Again from The Guardian this article shows a number of real life and extremely ill judged book covers of famous literary works.

I knew from previous experience that the planning and concept stage of assignment preparation can often lead to procrastination and lack of progress. With my course deadline approaching I knew I could not afford any delay, also, the thought of approaching the exercise as if it was a commercial assignment with a definite deadline was one that helped focus my mind. I started to think about books that have had an effect on me and which I already knew a great deal about so would be able to think of an approach quickly.

After scouring my bookshelves I came upon 'Book of Matches' a 1993 poetry collection by Simon Armitage. The book is published by Faber and Faber who unify the style of their poetry collections by using only plain (albeit strongly coloured) covers featuring only the authors name and the title. This seemed like the ideal choice as it is a work I love and also I would be producing the cover without anything to influence me. I knew I wanted to be keeping with the simple style of the existing cover so thought about bold and effective imagery that would complement rather than detract. I decided to try photographing a box of matches as this would provide an interesting counterpoint to the writing and I would also be able to play with literal and metaphorical readings through the image. Looking through my cupboards I found an old matchbox that I thought would fit perfectly because the battered box would echo the themes contained in the book of looking back, the past and nostalgia. I set the matchbox on a plain background and photographed in a number of different ways and angles using a tripod as I wanted to capture as much detail as possible and needed to select a small aperture. At the time of shooting I had a strong preconceived idea of how I wanted the matchbox to look: I would take the shot directly from above to keep the perspective true which would echo the shape of the book. Experience has taught me it is important to keep an open mind and experiment to find the right approach so I shot the box from a number of different angles as well as open and closed so I would have a selection of shots to choose from and could experiment with which one was the most successful. 

I used Photoshop to create the cover, first creating a canvas the exact measurements of the real book. For my first attempt I placed a closed matchbox near the centre of the cover with my intention being that I would put the book title across it and the author name at the top. I quickly aborted this as the approach did not seem right - the final effect was missing the boldness I had preconceived, also, it seemed wrong to have the matchbox shut. I went back and to my shots and chose another image of the matchbox open with the matches showing. I was struck with the idea to make the box the same width as the book cover, this seemed to work well and left me with around half of the cover blank which I decided to could use to place the text in a similar way to the existing cover. Next, I wanted to accentuate the creases and folds of the box along with the texture of the matches so duplicated the image layer and applied hard light blending mode which increased the contrast and saturation of the image. I also needed to remove the background at the top of the box, with hindsight I should have shot the box against a contrasting background as the grey was extremely close to the colour of the box and this would have made it easier to select. In the end I used a layer mask to hide the photographs background so I could go back and edit my selection if necessary once I had added a new background. Next I needed to delete the writing on the box, I did this with the clone stamp tool followed by the healing brush to replace any texture that had been lost. To emphasise the edges of the cardboard a little more I duplicated the layer and changed the blending mode to multiply before adding a layer mask and painting over the edges of the cardboard to emphasise the degraded nature of the card. Lastly I chose the colours, I decided to do this by using the eye dropper tool to sample colours already in the image - for the background I sampled the grey of the open box, the authors name is sampled from a match head and the book title is from a match itself. The effect I wanted from this approach is for the colour choices to subtly unify the image.

Original image

Cover A

I am happy with the end result as I think I have managed to fulfil the brief I set myself for the cover - I wanted a simple, bold image manipulated subtly so it retains the appearance of reality. I was lucky to find a prop in the old matchbox which aided my vision, without this I would have had to use a lot more Photoshop work to produce the aged appearance I was after. The choice not to do this was all about ease of achieving the end result rather than any ethical choice about the pursuit of truth. I am well aware of my limitations in using Photoshop however and doubt I would have been able to create a convincing result myself but I imagine many digital artists would be able to in a way that would leave the viewer with no clue as to the level of manipulation involved. The way the image is presented gives it a more illustrative rather than photographic feel, there is a sense of heightened reality rather than photographic truth.

I made a conscious decision not to produce alternatives for this assignment and I have enjoyed the discipline this has enforced which has made me focus my attention. The motivation for this approach has been one of ensuring I keep to timescales and achieve deadlines, in a commercial situation I would imagine the client would expect to see a number of treatments to be able to reach a decision. Out of interest, I quickly changed the cover to reverse the position of the matchbox and the titles which interestingly feels more like my original idea for having the titles as writing on the matchbox itself.

