Assignment Two
Food glorious food! I have chosen the raw materials of food as the subject for my second assignment to challenge myself into a new area of work. This part of the course is encouraging us to look at photographs in a two dimensional way and look at the graphic design elements, assess the role they play and then use them for structure and movement in composition. We are looking at points, lines and shapes and the way in which they act on the eyes and brain which can be quite complex.
My reflections on this second assignment are at the end.
Food glorious food! I have chosen the raw materials of food as the subject for my second assignment to challenge myself into a new area of work. This part of the course is encouraging us to look at photographs in a two dimensional way and look at the graphic design elements, assess the role they play and then use them for structure and movement in composition. We are looking at points, lines and shapes and the way in which they act on the eyes and brain which can be quite complex.
My reflections on this second assignment are at the end.
I am using my Notebook/Sketchbook to plan the raw materials of food shoot. I have lots of ideas! My aim is to show the effects required in the course whilst at the same time attempting to create some interesting food photographs. I see this as a three stage project -
Firstly, reflecting & planning how each requirement might be best interpreted.
Secondly, resourcing/ organising my contact with the raw food material needed be they in the kitchen cupboard, down in the local market or on somebody's allotment.
Thirdly, creating the right environment, lighting etc. to produce appealing images. My tutor is encouraging me to think about composition as well as ideas and to think outside the box beyond the literal with consistent themes. She is encouraging me to be more experimental with my photography and to think of food in its widest sense for this assignment, considering whether there are political or social themes I would like to pick up on. The books that she and OCA have recommended have started to arrive which is helping the process of opening my mind for this assignment.
I have done some research into the history of food photography. The early work seems to have been more in the style of the old masters paintings and came across one of Fox Talbot's works, "Pencils of Nature" which has a triangular composition. Today, contemporary food photographers seem to be taking more of a fashion approach. I have looked at the work of a food photographer mentioned by one of the other tutors to his student and also the work of a famous Australian food photographer William Meppem.
My reflective thoughts on this seem to be taking me towards not just photographing pretty pictures of food to illustrate the 10 bullet points in the brief but to pick up on a theme as my tutor is suggesting. Having eaten both fresh food and supermarket pre-prepared food recently, I think my theme may be somewhere around the contrasts between these two methods of nourishment. The 15-20 images are inserted below with technical data. Then there follows review & reflections.
Single point dominating the composition - Tony's home made yoghurt
Two points - Heinz beans & spoon
Several points in a deliberate shape - Eggs
A combination of horizontal & vertical lines (1) - Leeks & onions
A combination of horizontal & vertical lines (2) - Trevor & his allotment plot
Diagonals - Farm shop
Curves - Pears
Distinct, even if irregular, shapes - Loaf & rolls
At least two kinds of implied triangle (1) - Peeling oranges
At least two kinds of implied triangle (2) - Bangers & mash
At least two kinds of implied triangle (3) - Pulling up potatoes
Rhythm - inside of yellow pepper
Pattern - Chives
Firstly, reflecting & planning how each requirement might be best interpreted.
Secondly, resourcing/ organising my contact with the raw food material needed be they in the kitchen cupboard, down in the local market or on somebody's allotment.
Thirdly, creating the right environment, lighting etc. to produce appealing images. My tutor is encouraging me to think about composition as well as ideas and to think outside the box beyond the literal with consistent themes. She is encouraging me to be more experimental with my photography and to think of food in its widest sense for this assignment, considering whether there are political or social themes I would like to pick up on. The books that she and OCA have recommended have started to arrive which is helping the process of opening my mind for this assignment.
I have done some research into the history of food photography. The early work seems to have been more in the style of the old masters paintings and came across one of Fox Talbot's works, "Pencils of Nature" which has a triangular composition. Today, contemporary food photographers seem to be taking more of a fashion approach. I have looked at the work of a food photographer mentioned by one of the other tutors to his student and also the work of a famous Australian food photographer William Meppem.
My reflective thoughts on this seem to be taking me towards not just photographing pretty pictures of food to illustrate the 10 bullet points in the brief but to pick up on a theme as my tutor is suggesting. Having eaten both fresh food and supermarket pre-prepared food recently, I think my theme may be somewhere around the contrasts between these two methods of nourishment. The 15-20 images are inserted below with technical data. Then there follows review & reflections.
