Tutor Feedback
Here is a link to my tutor’s feedback for this assignment and also my comments and how I am responding to the feedback:
Tag: Assignment One
Assessment Criteria
Assessment Criteria
Assignment One
Demonstration of technical and visual skills
I decided I wanted anything but perfect images for my work as I wanted this to convey a deeper meaning about my chosen topic. I want the images to show uncertainty, unevenness and oppressiveness. I wanted to accomplish this through the look at the images. I took images that were over-exposed, under-exposed, out-of-focus, from various levels. I hope to bring these together to convey a message. I believe I have demonstrated various technical and visual skills. I have experimented with the technical aspects. I believe you can see my observational skills, compositional skills and visual awareness in my images, especially when you look at all the images I took from the site and not just the cut-down version.
Quality of outcome
For this first assignment I was required to explore a potential starting point for my work. I had already decided I wanted to follow a pilgrimage, so I decided to photograph the first location as this gave me a chance to explore and get a feel for the topic. As a result, I produced 30 images which I felt fit the brief. It allowed me to explore the site and try different techniques and methods for my images.
Demonstration of creativity
I experimented with over-exposed and under-exposed images. I also tried to capture out-of-focus images. I experimented with the perspective as well. I positioned the camera in various ways to give different perspectives for example from the floor looking up, and looking down on objects. I wanted to use different techniques and methods to bring meaning to my images. These meaning range from exclusion, uncertainty and being uneven. I believe I have been creative with my images. These are just the start, so I can build from here.
Context
I have decided to follow a pilgrimage route for me body of work. I want to highlight the inequality women face in the world, in religion and in photography specifically in the landscape genre. I have chosen this journey as this specific pilgrimage was designed for men only. So I am following the journey as a women, I am able to get a different perspective this way. I want to highlight and challenge the gender inequality.
Cutting Down
I firstly narrowed down my images to 30 for assignment one. I then decided to narrow them down further. I printed my images to 6×4, and laid them out.
This was probably one of the hardest things to do for these images. The process of cutting down needs thought. I laid them out and used my instincts but also I was trying to think ahead in my mind. I was trying to imagine how the images would work together and which wouldn’t. It did take me time, as I would go over and over trying different combinations until I reached a point where the images worked to me. The images were saying something to me and I felt the combinations worked.
This is location one:
I took away the ones that I didn’t feel anything from, and was left with these.
I moved them about and rearranged them to see different combinations.
Then narrowed them down further.
Here are my final images I have chosen for the first assignment.
For the next location I did similar to what for the above. Here is my process
Here is location three:
Here is location four:
Here are the final images so far:
Images
Cutting Down
I firstly narrowed down my images to 30 for assignment one. I then decided to narrow them down further. I printed my images to 6×4, and laid them out.
This was probably one of the hardest things to do for these images. The process of cutting down needs thought. I laid them out and used my instincts but also I was trying to think ahead in my mind. I was trying to imagine how the images would work together and which wouldn’t. It did take me time, as I would go over and over trying different combinations until I reached a point where the images worked to me. The images were saying something to me and I felt the combinations worked.
This is location one:
I took away the ones that I didn’t feel anything from, and was left with these.
I moved them about and rearranged them to see different combinations.
Then narrowed them down further.
Here are my final images I have chosen for the first assignment.
For the next location I did similar to what for the above. Here is my process
Here is location three:
Here is location four:
Here are the final images so far:
Location One – Contact Sheets
Location Two – Contact Sheets
Location Three – Contact Sheets
Location Four – Contact Sheets
Location Two – Contact Sheets
Location Three – Contact Sheets
Location Four – Contact Sheets
Location Five – Contact Sheets
Location Six – Contact Sheets
Location Seven – Contact Sheets
Location Eight – Contact Sheets
Assignment One
Here is a link to my first assignment:
I had my feedback tutorial today with my tutor by phone following my submission of assignment one. We talked about my ideas and background for my project and how I am thinking to develop it at the moment. I have thought of making a collage somehow, I have also thought about including text. My tutor believes it is a good direction but maybe a bit too early to think about text. She advised that ideas might come when least expected, and actually thinking about it a lot of my idea have come like that, I usually end up scrambling around for a scrap of paper to write them down before I forget.
