Assignment One Tutor Feedback Part ii

Following my less than enthusiastic response to feedback on assignment one, I thought it was important to provide an update on this. Yesterday, I had a lengthy discussion over the phone with my tutor in which we covered a huge amount of ground relating to this. It was an extremely useful conversation and I really appreciate the time he has taken to do this. It went a long way in alleviating my anxieties and explaining more comprehensively the intent and guidance of the feedback.

Given the need at assessment to demonstrate how you have responded to feedback, this conversation needs to be noted on here. I am reluctant to repeat it all pigeon style as it really is directed at my work, not that relevant for anyone else and what is more important is how I respond to his advice, not regurgitating it. Over the coming months my enquiries will be posted on here in which I'll relate back to conversations had.

Evidence of notes from the conversation, 

but impossible to read or understand probably for anyone but me!!

One thing that I keep being reminded of, is that there really is no short-cut to producing good work...because it shows if you do...you have to read, you have to write, you have to do the research and you have to be absolutely clear what you are trying to achieve...and then of course you have to make a convincing photograph or two! And whilst I'm not afraid of hard work, I am aware the work becomes more extensive and intensive all the time...you never 'arrive'...and I find myself seeking refreshment breaks or 'pick-me-ups' to feed my hurting brain along the way, just to get through some of the hard miles, otherwise the distance to travel can feel unmanageable.

Assignment One Tutor Feedback

It is three months since I submitted assignment one and quite frankly I'm anxious to move on...

The main thrust of the report was focussed on ways to improve my methodology and process.  There was some general advice on how I should be working at level two, reiterating the assessment criteria and the importance of contextualising my work at this level. There was advice as to how to reference other work on my blog and a suggestion that there was a lack of documented research, exploration and analysis of other photographers and influences on there.  And that there was too much emphasis on technical aspects of my own photography. Fair enough. Easily remedied. Although sadly this doesn't reflect the reality, in which probably the reverse is true, at least in hours spent if not documented.

He strongly advises that as I have decided to embark on a 'self-directed' project and have diverged from the brief, I need to prepare carefully in advance and state my intentions formally, by writing a project proposal. I am not totally convinced that my concept is diverging dramatically from the brief, however, I can see the value in this and have put together a detailed proposal for him to peruse and comment on.

He says that on the face of it there is the beginnings of a well grounded project but there appears to be 'fundamental issues' which may inhibit its progress. He also writes that I may be struggling to find 'form in my work' or a 'way forward for it'. Yes true. He suggests the proposal will help me clarify my intentions. And this is where I feel like I'm missing something. I accept I'm struggling to 'find form in my work' so how will writing a project proposal alter this when it's me who's writing it? Articulating can help clarify ideas and help others understand it, but I know what I want to achieve from the Domestic Sublime concept...articulating it isn't my issue...it's how to execute it to my satisfaction. As has been documented on here, I keep trying different approaches and I am currently exploring yet another for the purposes of assignments two and three. Sadly, the feedback hasn't edged me forward on this, perhaps I was expecting too much...I tend to!!  

With regards demonstrating creativity, he warns it is veering off in to the path of being 'heavy-handed', hackneyed and bombastic...ouch! Perhaps my work needs to be much more subtle? Replace the trolley for a till receipt, the kids in the woods for random items of clothes, the hide for a doormat? He suggests that, again, a well-written project proposal, with a developed conceptual framework, will avoid this outcome. 

He points out, quite rightly, that the use of the large format camera is causing delays and suggests I work on smaller projects with shorter timescales and use cameras with more immediate feedback to explore my ideas. The 'Barbed' project was all taken on a digital camera, over a short period of time following this advice. And all large format images will be duplicated on the digital. 