Single point dominating the composition - Tony's home made yoghurt
Two points - Heinz beans & spoon
Several points in a deliberate shape - Eggs
A combination of horizontal & vertical lines (1) - Leeks & onions
A combination of horizontal & vertical lines (2) - Trevor & his allotment plot
Diagonals - Farm shop
Curves - Pears
Distinct, even if irregular, shapes - Loaf & rolls
At least two kinds of implied triangle (1) - Peeling oranges
At least two kinds of implied triangle (2) - Bangers & mash
At least two kinds of implied triangle (3) - Pulling up potatoes
Rhythm - inside of yellow pepper
Pattern - Chives
This series of images is looking at the types of food we eat and the abundance and availability of good food around us. The first photograph has to be 'a single point dominating the composition'. Natural yoghurt which we make ourselves is my first image. It is a natural healthy food. I have set up a studio type shot using natural lighting from the window. The course material says 'for a subject to qualify as a point it has to be small in the frame and contrast in some way to its surroundings'. I have isolated the yoghurt against a completely black background. If this were an advertising project there is room for text around the point explaining how good natural yoghurt is for you and promoting the brand. The raspberry and the leaf add colour and interest to what would otherwise be a bland picture of yoghurt in a glass.
Tony's home made yoghurt f6.3 @ 1/160 iso200 35mm prime Nikon f1.8 lens on Nikon D7100.
Tony's home made yoghurt f6.3 @ 1/160 iso200 35mm prime Nikon f1.8 lens on Nikon D7100.
The next photograph has to be 'two points'. In contrast I have chosen on this task to illustrate what must be one of the most popular examples of processed food - canned beans. I have used the same technique with this image - window lighting on a black background to isolate the two points. I have opened the tin to show the actual product as opposed to just the illustration on the tin. Is the illustrative product a true reflection of what's in the packaging consumers should ask. The spoon is the second point in the photograph so that we can spoon the beans out of the tin. I have put the tin and also the spoon on approximately the thirds in the photograph. Based on these two images, would you choose the yoghurt or the beans?
Heinz Beans and Spoon f4@1/80 iso200 50mm prime f1.8 lens on Sony NEX6.
Heinz Beans and Spoon f4@1/80 iso200 50mm prime f1.8 lens on Sony NEX6.
The next photograph has to be 'several points in a deliberate shape'. The course manual says that you need to be able to 'group objects together in such a way that they are linked attractively'. For this photograph I have chosen one of the most important parts of a staple diet - eggs. For groups of objects, odd numbers are usually recommended. I have chosen five eggs and arranged them in an attractive way on a special background I have made from antique lime type floorboard planks. I have used a f5.6 aperture so that the rear eggs start to go out of focus. Our eyes are led to the two front eggs and the middle egg (again, an odd number grouping). The lines in the surface of the wood are arranged diagonally and they too go out of focus. I have arranged this studio set up using outside natural window light to keep attention on the eggs as a defined group, rather than photograph them in a context such as an egg box or in a cupboard. I also experimented with including an egg bowl and whisk but found this detracted from the eggs and subsequently removed them from the set up.
Eggs f5.6 @ 1/125 iso200 50mm prime Nikon f1.8 lens on Nikon D7100.
Eggs f5.6 @ 1/125 iso200 50mm prime Nikon f1.8 lens on Nikon D7100.
'A combination of horizontal and vertical lines' is the next effect we are asked to illustrate. Horizontal and vertical lines tend to induce feelings of stabily according to the course manual. Horizontals have a particularly strong locating effect (such as a horizon) and verticals give more of a sense of movement. So what will combining these two concepts into one image illustrating food be like? I have chosen another example of fresh natural food, namely leeks and onions, which are part of the vegetable family. The thicker leeks are going to be the horizontals and the thinner onions the verticals. I am aiming for another studio type shot - this time I am looking for a more symmetrical image. I have tried to produce a two colour effect - green and white which both types of food demonstrate and colour complement each other.
Leeks and Onions f5 @ 1/100 iso200 50mm prime Nikon f1.8 lens on Nikon D7100.
Leeks and Onions f5 @ 1/100 iso200 50mm prime Nikon f1.8 lens on Nikon D7100.
