Adjustments to assignment 5 based on tutor feedback

In Assignment 5, after comments from my tutor, the image below was flipped so the writing would be visible, and replaced with the bottom image, featured in my assignment.

Original image

Assignment image after adjusts made.

Feedback: Assignment 5

Tutor Reports: Assignment 5

Overall Comments

The assignment’s text has a narrative that shows evidence of your overall planning – both of the day and of the images, plus a record of what was found and some self-reflection. These are all fine for the learning log, but for this particular assessment I’d suggest submitting the images alongside captions for each image; in fact just as you would write them for a documentary style publication – either a magazine, or a magazine style blog.

There is a wide range of subject matter, locations and viewpoints that adds variety to the set of images, varying the pace of the narrative. I particularly like the way that you have mixed the personal with the travel images and some details with ‘grand views’.

The assignment could be laid out as a word, PDF or Photoshop file, with title and your name on the first page, then the images with captions on the following (numbered) pages. This isn’t in the style of previous assignments, as the emphasis here is geared towards constructing a narrative to draw in and engage with a reader – from a general audience’s perspective.

So the first image will generally be an upright one with space in the image to overlay the text, or a square image with text set either above or below it. It is difficult to get a feel for how the images will sit on the pages (one per page, multiple images per page?) without some clues given by breaks, page numbers or captions. This sequencing is part of the narrative as this determines where the images will be seen, particularly which images will be seen together.

Feedback on assignment 

Focusing and control of depth of field are both very good throughout – showing a progressive improvement from earlier assignments. Colour balance is also good, despite varying conditions of bright sunlight and deep shade. Exposures are generally good, yet a few images could do with an extra tweak to brighten them a little – e.g. Owl telescope, seagull/streetlamp, waterfront/cobbles, arrival at Liverpool and the shopping street. 

Your compositions are good, showing the use of diagonals (bikes and close up of chain) and rhythm (waterfront & cobbles), curves (chain fence and telescope). The balance of elements arranged in the frame is quite good too; I found the cropping/framing to be a little too tight on some images, e.g. the top of the chain fence, the bottoms of the super lamb banana, the first shot, the ‘town hall’ (this is actually the Liverpool Port Building) and the two ice cream vans.

There are images that show a personal side that other people can easily identify with, the padlocks and key chains on the chain barriers for example.  There are also those that others might not relate to as easily when seeing an article on Liverpool, for example the foggy start on an (as yet) unnamed station, or the train tickets at the end.

Some of your images show the sights and facilities on offer that form a narrative, based on ‘what you might expect to see and enjoy’, which is good travelogue material – e.g. the bikes, ice cream vans, the flags for the Tate, super lamb bananas, waterfront shots (several). I think that the more personal shots of the padlocks show another side that is less expected, drawing the viewer into the story on an emotional level. This is a side that can be explored further in your photography and developed through modules such as People and Place or Documentary.

As far as editing the final selection goes, I find the two vans are better than the first shot, mainly due to having the lighting working with you, accentuating the sunny weather and the colours. The Tate and big wheel shot is a little dull in lighting, but that could be boosted in post-production, as could the shopping street image, the seagull and the waterfront with cobbles. The ‘Town Hall’ shot should be renamed, as it isn’t, but also because the flags dominate the shot (possibly reverse this one left to right, so the words are legible too?).

As much as I like the train station shot (very atmospheric), it doesn’t really fit with a story of Liverpool that others will readily relate to. The arrival at Liverpool image doesn’t really do it for me either; a shot of Lime street station, St Georges hall opposite, the statues in between or the Walker gallery behind St. Georges would seem more obvious views for an arrival by train in Liverpool.

Learning Logs or Blogs

It would be good at this stage to see some evidence of wider viewing and reading. Which books have you looked at, what did you think of them, were they interesting, inspirational, boring or so dense you didn’t get past chapter one? Have you been to exhibitions, OCA study visits or interacted on the OCA forums? Which photographers’ work have you seen? 

Add to this reflection: Which you picked (and why?). What can you take from them (or not?). What have you seen that you’d like to try yourself? Looking at the bigger picture, how do you feel now when looking back at the first assignment and exercises? Have your ideas changed? Are you more (or less) confident? Are you more, or less, enthusiastic and can you put into words why that is?

Answers to these questions only have to be a sentence or two (not an essay), but together will make you think about where you are with your photography and help to resolve what you like and why. With these growing polarizations of taste and subjects you can start to narrow your own work into a more recognizable style, exploring finding your own voice, through photography.