Cover B

Looking at the work of other students for this assignment it seems many have chosen a much more manipulation heavy approach resulting in much more abstract images. I have interpreted the brief in a quite straightforward way and the results are clearly a photograph. Does this show an inherent conservatism in my work? Believability is something I hold dear and I consciously try not to over egg my images, however, I can appreciate strong manipulation in other images when done well. When I first became interested in digital photography I would use Photoshop extensively but over the last few years I have been concentrating on camera technique and have rarely used Photoshop doing most of my post production in Lightroom. Now I am more confident with the camera perhaps I should learn more about Photoshop and begin using it more extensively in my images - it seems the key difference between then and now is that I am now better at being able to understand the image I would like to create rather than trying to use the software to make something from an image that does not deserve having the time spent on it.

Assignment 3: Response to Tutor Comments

I was extremely pleased with Keith's response to my third assignment as (following his last comments) I tried to move away from a purely descriptive approach to what I was trying to achieve and concentrate more on ideas and influences that are informing my work. I must admit that I was concerned I had gone too far toward the other end of the scale and was glad that Keith felt I was heading in the right track.

I agree with Keith's sentiment that much can be gained by exploring what is on our doorstep and this is a project I intend to continue to explore in my photographic personal projects. The effect I was hoping to achieve with the images was that there was more gong on below the surface and the comments show I have been successful in this aim. An unexpected result of this assignment was that I really enjoyed converting the images to black and white and I think the power of monochrome images is something I will continue to explore.

Unlike assignment two which caused much angst I found this assignment much more straightforward. On reflection I guess this is for a number of reasons: because I had a definite deadline I needed to work to having had to ask for an extension on the assignment I knew I had to focus my efforts to complete. Procrastination was not an option here and having a clear idea of what I was setting out to achieve helped focus my efforts.  

Assignment 3 - Tutor Comments

Overall Comments

Many thanks for submitting this third assignment Michael, which contained some really strong monochrome images.

Key issues mentioned in my last report are as follows:

• Try to be a little more reflective in terms of the contextual element of the assignment, rather than descriptive.
• Look at the work of Harry Callaghan / Tom Hunter / Nicky Bird.
• Consider what Barthes says in relation to Studium & Punctum.
• Always try to consider composition as a way of personal expression within an image.
• Further consider the monochrome versus colour debate.
• Try to make reference to which practitioners are informing your own practice within the contextual element of the submission.

I can see from your submission that you are responding very positively to much of the feedback suggestions provided, which is excellent.  I enjoyed reading the first written section of the submission which was making all the right noises as far as I am concerned …. much less about ‘how’ and much more about ‘why’.

Feedback on assignment

There was an element of the written component that actually touches on the next assignment (Real or Fake) which was interesting to see.  (Also consider the work of Robert Capa / Dorethea Lange etc.)

These ten images worked really well for me and I thought as a themed body of work they achieved the objective you set out with, in terms of the visual exploration of your local area.  It is often a myth really to think that the best photostory’s happen in exotic places …. You will find that once you scrape the surface locally, interesting things begin to be revealed.

I think you should have a real confidence in the photographic work you are producing, which in my opinion is visually quite challenging and tends to avoid the more obvious and stereotypical.  This was a body of work that gripped my attention from the outset, with various compositional elements and decisions adding visual intrigue to the work.  From a technical perspective, there wasn’t anything I could really comment upon that bothered me, or got in my way of viewing the work.  The first shot for instance didn’t just present an untidy back yard … there were all kinds of subtle framing within framing going on here.  IE: The pegs framed by the windows, the gate way framing the yard, the chaotic angles of the pipes etc etc  … this was well observed in my opinion …. many would have just walked straight past !

Each shot had something interesting hidden within it, such as the bricked up door or the weeping wall with the vent.  The shots felt well balanced to me, especially the final shot of the back alley way. I liked the way this shot had been constructed; with just enough horizontal road in the foreground to lead you into the vertical road in the background … I liked the position of the circular grid and the telegraph pole etc.  The punctum for me is that remaining embedded white lintel in the shot of the wall with drainpipe.  This was a simple shot but very effective …. highlighting an opening which is no longer required, but which has served as an access point to the property for decades in the past. Conduct some research into the term ‘Genus Loci’ and its application within photographic practice, I think you might find this of interest to your work.