I thought I would do another version of a photograph of horizontals and verticals that was not a still life image and less contrived. I found a man called Trevor on an allotment in an out of the way spot in Pembrokeshire. The thought of incorporating food 'out of the ground' in this series appealed to me as the converse to factory processed food. Trevor has had his allotment plot for three years and showed me around. This image below was intended to capture him in his 'territory'. The wooded sides of the individual planting areas represent the horizontals and the canes point horizontally and skyward behind Trevor. I liked his 'model type' pose - weight on the back leg giving shape to his body and making his shoulders slant. The vertical cane does not come out of the top of his head - more by luck than any posing technique being applied!
Trevor and his allotment plot f8 @ 1/250 iso400 50mm lens on Nikon D7100.
Trevor and his allotment plot f8 @ 1/250 iso400 50mm lens on Nikon D7100.
Diagonals are next. Travelling through the countryside after visiting the allotments I was interested in the number of farm shops that exist in rural areas. Their displays are attractive, the food wholesome. I captured this display of good food in one such farm shop and the diagonal nature of the photograph made it a must for this part of the assignment. Unlike modern supermarkets where there is intense security and where photography is lilkely to be questioned, there are no issues here. I like the way the diagonal lines converge with the perspective of the photograph. There is much to look at in this photograph and there is no one point of interest - and this is intentional.
Farm Shop f3.5 @ 1/ 50 iso800 18mm on Nikon D7100
Farm Shop f3.5 @ 1/ 50 iso800 18mm on Nikon D7100
Curves are the next part of the assignment. So many ideas here with so much natural food being curved in shape. I am attracted to the idea of doing another close up here. So it's pears. I love the shape of this fruit and also the texture on these particular pears. Some studio based food photographers spray their food with fine droplets of water to add texture but I have avoided this in this instance to capture the pears and the curves naturally.
Pears f3.5 @ 1/50 iso800 18mm on Nikon D7100
Pears f3.5 @ 1/50 iso800 18mm on Nikon D7100
Distinct irregular shapes are the next requirement. I have chosen natural bread. So much of the bread we buy comes from large bakeries run by multinational companies. I have chosen to photograph some locally made bread from the market, once again using natural window lighting and the background I used earlier. As well as a set of irregular shapes, there is also the looks of an inverted triangle here perhaps. I am using f16 to get full depth of field at 1/10 sec so the camera is tripod mounted and a remote shutter release cable is used. I am using my specially made background material again for this photograph.
Loaf and rolls f16 @ 1/10 iso200 35mm prime Nikon f1.8 lens on Nikon D7100 mounted on Velbon tripod.
Loaf and rolls f16 @ 1/10 iso200 35mm prime Nikon f1.8 lens on Nikon D7100 mounted on Velbon tripod.
The next part of the assignment requires us to photograph at least two kinds of implied triangle. These implied lines can be used to subtly direct the viewer's attention. This is someone busy peeling oranges to go with the yoghurt. I felt that the hands formed the base of an implied inverted triangle at the top of the image, and the tissue made the apex at the bottom. The eye is led from the peeling process to the peeled orange pieces below. On reflection, I think I should have removed the knife out of shot and maybe the cutting board as they cut across one of the sides of the implied triangle. But this was purely a quick grab shot and the composition was not set up in any way. Who is this person? How old do the hands suggest this person is? she wears an engraved wedding ring so she is married (and obviously likes oranges (unless they are for her children, if she has them?)
Peeling oranges f6.3 @1/200 iso200 50mm prime f1.8 lens on Sony NEX6.
Peeling oranges f6.3 @1/200 iso200 50mm prime f1.8 lens on Sony NEX6.
My second implied triangle is of food of a very different nature. The supermarket 'meal for one'. This is bangers and mash. More and more people are eating these food factory prepared meals. The packaging is designed to be attractive. Do the illustrations match what is inside and is the taste expectation achieved? There's information on the packaging giving us important data as to what's in the product (and not in it). There's the sell by date too. I felt there had to be a human element in this photograph to balance these symbols of modern life - the microwave, the plastic container that the mash has been squirted into, and the packaging. I used a wide angle lens to distort the image almost to make it feel as if you were being drawn into the microwave oven. The roof of the oven, the door and the packaging form an implied triangle. The timer is set at three minutes. I have added the hand to bring a human element to the picture. Who is this person? What are they like? All we have to do is close the door, press start, and our meal will be ready soon. 'Bon appetite!' Or would you prefer the oranges above or the food from the farm shop?
