Assignment 3 - Tutor Comments

Overall Comments

Many thanks for submitting this third assignment Michael, which contained some really strong monochrome images.

Key issues mentioned in my last report are as follows:

• Try to be a little more reflective in terms of the contextual element of the assignment, rather than descriptive.
• Look at the work of Harry Callaghan / Tom Hunter / Nicky Bird.
• Consider what Barthes says in relation to Studium & Punctum.
• Always try to consider composition as a way of personal expression within an image.
• Further consider the monochrome versus colour debate.
• Try to make reference to which practitioners are informing your own practice within the contextual element of the submission.

I can see from your submission that you are responding very positively to much of the feedback suggestions provided, which is excellent.  I enjoyed reading the first written section of the submission which was making all the right noises as far as I am concerned …. much less about ‘how’ and much more about ‘why’.

Feedback on assignment

There was an element of the written component that actually touches on the next assignment (Real or Fake) which was interesting to see.  (Also consider the work of Robert Capa / Dorethea Lange etc.)

These ten images worked really well for me and I thought as a themed body of work they achieved the objective you set out with, in terms of the visual exploration of your local area.  It is often a myth really to think that the best photostory’s happen in exotic places …. You will find that once you scrape the surface locally, interesting things begin to be revealed.

I think you should have a real confidence in the photographic work you are producing, which in my opinion is visually quite challenging and tends to avoid the more obvious and stereotypical.  This was a body of work that gripped my attention from the outset, with various compositional elements and decisions adding visual intrigue to the work.  From a technical perspective, there wasn’t anything I could really comment upon that bothered me, or got in my way of viewing the work.  The first shot for instance didn’t just present an untidy back yard … there were all kinds of subtle framing within framing going on here.  IE: The pegs framed by the windows, the gate way framing the yard, the chaotic angles of the pipes etc etc  … this was well observed in my opinion …. many would have just walked straight past !

Each shot had something interesting hidden within it, such as the bricked up door or the weeping wall with the vent.  The shots felt well balanced to me, especially the final shot of the back alley way. I liked the way this shot had been constructed; with just enough horizontal road in the foreground to lead you into the vertical road in the background … I liked the position of the circular grid and the telegraph pole etc.  The punctum for me is that remaining embedded white lintel in the shot of the wall with drainpipe.  This was a simple shot but very effective …. highlighting an opening which is no longer required, but which has served as an access point to the property for decades in the past. Conduct some research into the term ‘Genus Loci’ and its application within photographic practice, I think you might find this of interest to your work.

Learning Logs/Critical essays

The blog is working very well for you and is being updated  – which is great to see.  You have a number of different sections which can lead the viewer straight to what they are looking for … which will make things easier for the assessor in terms of navigation.

Suggested reading/viewing

Evans, W.2013. American Photographs. Tate Publishing. London

ISBN-13: 978-1849761284

Joshua Cooper, T.2004.Point of No Return. Haunch of Venision.

ISBN-13: 978-0954067199

Davis, Pete.1997: Cader Idris – Soul of a Lonely Place. University of Wales School or Art Press.

ISBN-13: 978-1899095087

Conclusions and targets for next assignment

I’d really like to see you continue to read around the subject matter and cite references to theory that supports and underpin your practice. You will learn plenty from looking at the work of others … especially the more notable figures in the history of the discipline.

I’ll look forward to receiving your next submission Michael - ‘Real or Fake’

Tutor name:	Keith W Roberts
Date	28/04/2014
Next assignment due	July 2014