Suggested reading/viewing

I recommend reading The nature of Photographs by Stephen Shore (Phaidon, 2010). I also recommend reading 'On Being a Photographer: a Practical Guide' by David Hurn and Bill Jay. This book is more about a photographer’s approach, attitude and their mind-set, rather than technicalities (as the title might suggest).

Pointers for the next assignment

This module is now completed

Reflection Upon Assignment 5

Demonstration of technical and visual skills- Materials, techniques, observational skills, visual awareness, design and compositional skills
For this assignment, I have been using skills i have not previously on this course. Using photography to create illustration and narrative. I would like to think i have began to use these skills well. Every photograph i have taken i have taken with the outcome in mind, the narrative. How well each photograph helps to tell a story and whether it would be easily interpreted by the viewer/ general public. For this i would think i have been quite visually aware and relied highly on observational skills.
I have perhaps at times been to wary of this, and kept it maybe on the safer side of things.

Quality of outcome - Content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in a coherent manner, discernment, conceptualisation of thoughts, communication of ideas
I have done my best to explain each photograph and why i have taken it or placed it where ever. I have tried to add additional comments to my photographs to reiterate what the narrative is and explain slightly in more detail and my reasonings. I would like to think my thoughts have flown well onto paper and have been expressed coherently.
Id like to think my photographs are fitting for the subject matter at hand an that they are of a decent standard. As i have previously stated i have done everything with the subject/ outcome in mind and i hope that has shown.
I could perhaps have thought a bit more out of the box and used symbolism as talked about in the course material more to express actions as opposed to more obvious or literal photographs.

Demonstration of creativity - Imagination, experimentation,invention, development of a personal voice
I would like to think i have been quite imaginative as i thought in terms of magazine publication when shootings, imagining how it would look, and what i would want it and my photographs each to look like. Some of my photographs could have been more creative perhaps. I have tried to include a variety of different photographs and techniques. I'm beginning to see a style within the photographs i take now, and think i am beginning to find my personal voice in photography. I now need to hone in on that, and begin to improve and perfect it.

Content- reflection, research, critical thinking

I have made a conscious effort to do more research within this assignment time frame. I have done a lot more than i have previously, but it is something i need to continuously be aware of and could still do more.
I have tried to reflect and evaluate everything i have done as i am going along. I have tried to be quite clear and logical in doing so and would like to think this has shown within my work.


Looking back at the first assignment/ exercises i did for this module, i feel i have come along way. To begin with, my lighting was not that great, and it is something i feel i have improved on greatly and am rather happy with now. Some times my tutor may say things look a little under exposed, and sometimes they are. But i quite like a dark, bold appearance to some of my photographs, and it is done intentionally, i suppose it is my style, and not something everybody will appreciate. I have also toned down my editing of photographs a lot. Looking back, some of my photographs were way over edited, almost to the point of embarrassment. Im not sure if this is due to improvement within my work, or due to purchasing a better quality laptop, where these visual issues become a lot more apparent, that weren't on my old laptop. Whatever the reason, i only edit where i feel necessary. and then compare to the original copy to see if i prefer the edited state or not.
But i am comfortable with where i am / where i am going so far. I have enjoyed exploring the more artistic styles of photography, and the simplicity of some , and it is something i hope to do more of, and when starting this course, it is something i perhaps would not have thought of.
My ideas of photography and what i want to be doing within photography, have not changed. I still enjoy photography for the same reasons and i still have mindset and likes and dislikes within the topic. I still want the same things out of this. I would say i have simply expanded my ideas. As my knowledge has grown, so have my ideas and the paths that i want to be on. 
It has definitely made me more confident within my photography, looking back and seeing how i have improved, and having absorbed the knowledge in which i have.

Assignment 5 Applying the Techniques of Illustration and Narrative

For this assignment i had to create a series of pictures for a magazine, illustrating ad narrating a story.
The subject i decided to narrate, was of a day trip to Liverpool docks.
For my front cover photograph, i wanted something that was bright colourful, was obvious of the location/ subject and eye catching.

When you think of being by the sea, or along the riverside you think of sunshine and enjoying ice cream. on a leisurely stroll perhaps.
So i chose a photograph of a vintage ice cream van. The vintage van looks nice set in front of a dockside of old buildings. The reds in the buidlings and the reds in the van make it pop.
The van also says liverpool on it, telling of the location.
The main aspects of the setting and the story can be taken from this photograph which is why i would put it on the front cover.