He recommends I look at the work by Jeff Wall with regards 'surreal narratives, manipulations and more', and Kurt Caviezel by way of an example of a 'simple disposable concept that can build in to a significant piece of work' and the book Place edited by Tacita Dean and Jeremy Dellar to showcase a variety of different approaches to landscape'. So I bought this, this and this. Fortunately I could pick up a used copy of Jeff Wall's The Complete Edition. I am not unfamiliar with the work of Jeff Wall by any means but am enjoying dipping in and out of this huge 280 page monster of a book. It is full as much by interviews and essays as it is with pictures, which I am very pleased with. It will take some time to work my way through this and I am sure I can learn huge amounts from his work processes and indeed theories that support his work.  'Place' I have now been through once cover to cover. It includes, within it, succinct chapters, with fresh and interesting examples of work that I hadn't come across before.  Great. Kurt Caviezel's book I found to be a perplexing choice and one I want to sell as quickly as it has arrived. I'll have to revisit this one in due course.

With regards tutor feedback in general, very rarely have I read blogposts on fellow student sites that criticise tutor feedback. To do so you run the risk of coming across as defensive or obstructive.  Equally there is the danger of inadvertently misrepresenting tutor views or taking words out of context. Given that feedback is offered in goodwill, why would you? However, is it really always the case that students endorse all the views of their tutor?  I have actioned my tutor's recommendations as best I can, tried to respond positively and raised any issues directly with my tutor. So I'm not being duplicitous here, but to say I'm entirely satisfied with the feedback would be an untruth. 

I have hesitated for a number of weeks from publishing this post, have edited, re-edited, aware I leave myself exposed to criticism now and indeed in future. I appreciate the importance of a project proposal but I'm just not convinced that a 'retrospective' project proposal will be a 'cure-all' to all my Domestic Sublime woes. It feels like it's scratching the wrong itch. 

...but it's fair to say this is all my own doing and my own vision so if I feel no further on in terms of how to develop the concept, refine it or indeed whether the implied advice is to 'can' it, that is my own problem. I've certainly lost momentum and desire for it...but I suppose I've imagined this 'quagmire' for myself. So it's up to me to keep researching, looking for ideas, trying different approaches until I know how to visualise my way out of it...no tutor feedback can resolve that for me!!

One concept, two outcomes

So this is a sort of experiment.  In the previous post there was an interesting discussion about the use of digital manipulation and the use of composites in photography (thanks to all for your interest). Following on from this, I have decided to rework one the images I submitted for Assignment One, as part of the Domestic Sublime series. You really need to view them large which you can do by clicking on the image I think. It is the same concept in both images but different execution. The first image is the reworked image using composites and digital manipulation, and the second is a 'performative' image taken with a large format camera, as per submission for assignment one for Landscape.

Image 1: reworked image

Image 2: original submission for assignment 1

As I have only just finished putting the top one together I will probably need to leave it for a few days to consider its merits. I will also not elaborate on the concept either for now or my preferences. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed having a go at this, even though it took hours and hours, and my eyes are raw from dryness...I must forget to blink when I'm concentrating!!

Anyway, I will come back to this soon and welcome your views in the meantime.  

Is digital manipulation cheating?

After a blinding weekend with friends, I'm now clocking back on.

So, it is following the creation of this image above, (the one mentioned in the previous post), that has led me to reflect a little on my 'default' approach to photography.

I created this, prompted by a call for entries via OCA here by The Higher Education Academy. The competition is entitled 'Is this as good as it gets' and the brief was 'what do you love about studying your subject? The Higher Education Academy is looking for a photograph/digital image which captures how it feels to study the Arts and Humanities when the Arts and Humanities is at its best'.

Anyway, this post isn't about the competition or my entry. But there are a number of issues this image has raised in my head. Without the constraints I impose on myself for assignments, which I'll come back to, a concept for this brief arrived like a gift from an angel. Most of my anguish over the past few months with image making is how to successfully execute pre-visualised ideas, which I have only achieved partially.  My attempts until now have been crude or clumsy versions of how they look in my head. For this image, I mocked up what I wanted and then worked on the individual elements, adopting a variety of digital techniques to execute it. And this is where I am questioning my approach. The purist in me would say it lacks authenticity as it is merely a digital composite although there are a good number of artists who have, such as Sam Taylor Wood, Kelli Connell. My question is can an image be devalued by the way in which it was put together? Is it 'cheating' to use digital manipulation...and should it matter? Is it more about the message than the route to achieve it? If I'd managed to install all these elements in-situ like Gregory Crewdson or indeed Roger Ballen do, would I use different criteria to judge it? I perhaps shouldn't be worrying about this. Nevertheless, I have until now, on my assignment work, purposefully avoided the digital composite or manipulation route because of this concern.  But on the other hand, by adopting the digital route, for the first time in a long time, the image I saw in my head is what you see here...and that has made me happy...simple things and all that...

