Assignment 2 - Response to Tutor Comments

Generally I am very pleased with my tutors comments for this assignment, overall I think Keith recognises I needed a little encouragement to put some of my self doubt at bay and reassurance that I am on the right track. His comments about how I need to use the work of others as inspiration rather than letting it put me off and question my own work rings very true and seems very obvious now that I have a little distance from this assignment. Currently I feel much more assured of what I am doing and I am making good progress through the course - I am starting to enjoy the journey and the learning that comes with that more. Somehow I think the angst I went through trying to complete this assignment has been ultimately a good thing - although I would not want to go through that again!

Keith's comment about some of my writing being too descriptive in terms of technical weighting and not focusing enough on concept is something I thought myself and I will attempt to remedy this going forward. Interestingly, I made a conscious effort to do this in my write up for assignment 3 which was submitted before I received this feedback. I am curious to know whether this approach works or not as I fear I may have gone too far and not included enough technical information.

Keith's recommendations for further study are very welcome, even if he does invoke the dreaded Barthes! I have had 'Camera Lucida' on my shelf for some time and have not quite felt strong enough to tackle it. I mentioned this to Keith in an email to him and he responded by saying that although 'Camera Lucida' is a "bit prickly" in places it is worth reading if only take away a small percentage; advice I will endeavour to take.

It is interesting that two of the photographers mentioned take a high concept approach to their photography which suggests Keith is pushing me towards developing this approach myself. Tom Hunter I am already aware of (indeed it was the concept of his series 'Living in Hell' in which he uses stories he has found in newspapers as the basis for his photographs while also referencing famous art works) while Nicky Bird is new to me although I find her exploration of Julie Margaret-Cameron's work by recreating her work with Cameron's ancestors an interesting one. Harry Callahan is a photographer I know a little about from various photography books but not someone whose work I am particularly familiar, again, I will make a conscious effort to study his work in more depth.