Submission and Final Images
Author: EBarker
Summary and Reflexion
I felt like during this assignment I initially found it really difficult to get my head around the brief. However, with some help from my tutor I decided on showing the darker sides of a zoo. My final images I think are quite good and show a documentary style. By using Black and White filters and editing my images to be grainy I found that this gave some more qualities to my photos.
Below are my contact sheets from this assignment:
Looking back on this assignment I think if I had thought about it more I would have shown some more aspects of the zoo and maybe researched into other zoos before automatically picking my childhood zoo I visited.
Strengths and Weaknesses
During this assignment I found myself coming across many hurdles which I then had to work out how to overcome them. I found that I could have researched more into artists that produced the same type of imagery as myself and to maybe take longer to really think about my subjects.
However, after speaking with tutor and him telling me to stop over thinking the brief and after giving me some advice on how to maybe look at my idea a little differently, I found that I really enjoyed planning my shoot.
Coming to terms with a Learning Blog was also a little hard for me, as I am used to using different platforms to create blogs. After getting my head around it and looking into other students blogs I found that it was really easy to come to terms with.
Technical Approaches
My technical approaches in this assignment are to focus on the editing of the photographs. Making them fairly dark and potentially in black and white. My aim is to use a Canon 80D DSLR camera as well as a 50mm f1/8mm lens; this is because hopefully it will give a nice DOF in my images and produce nice close ups.
Rethinking my initial idea and thoughts
After talking to my tutor about my ideas, he gave me a good idea to look at the opposite of the idealised version of a zoo. Also to imagine myself as an author writing about the experiences at a zoo and comparing them to now and how I saw them as a child; this is instead of looking at taking the photographs like a PR would to advertise and sell a zoo.
So now I will be looking at taking photographs of the negatives and the eerie aspects of a zoo to make my images more of a documentary style instead of an advertisement.
After thinking about it I am going to aim to photograph things like
- Litter
- Mud
- Empty cages
- The emptiness of a zoo
- etc
To me this would make an interesting topic to write about in my summary.
Also I thought that’d I’d challenge myself by photographing on my iPhone X max and shoot in portrait mode.I did this because I wanted to use a material that I didn’t necessarily have when I was younger and that was accessible then and is now. I’m not sure if the idea will work as well however I feel the need to give it a go.
If the photography isn’t up to scratch I will redo my images.
Research and Inspiration
As part of the course material we were given a number of artists to look into with some suggested links to photography where the photographer has worked in their locality or in an autobiographical way. After spending some time looking at these practitioners I found that two on the list really helped with my ideas. Alongside one other photographer whom I really admired and really enjoy researching into his work.
I stared by looking into Gawain Barnard. I found that a lot of his projects and work were the style of photography I would love to try and capture when photographing my assignment. I few of my favourites I am referring to are: The Skies too Bright, Maybe We’ll be Soldiers and Blossom.
– by Gawain Barnard
Karen Korr’s work didn’t really stand out a lot for me, however as she used animals in her photography I found it important to include her as it really links with my idea of photographing animals. I found her photographs fairly staged and highly edited, which I don’t have much interest in.
– by Karen Knorr
One of my all time favourite photographers would have to be Martin Bailey. His work is so diverse and includes a lot of topics I highly enjoy looking into. The main one being animals; his work shows a lot of different styles of work using location and animals and he captures both beautifully. Iceland, Flowerscapes and Nambia I found the most interesting.
https://martinbaileyphotography.com/
– by Martin Bailey
My initial thoughts to the brief
As I began to read this brief I automatically jumped to the assumption of the London Square Mile, also known as the City of London. However after carefully reading the brief again I came to the realisation that a “square mile” could be anything from Landscapes, Architecture, People or somewhere you believe has true meaning to you at present or from your childhood.
In our earliest years we know a patch of ground in a d.tail we will
never know anywhere again – site of discovery and putting names to
things – people and places – working with difference and similitude
– favourite places, places to avoid – neighbours and their habits,
gestures and stories – textures, smells – also of play, imagination,
experiment – finding the best location for doing things – creating
worlds under our own control, fantasy landscapes.
(Professor Mike Pearson)
As I have never moved out of the current area I live in I found this fairly difficult to come up with something to photograph that I found significant to me. So putting this into thought I decided to create a mind map, including pros and cons of the places I thought were relevant to me.
My first idea was to stick to the idea of going to the City of London (Square Mile) and photographing different places I have visited since I was younger. To me I have always found myself fortunate of living in London and also having lots of memories here. My plan was to photograph the people and the different cultures around London. However, the more I think about it I personally do not see this as “my” square mile. Which means that this idea was soon and rather quickly wiped from the idea list.
Secondly, I thought about sticking to my own neighbourhood where I have grown up in and spent the majority of my life. Twickenham and Richmond are much quieter places than London itself, so baring this in mind there isn’t an awful lot to do here. They have beautiful open spaces including Bushy Park and Richmond Park, however I also do not find this close to me, apart from the obvious, that I live here and always have.
My final idea and plan I will try to stick with is Norfolk and surrounding areas. Growing up my family and I did a lot of camping around Norfolk making it a place I fondly remember as as child. My favourite time would be when we would all go to Banham Zoo; exciting because I love all types of animals and find myself photographing animals frequently. Alongside the zoo, stargazing and camping in general are really relaxing things for me to do. Meaning that this idea really stood out for me.
Assignment Brief
Make a series of six to twelve photographs in response to the concept of ‘The Square Mile’. Use this as an opportunity to take a fresh and experimental look at your surroundings. You may wish to re-trace places you know very well, examining how they might have changed; or, particularly if you’re in a new environment, you may wish to use photography to explore your new surroundings and meet some of the people around you.
You may wish to explore the concept of Y Filltir Sgwar further, or you may deviate from this. You may want to focus on architecture and landscape, or you may prefer to photograph the people who you think have an interesting connection to the square mile within which you currently find yourself.
You’ll need to shoot many more than 12 photographs from which to make your final edit. You should try to make your final set of photographs ‘sit’ together as a series. Don’t necessarily think about making a number of individual pictures, but rather a set of photographs that complement one another and collectively communicate your idea. You may wish to title your photographs or write short captions if you feel this is appropriate and would benefit the viewer.
However you choose to approach this assignment, it should communicate something about you: your interests, motivations, and your ambitions for your photography. Think Assignment one ‘Square Mile’ Assignment one ‘Square Mile’ Photography 1: Expressing your Vision 15 of it as a way to introduce yourself to your tutor. There’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to respond to this brief, as long as you try to push yourself out of your comfort zone in terms of subject matter. Try out new approaches rather than sticking to what you think you’re most successful at.
Emily Barker OCA Photography 