The image above, is not a million miles off the aesthetic and intent I had for the 'Domestic Sublime' series. So I'm now thinking, could I achieve the Domestic Sublime concept more successfully by relaxing in to it a little and being less purist about it? I could still take the landscapes/backdrops with the large format camera to get the quality in the image and to continue practicing with it (although that would be back to colour film again). And then overlay it digitally with aspects of the concept I can't impose on the landscape any other way? Which approach speaks louder to the viewer? The most eloquent I would have thought.  I guess I need to try a few...I suppose I'm challenging my own views on the credibililty of this approach really and whether these self-imposed restraints are counter-productive...I'm beginning to think they might be.

Assignment One Submission

Submitted as a pdf accompanied with text and high res images, via dropbox, to my tutor...will report back anon.

A few tweaks here and there

Following on from the last post I am going to tweak the way in which I work. I will shortly submit five images for assignment one as previously planned.  I have made technical amendments where feasible. Despite the cool reception my proof sheets received at the Masterclass, when presented larger, and after some careful post processing, I am not unhappy with them...they are certainly 'salvageable' as a series. Not to say that I won't make changes as I progress with this series from assignment one in to the basis of the portfolio. But for now, I happy to wait for my tutor feedback before making any decisions.

Going forward, beyond assignment one, a few adjustments to my method of working:

• keep it simple, keep it simple, keep it simple
• I have too many complex themes running around my head that seem hugely complicated to execute. I will continue pursuing the concept of 'alternative ways to photograph the Lake District' (apart from for assignment two). But I suspect my execution will be radically simplified, particularly for assignment three.
• no more colour film with 5x4.  Two reasons for this, first I can get 25 sheets of b/w film for the same price as ten colour sheets. So I can take more pictures, make more mistakes and learn more quickly.  It also means that if I want to develop my own in the future, I can.
• go back to basics - I need to become much more meticulous with regards the technical aspects of my image making and processes.  I'm hoping the slow approach the 5x4 enforces will encourage this.
• I need to tackle the 5x4 without the added complication of people and animals.
• each image will require much more thought with regards concept and execution...I haven't been neglectful of this by any means, but am now acutely aware how much more attention I must devote to it. 

I'm sure there are other things that will have altered but those are a few of the main ones.

Assignment One...my first glimpse

I will be attending the Roger Ballen Masterclass this Sunday. And as part of this, there is the opportunity to share 5 -10 images from your portfolio for feedback and discussion. Sounds great doesn't it?  Well it did when I signed up. But I'm rapidly going off the idea.

In an ideal world I wanted to share the beginnings of my 'domestic sublime' series, mainly because it is my most recent project and the thought processes are still 'live' in my head.  However, the 5x4 contact sheets that arrived back today reflect more than a few errors which really undermines my confidence in them. The kind of errors include:

• double exposing: school boy error that was made firstly because of the time lag between the first and second round of exposures...easily done yet could be so easily avoided too if I get my systems sorted.
• forgetting to shift from f5.6 to f11 when I'm ready to shoot...I can't set the aperture straight to f11 as there is not enough light to compose the shot properly.  So I widen the hole to f5.6 initially, compose the shot and then set the aperture after...well on several it looks like I haven't remembered to do this. But despite this, the exposure is there or there-abouts with all the images. So either my light metering is awry or perhaps Peak have worked their magic a little! Or I was lucky! Without the benefit of meta data it is difficult to be sure...I know, that is my cue to write notes!! Thing is, when I'm working with people/kids/animals, I don't have the luxury of time. I always feel rushed...I will just have to become more deft at it.
• on some, there is a white haze over part of the image...I am assuming that at some point I must have let in some light as it is not the whole image or on the edges.

