Assignment 2Leave a comment

Assignment 2 – Photographing the unseen – Tutor feedback

517401 OCA Photography

My feed back for assignment 2 can be read here. If I’m honest I think the written feedback is more positive than our skype call but either way I have no issue with it as I think it is an accurate reflection of the work submitted. I think the feedback reflects the struggles I had with this assignment and so it was not a suprise and I think there are two things that I can take out of it, first that I need to be clear in my mind what I am trying to communicate and I know that this … Continue reading Assignment 2 – Photographing the unseen – Tutor feedback

Part 4Leave a comment

Exercise 4.2 – Reading pictures (P.101)

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Rip out an advertising image from a newspaper supplement and circle and write on as many parts of the image as you can. Comment on what it is, what it says about the product and why you think it’s there. You could use this as the basis for your assignment if you feel it’s taking you somewhere interesting. Or you could adopt this method for your assignment preparation. Come back to this exercise when you’ve reached the end of Part Four and see if you can add anything to your analysis. The advert I have chose is for Manuel Canovas … Continue reading Exercise 4.2 – Reading pictures (P.101)

Part 4Leave a comment

Exercise 4.1 – The language of photography (P.98)

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Before you read any further, look carefully at Erwitt’s image and write some notes about how the subject matter is placed within the frame. How has Erwitt structured this image? What do you think the image is ‘saying’? How does the structure contribute to this meaning? The main compositional technique used by Erwin in this image is the rule of thirds. Below is the image with a rule of thirds grid applied. Erwin has placed the small dog, the primary subject, roughly on the right hand vertical third and the legs of the large dog on the left hand vertical … Continue reading Exercise 4.1 – The language of photography (P.98)

Assignment 2Leave a comment

Assignment 2 – Photographing the unseen – reflection

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I found this assignment challenging and indeed the whole narrative aspect of photography is not somehting that comes readily to me. When I initially read the brief the idea of electricity was one that came to mind but I think I discounted it as I felt that it did not have and emotional element to it. Looking at other students’ blogs a lot of work for this assignment seemed to be very personal and relate to challenges they faced in their life. I think I got bogged down in trying to create images that I judged were worthy or meaningful … Continue reading Assignment 2 – Photographing the unseen – reflection

Assignment 2Leave a comment

Assignment 2 – Photographing the unseen – Taken for granted

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I struggled to get started with this assignment and by the time of my scheduled call with my tutor I had taken no photographs and really had no idea of how to move forward. In the end I narrowed my choices down to two topics, electricity and faith and chose to go with electricity as I thought it would be easier to complete in the time available. Obviously we can’t see electricity, flicking a switch on a socket is not like turning on a tap, nothing comes out. What I wanted to portray is the paradox between this force that … Continue reading Assignment 2 – Photographing the unseen – Taken for granted

Learning log1 Comment

Vivian Maier – Self-portraits

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The story of the discovery of Vivian Maier’s work is well known, it was discovered by accident when the contents of a storage unit that she had been renting were sold as the fees had not been paid. It is estimated that Maier took around 150,000 photographs in her lifetime and in addition to prints, negatives and unprocessed film, the contents of her storage locker also included cine films, audio recordings, receipts and cameras that she used. As well as a treasure trove of images documenting America in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, the collection also includes a significant number … Continue reading Vivian Maier – Self-portraits

Exhibitions and visitsLeave a comment

Pierre Bonnard – The Colour of Memory – Tate Modern

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Before reading about this exhibition I was unaware of Pierre Bonnard, the French Post-Impressionist painter and member of Les Nablis, the group of French avante-garde painters active at the end of the nineteenth century (1888-1900). The exhibition covers the period after Les Nablis showing works from around 1900 until Bonnard’s death in 1947. Bonnard is known for the vibrant colours he used, his intimate domestic scenes and his nudes, all of which were well represented in the exhibition. The exhibition also explained that Bonnard usually painted from memory and that as well as drawing sketches, he used photographs as inspiration … Continue reading Pierre Bonnard – The Colour of Memory – Tate Modern

Part 3Leave a comment

Exercise 3.4 – Self-absented portraiture – (P.87)

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Go to the artist’s website and look at the other images in Shafran’s series. You may have noticed that Washing-up is the only piece of work in Part Three created by a man. It is also the only one with no human figures in it, although family members are referred to in the captions. Did it surprise you that this was taken by a man? Why? I am not suprised that these images were taken by a man, I’m more suprised in the implicit suggestion in the question that as the image represents a domestic chore, the implication is that … Continue reading Exercise 3.4 – Self-absented portraiture – (P.87)

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Nan Goldin – The Ballad of Sexual Dependency – Tate Modern

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I was aware of Nan Goldin and has seen some of her images in various books that I have read during my studies, however, my knowledge of her work was very limited. Whilst visiting Tate Modern to see an exhibition of Pierre Bonnard’s work I saw that there was an exhibition of Nan Goldin’s The Balad of Sexual Dependency and I was keen to see it thinking it would be an display of prints of her work. The exhibition did feature some of her prints including Nan one month after being battered, but the main element of the exhibition was … Continue reading Nan Goldin – The Ballad of Sexual Dependency – Tate Modern