Bangers and Mash f5.6 @ 1/60 iso1600 10mm wide angle lens Nikon D7100
Bangers and Mash f5.6 @ 1/60 iso1600 10mm wide angle lens Nikon D7100
The thought of eating this sort of factory food made be think about more natural food and what Trevor on his allotment would think of it. I discovered him pulling up Pembrokeshire potatoes. Not sure which category this fits into but it could be another implied triangle. The pair of hands reaching down into the nutrient soil come together to form the apex of an apparent triangle. Meanwhile, contrasting the previously photograph, (the hand going into the microwave oven), contrasts with the hand pulling the home grown potatoes out of the earth. I am looking forward to my next meal with Pembrokeshire new potatoes!
Pembrokeshire Potatoes f9 @ 1/50 iso400 50mm lens on Nikon D7100
Pembrokeshire Potatoes f9 @ 1/50 iso400 50mm lens on Nikon D7100
The next part of the assignment is to show rhythm. How do you show rhythm in food? I chose the inside of the pepper. I liked the vibrant yellow colour of the pepper and the pattern the seeds make inside the inside of this cross-section of the pepper. I feel there is a wave nature in this photograph with the S-shape of the seeds and the oval shape. My eye is attracted to running around the oval, along the curvature of the seeds and back around the oval shape again. Maybe this works! You need a sharp knife to slice the pepper and judgement to slice it at the right point!
Inside of yellow pepper f5.6 @ 1/125 iso800 35mm prime Nikon f1.8 lens on Nikon D7100
Inside of yellow pepper f5.6 @ 1/125 iso800 35mm prime Nikon f1.8 lens on Nikon D7100
Finally, the last photograph the assignment asks us to create is a pattern. The course manual says that care has to be taken with the framing of the subject and no boundaries should be shown with patterns. So we go up close for this photograph of chives. I loved the deep purple colours and how we can associate these natural colours and the plant as being food. We are very close to growth, nature and creation in experiencing the wonder of chives. This image is a technical challenge as the chives are moving in the wind. f9 has been chosen to give reasonable depth of field but shutter speed is only 1/50th. On reflection perhaps I should have increased the iso to 1600 to gain two more increases on speed relatively (1/200th). I felt this was a good photograph to end on.
Chives f9 @ 1/50 iso400 50mm lens on D7100.
Chives f9 @ 1/50 iso400 50mm lens on D7100.
Review and Reflections
We are asked to review the assignment against four main criteria points -
Demonstration of Technical and Visual Skills
Quality of Outcome
Demonstration of Creativity
Context.
We are asked to review the assignment against four main criteria points -
Demonstration of Technical and Visual Skills
Quality of Outcome
Demonstration of Creativity
Context.
1. Demonstration of Technical & Visual Skills.
This has been an assignment where I have opened my mind to consider a number of different approaches. My tutor's report on my first assignment arrived when I was at a mid-point with this assignment and it was a catalyst to my broader thinking that was taking place in respect of the design and compositional skills elements of the assignment. Having started more reflective reading as she had suggested, my starting point was with the early photographers like Fox Talbot's "Pencils of Nature" triangular 'old masters' type studio photography. I was attracted by this approach.
Then I looked at the work of some of the popular food photographers. Their work seems to be an almost food fashion type of photography. What would my tutor think of that approach after advising me not to think of the obvious but to 'think outside the box'. Conceptually, I found that demonstrating the various requirements of the assignment - single point, two points etc. - was straightforward.
But my tutor had advised me that 'composition as well as ideas is a skill that needs to be developed'. "Push your ideas outside the literal" she had said. I also tried to understand her comments about trying to make my work 'metaphorical and symbolic rather than literal' and how that might apply to this assignment. Ultimately, I feel I may have ended up with a bit of a hybrid approach and not completely keeping my themes 'consistent and tightly edited' as she said. What is the theme here? What is the message? These were my thoughts and questions to myself.
My starting point was studio type photography trying to create attractive photographs on non-incursive neutral black backgrounds or white lime floorboard type background that I had made. The yoghurt and beans photographs and the eggs and also the leeks and onions photographs were examples of this approach. I was pleased with the compositions and my technical capability here and the whole assignment could have been based on this approach. But I questioned if this approach was taking on board my tutor's comments sufficiently or were they just pretty pictures - the sort that go into recipe books and colour supplements with text and graphics?
I found myself gradually moving on with other ideas. My tutor had suggested "It's good to have a theme to work within whilst also providing scope for exploration" ... and ... "are there political or social themes you would like to pick up on?"