You know what...I find it so damn difficult. It really makes the process much much harder using this camera. It's not that I don't enjoy it, but I do think the sporadic use of the camera plus the need for haste means I'm not methodical.  And I do think a precise and orderly approach is fundamental.  As I've said before, I'll keep going with it for this course, but unless they're going to be exhibited at metre rather than centimetre dimensions in a gallery I am wondering if this is the right approach. I would certainly derive more consistent results on the digital.

All in all I probably can salvage 7 images from the 14 exposures...not sooo bad, but equally they're not sooo good either...and not necessarily how I imagined them (but that's a different issue for another day). The next stage will be to send the negs that I want scanned back to Peak and then when they return, I will work on them and submit what I have for assignment one. I feel myself willing them to be better.

Cost to date, for the record: £106. Sheet film £56. c41 processing £31. Contact Sheets £19. Costs still to come: scanning and printing. I wince as I write this...unless I miraculously find an income stream I probably need to shelve the aspiration for Epstein size prints.

So going back to the Roger Ballen talk, sadly I think showing any images from this series is premature. So what should I do? I think I may decline the offer and see what others produce...I could consider some of the soc doc work, but am not sure. I feel a little intimidated by the whole thing if I'm honest. But as I doubt myself, I hear that braver voice inside telling me the greatest learning is when you're booted out of that comfort zone. And that's where I would find myself...this I guess illustrates my fears addressed in the 'putting it out there' post. And shows my dithering on such matters...I will let you know what I decide.

Assignment One...Domestic Sublime

Just thought I should update you on progress for Landscape assignment one by way of an insurance policy in the event I've messed up! This may sound pessimistic and I don't like to pre-post, but with the large format camera it really is possible. I have just sent off my 5x4 sheets to Peak Imaging.  I'll get back contact sheets in the next few days, that if I'm lucky, should glean 4 or may be 5 images that I can submit for assignment one...even at best that is a long way off the ten or twelve recommended, but to even get that few has been an achievement in itself. And indeed, if I've made technical errors (which is not difficult to do), I may in fact have nothing to show for my efforts at all!  So that is why I include my progress now...so that when April arrives and no assignment is forthcoming, it is because my exploits have failed rather than sitting on my hands for months. There isn't a plan B as such, so I may have to resurrect all the 'chocolate box' rejects I have so rigorously criticised.

DOMESTIC SUBLIME
Simply meaning domesticity in the sublime landscape...

Now I am the first to admit that this is stretching the remit of assignment one - 'the season' somewhat.  If my images come back from Peak Imaging as I hope, they will be linked to the season 'winter' in as much as, they have all been taken in winter. But that is as far as I have gone in making any connection back to the season. This may prove a little too tenuous, however without wishing to preempt anything, photography only works for me if I photograph what inspires me and as you might expect from reading previous blog posts (such as Location, Location, Location, Personalised Landscape, Chocolate Boxes, Landscape Photographers Trap) I was not minded to 'capture the winter weather'. If I continue to photograph this concept throughout the year, the seasonal changes will be implicit in the imagery anyway.

The intention of this assignment is to take a view of the Lakeland landscape from one who lives here.  I'm not holidaying here so I don't need to demonstrate its beauty...there are thousand upon thousand of images that do that.

No, perhaps foolishly, I have taken a satirical approach to this assignment...I have used the landscape as a backdrop to a 'domesticity'..there is reason in the madness...but any further explanation or rationale will kill it in my opinion.

But, they did take more than a little time to set up, coming up with the ideas, trying to cajole friends in to modelling, as well as finding suitable locations and props. And indeed stealing the odd supermarket trolley too (well, renting for a pound)!!

...I have repeatedly questioned my wisdom in investing my efforts in to this series and am probably too close to the concept now to judge it objectively...but either which way, this is how I wanted to start the course...

I, once again, forgot to take duplicates with the digital camera apart from this one which I include by way of an example, although the 5x4 may come out quite different:

TIME LAPSE PHOTOGRAPHY

I have a second piece of ongoing work I may submit to make up for the shortage of images on the Domestic Sublime project which is a time-lapse study. I started it in January and the location is very close to home. It will continue for the full year and is less ambitious or interesting, but I am drawn to time lapse photography!!  I guess there is no harm in posting a link to my tutor when I've put something together. But I may reconsider depending on how far I get with it.

