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
|