For me I found there is a current CONTRAST in the raw materials of food. One the one hand we have a multi-million pound food manufacturing industry providing us with attractively packaged convenience food (and people getting seriously overweight as a result of unbalanced diets). On the other hand we have home grown enthusiasts like Trevor whom I discovered growing his own food on his allotment, not to sell (which his allotment prohibits as a commercial venture) but for self consumption within the family. This contrast turned out to be my theme although I am not sure how successfully I have conveyed this! I did have ideas of candidly photographing fast food situations/outlets and supermarkets and people over eating - but there are professional and ethical considerations here and maybe this is not the time to go 'undercover' and start investigative photo journalism as a OCA student and amateur!
So my assignment became a theme of manufactured and natural food and I was generally happy with this metamorphis of ideas based on my thinking and my tutor's advice following my first assignment.
2. Quality of outcome
Generally I am pleased with my photographs in the assignment. Perhaps there is not enough consistency in the theme as I mix studio table-top photography with on-location photography and I ask myself whether these different styles add to the assignment theme or confuse it? But I felt that there was a tranisition of ideas during the assignment and a learning curve to demonstrate. For example, the first horizontals and verticals photograph I took of leeks and onions initially in a studio style shot, was followed up with a different approach in an outside shot of Trevor on his allotment in the next horizons and verticals photograph. I am pleased with the technical quality of the photographs and have tried to choose the right aperature and right lens for each photograph to achieve the depth of field and composition I was seeking in each situation. As I said in my first assignment, it is difficult to assess your own quality outputs and I will look forward to my tutor's feedback on this.
3. Demonstration of Creativity
I am not a very creative person and this is an area where I hope to learn more from the OCA course. Some people dispute this and say that I am very creative with words having written and broadcast for the media. Perhaps it is the visually creative area I need to develop.
As a result of reading two of the books recommended by my tutor ("The Photograph as Contemporary Art" by Charlotte Cotton and "Art Photography Now" by Susan Bright) hopefully I am beginning to develop a little more creativity. I wanted to introduce a further element into the assignment that made the viewer question what was happening. Two examples in Charlotte Cotton's book came to mind. Firstly, the hands in the window in Rachel Harrison's photograph showing a pair of hands coming out of a window (page 45) - who is this person, one of the many who visit this property where it is claimed there had been a visitation from the Virgin Mary? Secondly, also in Charlotte's book, Stephen Shore's photograph of processed food. This was the idea behind adding a hand to the Bangers & Mash photograph. Who is this person? Who eats convenience microwaved food like this? What do they look like? Where are they - a bedsit with bare walls or a posh house? It's clean environment, but no watch or fancy jewellery on the wrist. Does this photograph give the added dimension my tutor is looking for in supporting my development? What is the on-site relationship here between the person, the photographer and the viewer that Susan Bright writes about in "Art Photography Now"? Is this the 'removal of context' she talks about? Perhaps the same questions apply in my Pembrokeshire potatoes photograph.
In contrast, with the Trevor and his allotment photograph, we see the person and perhaps we can make judgement about him. What type of person is he? A professional local person, a tradesman, an unemployed person growing his own produce living on social benefits? My tutor says it's important to avoid stereotypes. So there is no attempt to send a message here and it's for the viewer to make their own judgements. The subject is a willing volunteer and in a short period of time as strangers to each other, we established a trusting relationship. His pose, which I have remarked upon above, may also give some visual clues to the character. But we don't really know his background. The viewer can only guess.
4. Context
This has to be about reflection, research and critical thinking - some of which has already been articulated in the preceding sections of this Assignment Reflection. I have read the OCA handout on "Developing your log using reflective writing" and I hope that I can begin to demonstrate some reflective practice.
Following the first assignment, I feel that with this assignment I have already started to learn to take on board new ideas and concepts and apply some of these to this second assignment. But there is much more to do. My tutor says that I have to show evidence of reading photographic books and theory. I have started this with the course book that is supplied, "The Photograph" by Graham Clarke and the two other booked mentioned above. Some of the books are organsied more easily for my learning style in more identified chapters. For eample both Graham Clarke and Susan Bright have chapters entitled "Landscape" which makes interpretation and comparison of different writers easier for me. The more technical books such as "Light - Science & Magic" I find easier to read as they are more factual.