Learning Logs/Critical essays

The blog is working very well for you and is being updated  – which is great to see.  You have a number of different sections which can lead the viewer straight to what they are looking for … which will make things easier for the assessor in terms of navigation.

Suggested reading/viewing

Evans, W.2013. American Photographs. Tate Publishing. London

ISBN-13: 978-1849761284

Joshua Cooper, T.2004.Point of No Return. Haunch of Venision.

ISBN-13: 978-0954067199

Davis, Pete.1997: Cader Idris – Soul of a Lonely Place. University of Wales School or Art Press.

ISBN-13: 978-1899095087

Conclusions and targets for next assignment

I’d really like to see you continue to read around the subject matter and cite references to theory that supports and underpin your practice. You will learn plenty from looking at the work of others … especially the more notable figures in the history of the discipline.

I’ll look forward to receiving your next submission Michael - ‘Real or Fake’

Tutor name:	Keith W Roberts
Date	28/04/2014
Next assignment due	July 2014

Assignment 2 - Response to Tutor Comments

Generally I am very pleased with my tutors comments for this assignment, overall I think Keith recognises I needed a little encouragement to put some of my self doubt at bay and reassurance that I am on the right track. His comments about how I need to use the work of others as inspiration rather than letting it put me off and question my own work rings very true and seems very obvious now that I have a little distance from this assignment. Currently I feel much more assured of what I am doing and I am making good progress through the course - I am starting to enjoy the journey and the learning that comes with that more. Somehow I think the angst I went through trying to complete this assignment has been ultimately a good thing - although I would not want to go through that again!

Keith's comment about some of my writing being too descriptive in terms of technical weighting and not focusing enough on concept is something I thought myself and I will attempt to remedy this going forward. Interestingly, I made a conscious effort to do this in my write up for assignment 3 which was submitted before I received this feedback. I am curious to know whether this approach works or not as I fear I may have gone too far and not included enough technical information.

Keith's recommendations for further study are very welcome, even if he does invoke the dreaded Barthes! I have had 'Camera Lucida' on my shelf for some time and have not quite felt strong enough to tackle it. I mentioned this to Keith in an email to him and he responded by saying that although 'Camera Lucida' is a "bit prickly" in places it is worth reading if only take away a small percentage; advice I will endeavour to take.

It is interesting that two of the photographers mentioned take a high concept approach to their photography which suggests Keith is pushing me towards developing this approach myself. Tom Hunter I am already aware of (indeed it was the concept of his series 'Living in Hell' in which he uses stories he has found in newspapers as the basis for his photographs while also referencing famous art works) while Nicky Bird is new to me although I find her exploration of Julie Margaret-Cameron's work by recreating her work with Cameron's ancestors an interesting one. Harry Callahan is a photographer I know a little about from various photography books but not someone whose work I am particularly familiar, again, I will make a conscious effort to study his work in more depth.

Assignment 2: Tutor feedback

Student name	Michael Millmore	Student number	497132
Course/Module	Digital Photo Practice	Assignment number	Assign - 2

Overall Comments

Many thanks for submitting this second assignment Michael, which I feel has really given you the opportunity to conduct some fairly serious technical testing – judging by your initial comments on the blog posting … this forced you out of your comfort zone !  As you have been transferred over to me we do not have any outstanding issues to address from the last report, but I will include several practitioner recommendations for you to look at if you haven’t already done so.

Feedback on assignment

I noted from reading the written element of your assignment the fear you encountered when viewing what you considered a ‘brilliant and original interpretation’ of this assignment.  I understand it can be difficult at times, but I think this will come through confidence about your work and the ability to become less personal about the work you produce.  My advice in the first instance is to try not being put off by the work of your cohort and simply use the work you admire to drive and inform your own.  Most things have already been done to be fair and if you dig deep enough you will find a source to most of what you consider ‘brilliant and original’ !  I will try to help and support you in this respect.