We talked about mapping the route and bring this into my work in someway. I have the route written out, but haven’t mapped it per se. This is something I will do, and I will also look at artists who have use a psychogeorgraphic approach and see how they have incorporate mapping into their work. I am going to research some land artists, so I can see how they have shown their work.
My tutor suggested creating a mind map or flow chart to document my ideas, this way I can go back to it and develop it and write down more ideas as they come to me. This is something I will do, as I think it will help me to get everything down in one place and work from there. Using it like a date dump.
We discussed several images that we both feel worked and could be used to develop further.
For my learning log, my tutor thinks the layout is good. She liked the slideshows I have used for my research on pilgrimages. I need to add a section with my journal on. I also need to add how much research has influenced my decisions. I will do this in future.
My tutor said my approach was good and should provide a strong foundation to move forward on. We discussed whether the pilgrimage was landscape photography. I would at the moment, yes I would like to think of my images as landscapes. This may change as I develop my project. But this is how I see it at the moment.
My tutor asked, ‘How do I want to express this journey in contemporary terms’. I think by looking at this historic pilgrimage which was for men, shows that the issue of inequality isn’t a new thing, it brings a historic issue together with how it still exists today. It also shows a global issue of a patriarchal society. Religion itself has influenced cultures and society worldwide, even if we aren’t religious a lot of things in our lives stem from religion. I believe that religion has actually contributed to the issue of inequality, as in many religions there is a definite distinction between men and women, and what is expected of them and how they are treated. I believe the journey is important as, men would travel this pilgrimage to strength their faith, to get closer to their God. I am travelling it as a woman, I think it is more of a spiritual journey for me, I am completing it as a woman, through my own gaze. I hope eventually it will all come together. I will probably refer back to this question as I progress because my answer may change as I develop my work.
She advised printing the images out at size 6×4”, just to play around with them and see what comes of it. I will definitely try this as it might bring other ideas forward and provoke another idea.
My tutor told me that I write the feedback and then sent it to her, so she can add her own comments. I have never had to write my own feedback before, only a reflection on it. So I have treated it as a reflection of our conversation. I will upload the feedback when I receive it back from my tutor.
I am aiming for my next assignment to be in around the start of November. This gives me time to visit some sites and do some research.
Here is my feedback report that I and my tutor filled in:
Responding to the Feedback
Following my feedback for assignment one, I am going to put the text aspect on hold for now and concentrate on my images. I will revisit it but I agree with my tutor it is too early to be thinking in-depth about it. We discussed mapping my work, this is something I am thinking about, but I believe it is a bit too early to be thinking about it in depth as I believe I need to get my core images first. I spoke with my tutor about this and put forward my reasoning behind this. Similar to the text aspect I have put mapping on hold but as a compromise I am starting to research it and take notes, this means I will have a solid foundation for when I introduce it to my work.
My tutor and I had a debate as to whether the pilgrimage counts as landscape photography. I believe it does. Landscape photography can cover a wide range of topic, other than the most obvious of landscapes. I believe my images are showing the landscape, because each image varies. They feature different terrains, from buildings, to graveyards, to the more traditional landscape views. Even with buildings, it still becomes a sub section in landscape photography, such as urban landscapes. Even Ansel Adams photographed some buildings in his landscapes (Naylor). I have looked at other artists like Kaupo Kikkas and Jess Kohl, who use similar terrain to my images, and I would argue their images are landscapes too. I do believe my images would count as landscapes, maybe not in the traditional sense but definitely in a sub-section of the landscape genre.
Going forward I will print out some images and play around with them. I will also visit more sites and photograph them.
Naylor, B (2010) Forgotten Ansel Adams Murals Brought Back to Light. At: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125228486&t=1611145986628 (Accessed 30th of August 2019).
Tutor Feedback
Here are the links to the feedback pages, they are also available from the drop-down menus:
Assignment Three Tutor Feedback
Assignment Four Tutor Feedback
Assignment Images & Reflective Commentary
Assignment One
For this assignment I aimed to take around 30 images, but I ended up taking a lot more. I went through them and chose 30 for the preliminary shots. Here they are:
Contact Sheets
Here are my contact sheets for assignment one.