So with regard to reading and theory, my tutor's recent feedback and my attempt at this assignment number two, I feel I have made some progress in developing my thinking skills and in applying some new ideas. For example, introducing hands into some of the photograph to give a human element. I am also going to reflect on some of my recent reading - Clarke, Bright and Cotton's books and write some reflection in the Reading and Reflection part of my log and also add to the blog at this point now at the end of May 2014.
On reflection, as I write the final sentences of this assignment, I feel pleased with my effort and the variety of ideas I have tried on what I think is a loose theme and what I have put into practice. Maybe it's too loose. I have met some interesting people along the way, but only one person is identified in the assignment, namely Trevor. Who are the others? Does this assignment end leaving unanswered questions and if so, is this a good thing? Is the quality of my photography more professional in the way my tutor is looking for? Have I achieved good composition in these photographs as well as interpreting the ten effects listed in the assignment? Changes associated with reflection include 'questioning', 'thinking', being more open', and 'self-aware' according to the OCA handout and I think I can see these changes taking place in my style.
I have also tried to keep the overall design and graphics of my log interesting and the Weebly software is great for supporting interesting design options.
In my reflections, I have more questions than answers and hopefully these questions and further reflection on them, along with my tutor's feedback, will give me the focus and direction I need for the next part of "The Art of Photography" which is about Colour and I am looking forward to that!
This has been an assignment where I have opened my mind to consider a number of different approaches. My tutor's report on my first assignment arrived when I was at a mid-point with this assignment and it was a catalyst to my broader thinking that was taking place in respect of the design and compositional skills elements of the assignment. Having started more reflective reading as she had suggested, my starting point was with the early photographers like Fox Talbot's "Pencils of Nature" triangular 'old masters' type studio photography. I was attracted by this approach.
Then I looked at the work of some of the popular food photographers. Their work seems to be an almost food fashion type of photography. What would my tutor think of that approach after advising me not to think of the obvious but to 'think outside the box'. Conceptually, I found that demonstrating the various requirements of the assignment - single point, two points etc. - was straightforward.
But my tutor had advised me that 'composition as well as ideas is a skill that needs to be developed'. "Push your ideas outside the literal" she had said. I also tried to understand her comments about trying to make my work 'metaphorical and symbolic rather than literal' and how that might apply to this assignment. Ultimately, I feel I may have ended up with a bit of a hybrid approach and not completely keeping my themes 'consistent and tightly edited' as she said. What is the theme here? What is the message? These were my thoughts and questions to myself.
My starting point was studio type photography trying to create attractive photographs on non-incursive neutral black backgrounds or white lime floorboard type background that I had made. The yoghurt and beans photographs and the eggs and also the leeks and onions photographs were examples of this approach. I was pleased with the compositions and my technical capability here and the whole assignment could have been based on this approach. But I questioned if this approach was taking on board my tutor's comments sufficiently or were they just pretty pictures - the sort that go into recipe books and colour supplements with text and graphics?
I found myself gradually moving on with other ideas. My tutor had suggested "It's good to have a theme to work within whilst also providing scope for exploration" ... and ... "are there political or social themes you would like to pick up on?"
For me I found there is a current CONTRAST in the raw materials of food. One the one hand we have a multi-million pound food manufacturing industry providing us with attractively packaged convenience food (and people getting seriously overweight as a result of unbalanced diets). On the other hand we have home grown enthusiasts like Trevor whom I discovered growing his own food on his allotment, not to sell (which his allotment prohibits as a commercial venture) but for self consumption within the family. This contrast turned out to be my theme although I am not sure how successfully I have conveyed this! I did have ideas of candidly photographing fast food situations/outlets and supermarkets and people over eating - but there are professional and ethical considerations here and maybe this is not the time to go 'undercover' and start investigative photo journalism as a OCA student and amateur!
So my assignment became a theme of manufactured and natural food and I was generally happy with this metamorphis of ideas based on my thinking and my tutor's advice following my first assignment.
2. Quality of outcome
Generally I am pleased with my photographs in the assignment. Perhaps there is not enough consistency in the theme as I mix studio table-top photography with on-location photography and I ask myself whether these different styles add to the assignment theme or confuse it? But I felt that there was a tranisition of ideas during the assignment and a learning curve to demonstrate. For example, the first horizontals and verticals photograph I took of leeks and onions initially in a studio style shot, was followed up with a different approach in an outside shot of Trevor on his allotment in the next horizons and verticals photograph. I am pleased with the technical quality of the photographs and have tried to choose the right aperature and right lens for each photograph to achieve the depth of field and composition I was seeking in each situation. As I said in my first assignment, it is difficult to assess your own quality outputs and I will look forward to my tutor's feedback on this.
