Well this post is very overdue...(sorry - hectic life and all that....)...
Delighted to get positive feedback from my tutor in this first assignment for DPP. I'd taken a big step forwards with this work away from my usual "pretty postcards" so I was very pleased it had worked out, and that I got some good pointers for the next one.
My tutor's opening remarks were that I should have explained more about my opening statement: "My plan for the final assignement for DPP is to produce a series of negative space / minimal seascapes, influenced by Mark Bauer and Trevor Cotton". Looking back at this post now I can see this must appear a completely random statement to somebody not living inside my head....
Firstly, I had already commented on both these photographers in my Scrapbook, but had failed to insert the appropriate links; so in my mind it was obvious to me why I was making this statement, but not to the outside world.
For post relating to Trevor Cotton, see here
For post relating to Mark Bauer, see here
And also my post about Steve Landeros, on the same subject, see here
The point I was trying to make, and which I did not make adequately, is that I have realised over the past 18 months, that I am particularly drawn to negative space landscapes. Until very recently, I did not know why, I just liked them. I particularly like the desaturated colours that Trevor Cotton uses in processing, and have also found that at exhibitions I have attended (also look through Scrapbook), that again and again I particularly enjoy images with bleak spaces and sombre colours. So, hugely influenced by this type of photography, my plan for Assignment One had been to practice this technique, as preparation for Assignment Five. That's what I originally should have said! I chose Portland Bill, as I had memories of going there and it being bleak and desolate. I was hoping for rocks and storms, but on the day in question it was bright and sunny and my plan didn't really work out. The prison work was purely by accident; so my final submission bore no resemblance to my introductory statement. I can see why this looked odd!
While I was taking the photographs for the assignment in the prison, I realised in a moment of clarity, why I am so drawn to bleak and desolate landscapes. It is because my life is hectic, full of clutter, operates at a constant 100 mph, skyscrapers, bright lights, congestion, people, traffic, routine, endless meetings, organisation, and so on, that that is why I crave these moments of solitude, desaturation, and emptiness. It's the counterbalance that I so desperately need. So in hoping to create these types of landscapes, it is purely to please me. The intended audience is secondary, if present. It's a desire to escape from the craziness in my life and to make time stand still. Yes of course, one day, it would be great to exhibit, but that is not my immediate concern.
My tutor commented that my visual and technical skills were competent and that the compositions were in some images interesting and in others a little more central. The central compositions were in fact deliberate; I wanted the eye to be drawn in to a point of no return. The overriding feeling I had walking around the grounds of the prison, was that there were entry/exit points all over the place, which didn't in fact lead to anywhere. It was like a "no way in" situation (or "no way out" as I tried to convey). My tutor suggested I return to the prison often and try to progress this piece of work. I would like to do this if I get a chance, but it is a 3 1/2 hour journey, so we will see!
My tutor went on to explain that studying photography at HE means that it is not enough to understand how to take a photograph; you also need to understand why you are taking it, who for, when and where it will be presented, what feelings the image will evoke, what you are trying to communicate, and what is the purpose of the photograph. My tutor suggested that I should focus on exactly what my images are communicating. I did feel that I had done that in a roundabout way in the workflow description part of the post for the assignment, although I did not mention who the photographs were for, as in my mind they were for the assignment; I wasn't really taking them for any other reason. So although I had made quite a big leap between the images I produced for TAOP Assignment 5 and this first one for DPP, which was about workflow more than anything else, there is still a lot of work to do in terms of understanding the communication aspect.
Finally, my tutor helpfully suggested I look at Magnum photographers, which I do already, and also that I research "connotation and denotation" to help develop a personal voice. For the next assignment, I should really focus on what I want the viewer to take away and interpret from each image.