Reflective Commentary
My first assignment involves making some preliminary shots for my body of work. This has been a good opportunity to try some ideas and get a feel for my initial direction. I am looking at gender inequality. I am using a backdrop of a pilgrimage journey. When this pilgrimage was undertook, it was done by men only, but I am undertaking it as a woman. I have done previous studies into religion and thought this would be a good opportunity to bring my own experience and knowledge into my work. So my aim is to explore the gender inequality not only in landscape photography, but in a global religious, cultural and social sense.
For this initial assignment, I have solely concentrated on the base images of the pilgrimage. I thought this would be better, as if I can get the base images, I can then work on developing these into my final work along the way. I do not want my images to be ‘perfect’, I want my image to be completely different to the traditional picturesque landscapes we often see. I feel this is important as hopefully it will get the message that all is not right and will catch the viewers attention. When I was looking into landscape photographs, the majority were by men, and they were detail, perfectly composed, very picturesque, I think that is what people usually except when looking at landscape pictures. I want to portray the inequality through my images. I have thought of ways to do this. For example, I have taken blurry, overexposed, underexposed and banal images. I have also tried to taken the images looking up, from a low positions, this is to try and symbolise the unequal footing women are on.
I choose one location to do this assignment and have experimented with different exposures, compositions and positions. I feel the images have given me a chance to see where I stand. I have choice and can now see what will work for my work. I have chosen one image from each position, these are probably what I will work with. I think this image works well:
It is taken from a low position, is blurry and slightly overexposed. You wouldn’t see this type of image normally. I like the composition, with the gravestone raising up. The church stands proud, and whilst it is out of focus, it is still recognisable.
I like this image, it is underexposed but I like the framing of the surrounding trees. The sky provides the necessary light to just highlight the church. I think it is effective that way.
I like this image I took through the gate, as it gives the impression of being locked out and restricted. This is something I could work on to do with gender equality.
When I first looked at this image, I thought I would delete it but I decided not too. I looked back at it, and yes it is vastly overexposed, and the lighting is casting a motley look onto the building but the more I look at it, the more I like it. The light obscures a lot fo the scene but parts are still visible. You could say it is a banal image, but I like it, and I think this might be one of the images I use later on.
The problems I had was getting the camera level for the low shots. This was done to my methods, which I can now improve on.
I do intent to build on this. I want to use text but am unsure at the moment on what. I will experiment with various ones in a later assignment. I might make this into a collage, I think this will be an interesting approach as it could show a variety of viewpoints. I also want to bring an aspect of femininity into my images, this could be in the form of images of women in the collage. These images will be very different from the usual images we see of women in art and in the media. I am thinking at the moment I want them to be presentative of strong women. But I will continue to experiment over time.
I feel my assignment at the moment covers several genres. It is definitely covers psychogeography, as the pilgrimage is a journey which I am documenting. I also feel it would come under personal Journeys, as this is my personal journey, exploring my own spiritual journey and a journey of landscape photography as a woman.
In contextual studies I have looked at several visual cultures. I believe mine relates to postmodernism, but going further I believe it fits into the postmodern feminist category. It does have ties to poststructuralism, as I aim to have hidden message and text. It also is relevant to photography in the global age as not only is it covering a global issue, it is also published online and aimed at a global audience.
Research
Research
I started off by researching pilgrimages. I have looked at how they have been represented over time, through various forms of art. I have also research the pilgrimage I am going to use as my base. I have organised this research under the ‘Research’ tab. Here is the link:
I have looked into several artists who have definitely influenced my decisions and direction for my body of work. The artists who have influenced me the most are Catherine Opie and Marie Yates. Here is the link to the artists I have looked into so far.
Preparation
Preparation
To prepare for this assignment, I made notes of what I wanted to do, what I want to represent and explore. I found this helpful as it gave perspective and direction for my work. I looked into various pilgrimages around where I live and firstly located them on Google Maps. I went to the first location and just explored and experimented with different angles and exposures. It was quite fun to take photographs without the thought of them being perfect. They are out of focus, they are overexposed and they are underexposed. But this is exactly what I wanted to explore.
Contact Sheets
Location One – Contact Sheets
Location Two – Contact Sheets
Location Three – Contact Sheets
Location Four – Contact Sheets
Georgina's Body of Work 