As a series of images, I actually thought they all worked really well and wondered why you had spent so much time beating yourself up prior to shooting !  Some of these images are both really well composed (Hair Brush on Window Sill) and really well observed (Light Falling across Wall).  They show both an attention to detail and keen visually curious eye, which is not always seen at this stage of an undergraduate degree.  They actually suggest to me that you have spent many hours in the past deliberating and carefully constructing images, which you should feel confident about.

I think my main advice to you at the moment would be to think much more carefully about what you are actually spending time taking photographs of, even if the exercise is based purely upon technical considerations.  Having said this I did note that some of your writing could be described as ‘descriptive’ in terms of technical weighting as opposed to being more ‘reflective’ in terms of concept.  I think you could afford to ease back on the former and try to further develop the latter within this module.  

When you look at a series of images and one makes you stop, this can be referred to in terms of what Roland Barthes would call ‘Studium’ or a general enthusiasm or interest assigned to an image.  This is as opposed to something that might be classed as a rare detail or piercing moment of either pain or delight, which Barthes would term ‘Punctum’.  My punctum will be different to yours, but it is a good exercise to try to start establishing this when viewing imagery.  I have listed a publication below by Barthes entitled Camera Lucida, which I urge you to read in relation to developing your photographic critical position.

Lastly, an additional positive point to make about your work is that most of the images show very little ‘dead space’, which is so often found in the early stages of photographic practice – prior to any theoretical compositional considerations being either learnt or absorbed.  You have actually already alluded to the fact that effective photography equals Technique + Composition.  Good or acceptable technique is arguably the first prerequisite for ‘good’ photography, but this alone will not make a ‘good’ image.  Image making must be complimented by composition, not just technique as mentioned before. We all use very similar technical equipment to make images, so composition is often one of the best ways in which a photographer can express their individuality and personal feeling in communicating their thoughts and ideas.

For the next assignment [monochrome] try to conduct some research into why anybody would specifically wish to remove the colour from an image. Obvious debates surrounding this are firstly to limit or remove distractions from an image … but also you can argue a monochrome image can sometimes look dated / or dateless. By reverting back to the results that were only available from the early stages of the process, you can somehow often associate these historic vales to the works.

Learning Logs/Critical essays

This is progressing well for you and you are updating with regular posts.  The design is very easy to navigate, which will support you during assessment.  You may also like to consider placing a couple of tabs on the home page which help to easily locate key areas of admin such as feedback reports etc.

I also noted many postings in relation to photographic practitioners which really is excellent to see at this level of undergraduate study.  I think you might be able to make more reference to some of this work in your future assignment submissions, in terms of who is actually informing your own practice and in what way etc. I’ve tried to suggest some more practitioners below which are not currently listed on your blog and whose work you really need to know about.

Suggested reading/viewing

Hunter, T.2003:Tom Hunter. Germany. Hatje Cantz Publications

ISBN-13: 978-3775712774

Bird, N.2001: Tracing Echoes. Leeds. Wild Pansy Press

ISBN-13: 900687135

Callaghan, H.2006:The Photographer at Work. New Haven, CT. Yale University Press

ISBN-13: 978-0300113327

Barthes, Roland.1993: Camera Lucida. Vintage Classics. London.

ISBN 13: 978-0099225416

Journals – Source / Portfolio

Conclusions and targets for next assignment

In terms of practitioners I would like you to take a look at the following and then perhaps review their practice via a blog posting … the same as what you have already been doing.

In her 2001 work ‘Tracing Echoes’, Nicky Bird’s study of the Julia Margaret Cameron Archive revealed ancestors that had been traced back from Cameron’s original sitters.  Bird actually states that the Tracing Echoes project initially stemmed from viewing an image made by Cameron in 1865-70 called ‘The Passion Flower at the Gate’.  The image provoked what Bird described as ‘an almost gut reaction to the picture’ due to its resemblance to the artists sister which are detailed below:

In addition to the above, I’d like you to take a look at the work of Harry Callaghan for the next assignment [Monochrome].  I can’t stress how important it is, to be able to know as much as you can about the photographic practitioners who have influenced today’s photographers.  Callaghan has also done some interesting work in colour.

Anyway, good work once again Michael and I look forward to your next assignment submission.

Tutor name:	Keith W Roberts
Date	30/03/2014
Next assignment due	May 2014