So there you have it...the start of an assignment submission...or may be not...depending on how I have faired technically. I must admit, the large format camera is by no means easy for me and errors are costly.  I am minded to persevere with it throughout the duration of this course in the hope it'll become more familiar...but if it persists in feeling as un-instinctive as it does at present I may retreat to digital and sell it.  It is a beautiful piece of kit that I am 'willing' myself to love more than I currently do...

Exposed or not?

I'm now really concerned which of the 5x4 sheets have been exposed and which haven't.  I've been taking three per location (normally I take two, but wanted belt and braces) which means there is usually a gap before I go out and take the fourth sheet (reverse side of the third).  So when I come to take the fourth sheet I'm questioning myself as to whether I exposed the 'a' side or was I careless and use the 'b' side.  I can't be 100% sure. Two or four exposures at one go works better than three I would conclude. Now I'm hesitant to take anymore just in case I double expose...it's fraught with difficulties this large format photography lark!

Location, location, location

Today the forecast was for 'cloud'. I had no expectations at all for anything spectacular. But when we headed out...it was quite out of this world...a truly staggering day.  Well, I've done it again - that landscape photographers trap I keep twining on about, I've just stumbled in to it once more!! Can't help it!! 

Thing is, I'd have been hard pushed to take anything other than a stunning picture today...and that is no self-inflated opinion, quite the contrary...just being here was all that was required. In some ways I am at a major advantage being on a landscape course and living in the Lakes...there could be no greater gift could there? And its dramatic beauty could distract attention away from all manner of technical flaws.  However, its' presence equally has the power to overpower any theme, message or concept I choose to overlay it with and make it look contrived and feeble. It truly is a gigantic personality and one that is hard to tame, challenge or alter.  To get beyond it is tougher than it seems and is it futile to try? 

Strangely for assignment one, this day alone could theoretically have yielded me with twelve adequate images to illustrate 'the season' (bit samey, but you catch my drift) (full set here)....and then I would be making headway...but I didn't have to try that hard in all honesty and what would I have learned... As it is, I've still to make any real progress on assignment one (one failed attempt today).  I feel like a recovering alcoholic pitching out in a brewery...pretty cool brewery mind!!

Initial Plans for Landscape

I've spoken to my tutor now and had that introductory chat. Funny, I must be a creature of habit as I was a little nervous making contact with a new tutor. We spoke by good old fashioned phone, as I failed with skype...oh well, I can save that pleasure.

What became clear as our conversation progressed was the need for me to contain the breadth of ideas. As I threw yet another idea at him I think he became, quite rightly, a little anxious that I may be in danger of spreading myself too thinly. So I will have to park a number of ideas and trains of thought for now, which I think is wise.

However, despite this, I am still considering five or six threads and they are all vying for my attention...which means I'm flitting about a little again.  However, I do prefer to be working on a number of projects concurrently, to keep it varied and interesting. Inevitably there will be some failures and this approach allows for some to fall by the wayside. It also may mean that my first assignment, which is entitled 'the season', may be the amalgam of two or perhaps even three independent themes. This is less than ideal but in the long-run I think there is some logic in it and will enable me to meet the 1 April deadline more easily than trying to get twelve images on one theme.

My overarching aim for this course is to challenge the 'default' image of the Lakes, as you've probably heard me say once or thrice before!

So for starters, areas of work that I will be concentrating my efforts on over the next twelve months, all with their own caveats at the moment:

• my view of the Lakes when I build up the courage, have the right weather and a number of other factors all coming together at the same time
• rural street photography during the busier months
• folklore when I work out how to actually achieve this
• in the style of Mitch Epstein when I get to that part of the course

It's always dangerous laying down your intentions as you can become unnecessarily imprisoned by them. And I don't like putting it to paper if I don't intend to do it. However, they're just words at the moment...so I need to put my film where my camera is now and just get on with it.