The photographs going inside the magazine will be set in chronological order to tell the story of events. But can be split into groups of time/ place. Each group of pictures should remain on the same page/ spread of pages but can be separated from other groups by page/text/advertisement.

A very grey, foggy start to the day in Worcester. An early morning train journey to Liverpool. Here's hoping the weather gets better.

We arrived at Liverpool to a beautiful day.

We made our way to the docks and took in the views

Cut away picture of a seagull on a street lamp

A city bike ride perhaps?

We took in some of the dockside attractions/ landmarks as the sun began to come out

Outside the Liverpool Port building

Super lamb bananas along the water

Telescope

We then went for a romantic leisurely stroll along the water enjoying the sunshine

Many people had attached locks to the fence along the water

Many as friends, many as lovers.
We decided to add our own and be a part of it.

We then headed back towards the town

But not before enjoying an ice cream or two

A quick spot of shopping along the high street before we had to catch our train home

Train tickets from our journey of the day.

Exercise: Rain

For this exercise, i had to produce a single strong image representing rain, that could be used for a magazine cover that would leave people in no doubt of the subject.

I began to think f things that come to mind when thinking of rain; wellies, umbrellas, cold, wet etc and began to think how i could use these in photographs;

A picture of  pair of wellies. 

An umbrella propped against a wall.

An umbrella in use. 

A soaking wet person in the rain.

Rain hitting the ground.

Rain drops.

A puddle.

I took a few photographs containing some of the above. We haven't really had much rain recently unfortunately, so i had to improvise slightly pouring water over things. Or just using the symbols on there own with the use of water as they are strong enough on their own.

I tried to keep it quite simple. If its going on the cover of a magazine, it doesn't want to be too busy or overbearing if there is going to be text on the cover also.

Simplistic pictures can look visually stunning on there own, but also won't get lost or look messy if covered partly by text.

In the end i settled for this photograph.

This photograph is of rain drops on a leaf. You are in no doubt that this photograph is of rain due to the water and it being on a plant. I like how this photograph although obviously rain has a slight abstract feel to it. I adjusted the colour of the green slightly, the make the rain drops stand out slightly more and to make it look slightly more visually appealing.

Exercise: Juxtaposition

For this exercise i had to create a photograph for the front cover of a book of choice using symbols or juxtaposition.
I chose the book 'Revelator: The Neuromancer' by William Control.
The blurb reads 'Through the madness i shuffle. A wretched shell of the man i was when her love possessed me. Lucifer has given me one change of redemption. I am compelled to drag myself to the dusty finish line. Compelled by the love i have somewhere in my drowning heart and the curiosity of a new adventure that will one day surely kill me.'
The book is essentially filled with death and sex.
I wanted my photograph to obviously represent this but not give too much away.
Before i had decided what i was going to photograph, i had already decided i wanted the photograph to be quite dark, in terms of lighting. And to be in black and white. As i felt this would be quite fitting for the book and for the author.
The book has quite a niche audience, and so i wanted my photograph to be fitting to that. It doesn't have to be something that everybody will like or be drawn to but will appeal to the necessary audience.
I felt it was important i used a bed in my photograph to represent the sexual activity and nature in the book.
I also wanted a weapon to represent the death/murder aspect of the book. Obviously getting hold of a weapon is a slight problem. So i used a kitchen knife. The kitchen knife may also carry connotation relating to fetish. Again going back to the sexual aspect of the book.
I then threw in some under wear just to make it look more intriguing and as if something may have happened.

I took a few photographs as i wasn't really sure on which composition would look best. I used different levels of zoom, and different amounts/ items of clothing to see what look best. I tried to mess up the bed a bit to make it look as if it had been used

Essentially, i think the last picture is my favourite, and is what i would use for my front cover.

Research: Fernand Fonssagrive

Fernand Fonssagrives was a french photographer known for his 'beauty photography' often photographing his wife.

I love how here the human body is almost invisible. It is not the subject of this photograph, but instead part of the background. and it blends very well. The body is naked and curled up into a ball. An angle perhaps unusual and not normally deemed attractive. But since this is not the subject this is perhaps unimportant.
The subject is the shadow formed from a metal fence. that is projected over the naked body. The shadow a very strong, deep , bold black I love the shapes and his use of the body as a canvas.

Again, a naked body used as a canvas for a shadow cast by a fence I love the level of contrast and how the shadows follow the shape of the body.

A close up of shadows cast on part of the female body from a mesh like fence. The jet black background makes the body seem extremely 3 dimensional.

I love the unusual ways Fonssagrives uses the human body as a canvas and the way he uses light and shadow as an art form and subject to create his work