3. Demonstration of Creativity
I am not a very creative person and this is an area where I hope to learn more from the OCA course. Some people dispute this and say that I am very creative with words having written and broadcast for the media. Perhaps it is the visually creative area I need to develop.
As a result of reading two of the books recommended by my tutor ("The Photograph as Contemporary Art" by Charlotte Cotton and "Art Photography Now" by Susan Bright) hopefully I am beginning to develop a little more creativity. I wanted to introduce a further element into the assignment that made the viewer question what was happening. Two examples in Charlotte Cotton's book came to mind. Firstly, the hands in the window in Rachel Harrison's photograph showing a pair of hands coming out of a window (page 45) - who is this person, one of the many who visit this property where it is claimed there had been a visitation from the Virgin Mary? Secondly, also in Charlotte's book, Stephen Shore's photograph of processed food. This was the idea behind adding a hand to the Bangers & Mash photograph. Who is this person? Who eats convenience microwaved food like this? What do they look like? Where are they - a bedsit with bare walls or a posh house? It's clean environment, but no watch or fancy jewellery on the wrist. Does this photograph give the added dimension my tutor is looking for in supporting my development? What is the on-site relationship here between the person, the photographer and the viewer that Susan Bright writes about in "Art Photography Now"? Is this the 'removal of context' she talks about? Perhaps the same questions apply in my Pembrokeshire potatoes photograph.
In contrast, with the Trevor and his allotment photograph, we see the person and perhaps we can make judgement about him. What type of person is he? A professional local person, a tradesman, an unemployed person growing his own produce living on social benefits? My tutor says it's important to avoid stereotypes. So there is no attempt to send a message here and it's for the viewer to make their own judgements. The subject is a willing volunteer and in a short period of time as strangers to each other, we established a trusting relationship. His pose, which I have remarked upon above, may also give some visual clues to the character. But we don't really know his background. The viewer can only guess.
4. Context
This has to be about reflection, research and critical thinking - some of which has already been articulated in the preceding sections of this Assignment Reflection. I have read the OCA handout on "Developing your log using reflective writing" and I hope that I can begin to demonstrate some reflective practice.
Following the first assignment, I feel that with this assignment I have already started to learn to take on board new ideas and concepts and apply some of these to this second assignment. But there is much more to do. My tutor says that I have to show evidence of reading photographic books and theory. I have started this with the course book that is supplied, "The Photograph" by Graham Clarke and the two other booked mentioned above. Some of the books are organsied more easily for my learning style in more identified chapters. For eample both Graham Clarke and Susan Bright have chapters entitled "Landscape" which makes interpretation and comparison of different writers easier for me. The more technical books such as "Light - Science & Magic" I find easier to read as they are more factual.
So with regard to reading and theory, my tutor's recent feedback and my attempt at this assignment number two, I feel I have made some progress in developing my thinking skills and in applying some new ideas. For example, introducing hands into some of the photograph to give a human element. I am also going to reflect on some of my recent reading - Clarke, Bright and Cotton's books and write some reflection in the Reading and Reflection part of my log and also add to the blog at this point now at the end of May 2014.
On reflection, as I write the final sentences of this assignment, I feel pleased with my effort and the variety of ideas I have tried on what I think is a loose theme and what I have put into practice. Maybe it's too loose. I have met some interesting people along the way, but only one person is identified in the assignment, namely Trevor. Who are the others? Does this assignment end leaving unanswered questions and if so, is this a good thing? Is the quality of my photography more professional in the way my tutor is looking for? Have I achieved good composition in these photographs as well as interpreting the ten effects listed in the assignment? Changes associated with reflection include 'questioning', 'thinking', being more open', and 'self-aware' according to the OCA handout and I think I can see these changes taking place in my style.
I have also tried to keep the overall design and graphics of my log interesting and the Weebly software is great for supporting interesting design options.
In my reflections, I have more questions than answers and hopefully these questions and further reflection on them, along with my tutor's feedback, will give me the focus and direction I need for the next part of "The Art of Photography" which is about Colour and I am looking forward to that!